Drop with W and getting into Med School

[DreamyKid]

How many of you guys dropped a course with a W and still got into med school? Do they question about the W during an interview? I want to drop my diff eq math class cuz I might get a C-/C, but because the final is 50% I can bring my grade up to a B. I just don't know if I should risk doing really bad. And I'm pretty behind...soo =/

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[braluk]

1W here. I think as long as you dont show a pattern of withdrawals you should be ok. It doesnt show when you dropped it (as in when you dropped it in the semester) so as long as you dont have a record of W's, you should be ok. And no, it did not come up in my interview

 

[ryanl]

I had 2 W's. In one interview I was asked about these, but I was also asked about some of my other grades (Below B's).

So in either case you may have to explain, but I just told the interviewer that I felt that I had taken too heavy of a work and course load and felt it would be better to drop one course to prevent my other courses from suffering.


But IMO a W looks better than a C or below. Just make sure when you re-take the class you get an A or a B+, and it shouldn't be a concern.

 

[chicksdigdocs]

I dropped my summer school course (first sem bio) after one week and recieved a W. I got an offer for an internship that summer so I decided the class will always be there later. In general, make sure you can explain everything and it wont be a problem.
My main concern is with an F I recieved my freshman year... I had no excuse but I have to make one up I guess. Any ideas?

 

[KeyzerSoze]

My main concern is with an F I recieved my freshman year... I had no excuse but I have to make one up I guess. Any ideas?

How about "I have no excuse for that F, but I learned from it, as you can see from my transcript," as a good starting point?

 

[rickthetwinkie]

I have approximately 7 W's on my transcript and two incompletes turned NCs(freshman course grade forgiveness turns "F"s into "NC"s), and I just recently got accepted, so W's (especially if you just have maybe one or two) are certainly not insurmountable. My case was a bit extreme, so I explained the circumstances in my personal statement, but in your case, if its brought up in interview, just have an explanation at hand. Certainly, some explanations will hold more merit than others, but somehow, I don't think one or two Ws will cause them to think "this person is a bad candidate for medical school". A long history of dropping a course or two each semester, on the other hand, would take a lot more "explaining away".

 

[Sophie]

I had a W in 3rd quarter O Chem, and only one school asked about it. It's not a big deal.

 

[sprinkibrio]

How many of you guys dropped a course with a W and still got into med school? Do they question about the W during an interview? I want to drop my diff eq math class cuz I might get a C-/C, but because the final is 50% I can bring my grade up to a B. I just don't know if I should risk doing really bad. And I'm pretty behind...soo =/

A C>>>>>>>>>>>>W

In your case don't drop. But yes, dropping is fine. I got in with one W and a few C's. Just have a valid story and make all A's for two years afterward... lol. That's what I had to do.

The F is fine because it's freshman year. Just retake it for a good grade and have an explanation. When I was explaining my grades (only happened three times out of a ton of interviews) I got some "yeah I feel yas" and some *rolling of the eyes*. Just expect that.

 

[Jonesie]

I had 2 Ws in my undergrad and one in my postbac. One school had a form that asked "If you have more than 2 Ws on your transcript, please explain". Other than that, it didn't come up in my interviews.

If you truly feel like you can get the B, then go for it. Do you realistically feel like you can do that? If not, I'd go for the W.