Dropping a Class vs Getting a B in UG: Help!

[DoctorLion]

So... I am in my first year of Psych courses. I'm currently taking intro to Psych and Neuroscience... I did my first midterm and I am convinced that I bombed it...I totalled it...I failed that damn exam miserably (probably with a 40/100)...I have A.D.D. and I've been neglectful about taking it seriously. So I wasn't studying like I should have been and I couldn't focus on the exam. I was drifting in and out of daydreams (ironically enough about failing the exam...). So now I've finally taken action and I am getting help for my ADD... I know I will do very well on the next two exams...But I'm not sure if I should just drop this class now (seeing as how there are only three exams and the first midterm is worth 33.3%) and retake it later? Or should I stick it out and push for a high score on the final two exams (the last two exams are each worth 33.3%). I'm estimating that I could pull out of Neuroscience with a B/+...But is it even a good idea to do this? it's going to really bring down my GPA. What should I do?


Thanks for the help 🙂

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[phillips101]

So... I am in my first year of Psych courses. I'm currently taking intro to Psych and Neuroscience... I did my first midterm and I am convinced that I bombed it...I totalled it...I failed that damn exam miserably (probably with a 40/100)...I have A.D.D. and I've been neglectful about taking it seriously. So I wasn't studying like I should have been and I couldn't focus on the exam. I was drifting in and out of daydreams (ironically enough about failing the exam...). So now I've finally taken action and I am getting help for my ADD... I know I will do very well on the next two exams...But I'm not sure if I should just drop this class now (seeing as how there are only three exams and the first midterm is worth 33.3%) and retake it later? Or should I stick it out and push for a high score on the final two exams (the last two exams are each worth 33.3%). I'm estimating that I could pull out of Neuroscience with a B/+...But is it even a good idea to do this? it's going to really bring down my GPA. What should I do?


Thanks for the help 🙂

You mentioned you're taking your first psych classes, so does that make you a college freshman? If so, don't worry too much about the one grade in one course. I think that many professors/schools understand that freshman year is a transitional period, and many students take some time to adjust before they get serious and know how to study.

On the other hand, you mentioned it pulling your GPA down, so maybe you just switched into psych as a major? Anyways, if a B/B+ is going to pull your GPA down THAT much, I'm assuming you have a relatively high GPA. In this case, ONE B is really not going to make a big differences.

In the long run and looking at the bigger picture, this is really a minuscule, tedious issue. You either drop the class and retake it or you don't. Either way, getting a B is really no big deal. You should start focusing on other aspects of academia, such as internships/volunteer/extracurriculars and addressing your ADD (as you are starting to).

 

[wigflip]

The only person I know who escaped undergrad with a 4.0 GPA (thanks to multiple choice exams) couldn't write an intelligible paragraph. S/he went into an applied field. None of my friends who went on to grad school, med school, or law school had 4.0s.

 

[paramour]

If you intend to attend grad school, I hope you get past that "A only" mentality . . . quickly.

As one of our profs is fond of frequently repeating, B = PhD.

Get over it. It's a B. Most folks have them (if not lower grades) and still manage to get accepted into grad school.

 

[Psychadelic2012]

Isn't this the doctoral (not undergrad) forum?

 

[paramour]

Ah, yes, I forget... IN undergrad, we can lower our standards even further and still earn a degree. 😉

A B still isn't going to kill you. Yes, do your best but to drop a class because you think you're going to get a B instead of an A? C'mon.

Pull up your big-person pants and do the work to get the grade you want (and can reasonably receive at this juncture).

 

[AcronymAllergy]

B does not equal PhD in undergrad. A few Bs are ok, but keep that GPA above 3.5

This is essentially what I would say as well. If it's going to continually eat at you that you got a B when you could have dropped it, retaken the class, and earned an A, and if doing so won't set you back, then I won't say not to do that. However, you also likely don't want to be devoting a greatly-increased amount of time/effort for a somewhat diminishing return (e.g., from B+ to A- despite multiple hours of additional studying per week). Additionally, as you haven't even yet received the grade on the exam, I'd personally suggest waiting until you get that back to make any final decisions. And, as paramour pointed out, you could be just as well served by staying in the class and doing the work necessary to raise the grade up to at/about where you'd like it to be.

In the end, a few B's won't be the end of the world. Just keep the GPA above 3.5 as Jon Snow has said, and even more importantly, be sure to plan out ways of getting at least a couple years' worth of meaningful lab/research experiences.

Edit: And paramour, that last line of yours makes me think of the KFC commercial about, "little wigs," "little office," and "little-boy pants."

