Dropped courses

[chaos]

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How bad would 1-2 'W''s each semester look on an academic transcript? I've often ended up biting off more than I could chew and having to withdraw from a class or two per semester (idiotically not deciding until a few weeks after the add drop period). Is this going to be a red flag for grad admissions people or will they not really care?

 

[Psyclops]

As always take this for what it's worth, usually not very much but, I used every last late drop credit I could, they gave us 16. I had a semester where I only completed 9 credits (dropped the rest) with a gpa for that semester of 2.4, and one semester of my junior year I got a D in an upper level psych class. I just never turned in the final paper. I've managed to get accepted to a R-I school. But I didn' take the most direct route. There are always things you can do to ameliorate your situation even after you have messed up.

 

[butterfli73]

How bad would 1-2 'W''s each semester look on an academic transcript? I've often ended up biting off more than I could chew and having to withdraw from a class or two per semester (idiotically not deciding until a few weeks after the add drop period). Is this going to be a red flag for grad admissions people or will they not really care?

I think having 1 or 2 total wouldn't be a big deal, but if there is 1 or 2 each semester this could be an obstacle for you. You definitely should have an explanation ready and might even want to think about giving a good explanation in your SOP, although that might be taking a risk and forcing them to notice it. I know the career counselors at my undergrad university really discouraged withdrawing and told us it would look really bad to grad schools. I had 1 W on my transcript and no one ever mentioned it in interviews or anything, but I just don't know about 1-2 per semester.