 

[mewtoo]

I think it would be stupid to drop it because of a B. If you are attending a public university and it is like mine, today is THE last drop date and if you drop it it will either show up as WP (withdrew passing) or WF (withdrew failing), so if you did indeed fail that test it will look even worse to drop it now and have a WF (which enters into your GPA as failing too) than to just get a B. I'm sure this varies state to state, but get to know these sort of guidelines because they could potentially screw your GPA up worse than even a D. Also, again if you school is like mine, you only get 6 drops for your entire undergrad career and you may really need those one day. For example, I know someone who got in a bad car wreck and had to withdraw from the university. She used all of her drops for this and if she hadn't had them she would have had an F in those because she would still be expected to complete them. I also know someone who used her 6 frivolously and is now failing a class and can't drop it because of it. 😀

 

[wigflip]

Additionally, as you haven't even yet received the grade on the exam, I'd personally suggest waiting until you get that back to make any final decisions.

+1
My first upper division psych class (at an R1 after transfer from a CC) terrified me. I rushed home after every exam to tell Hubby that I'd failed, only to find out I'd aced the things when grades posted. I know it's easier said than done, but try to hang in there and defer catastrophizing until you have evidence that you're actually in trouble.

On the other hand...as a TA, one of my UGs recently treated me to a Magical Thinking Meltdown. S/he'd blown a major paper, but sat there and explained to me that moving forward s/he'd get A+s on every subsequent assignment and pull the grade up substantially. I had to explain that even if s/he could bring the subsequent grades up to perfect scores (yes, I managed to do this with a straight face) the math simply wasn't going to work out that way.

I guess I'm suggesting you don't catastrophize, but be realistic and crunch your numbers.

 

[Ollie123]

Isn't this the doctoral (not undergrad) forum?

I presume the person is concerned because they plan on applying to grad school.

If we stop allowing discussions about getting into grad school, I suspect we'd stop getting new members and the forum would die off pretty quick.

 

[Ollie123]

+1

On the other hand...as a TA, one of my UGs recently treated me to a Magical Thinking Meltdown. S/he'd blown a major paper, but sat there and explained to me that moving forward s/he'd get A+s on every subsequent assignment and pull the grade up substantially. I had to explain that even if s/he could bring the subsequent grades up to perfect scores (yes, I managed to do this with a straight face) the math simply wasn't going to work out that way.

I think the amount of difficulty many undergrads seem to have calculating their grades is all the proof we need that it is time to SIGNIFICANTLY up our expectations for math across all levels of education. The number of people who somehow managed to get out of middle school without being able to compute a percent is truly frightening, and I get them pretty regularly in my senior-level psychology courses.

 

[wigflip]

I think the amount of difficulty many undergrads seem to have calculating their grades is all the proof we need that it is time to SIGNIFICANTLY up our expectations for math across all levels of education. The number of people who somehow managed to get out of middle school without being able to compute a percent is truly frightening, and I get them pretty regularly in my senior-level psychology courses.

So true. I TA in departments other than psych (where you might expect UGs to be less mathy), but even so, it's just basic math. Even if no one ever showed you how, you could just figure it out on your own. Some of my UGs expect me to figure it out for 'em on a week by week basis throughout the term. 😡

 

[phillips101]

So true. I TA in departments other than psych (where you might expect UGs to be less mathy), but even so, it's just basic math. Even if no one ever showed you how, you could just figure it out on your own. Some of my UGs expect me to figure it out for 'em on a week by week basis throughout the term. 😡

Wait, since when did psych majors become "mathy" people?

 

[Ollie123]

Haha, they SHOULD be, but sadly most are not at the UG level. Undergrad psychology is in no way reflective of graduate coursework and the actual job market in psychology...which I think puts many in for a rude awakening if they make it there.

I still remember the looks I got when shared with my students that some graduate coursework may require a working knowledge of calculus. I may have deterred some applications right then and there...

 

[paramour]

This is essentially what I would say as well. If it's going to continually eat at you that you got a B when you could have dropped it, retaken the class, and earned an A, and if doing so won't set you back, then I won't say not to do that. However, you also likely don't want to be devoting a greatly-increased amount of time/effort for a somewhat diminishing return (e.g., from B+ to A- despite multiple hours of additional studying per week). Additionally, as you haven't even yet received the grade on the exam, I'd personally suggest waiting until you get that back to make any final decisions. And, as paramour pointed out, you could be just as well served by staying in the class and doing the work necessary to raise the grade up to at/about where you'd like it to be.

In the end, a few B's won't be the end of the world. Just keep the GPA above 3.5 as Jon Snow has said, and even more importantly, be sure to plan out ways of getting at least a couple years' worth of meaningful lab/research experiences.

Edit: And paramour, that last line of yours makes me think of the KFC commercial about, "little wigs," "little office," and "little-boy pants."

Alas, I don't watch TV (no cable, satellite, or well anything), so I'll have to look it up to catch the reference.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Alas, I don't watch TV (no cable, satellite, or well anything), so I'll have to look it up to catch the reference.

No worries; I was TV-less myself for a few years before now, but figured I would splurge and reward myself while on fellowship. That, and I can actually afford it.