Dropping class

[tesfawMD]

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Hello,

I'm taking genetics right now and after the first midterm it looks I can get a "B" at the highest. The thing is I know I can get an A if I take it again and take the W. What advice would you guys recommend?

 

[Geneticist]

How certain are you that you will a) only be able to get a B at most and b) you can get an A if you retake it? If both of those are true and your GPA is on the lower end, I'd take the W. If your GPA is fine then I'd just lick your wounds and get by with a B.

 

[tesfawMD]

I'm pretty confident I can get an A with the same professor. I can only get a
a B at the most because 2 midterm (each 45% of final grade) and 10% section attendance. I got a 71% percent on the midterm, which was pretty easy but I just made ridiculously stupid mistakes. Well my GPA is a 3.54, but this is my second quarter and I only took 3 classes, one P/NP, last quarter so yeah.

How certain are you that you will a) only be able to get a B at most and b) you can get an A if you retake it? If both of those are true and your GPA is on the lower end, I'd take the W. If your GPA is fine then I'd just lick your wounds and get by with a B.

 

[Geneticist]

Considering your GPA is on the lower end, I'd drop and retake. Don't drop until the last day, though, for obvious reasons.

 

[tesfawMD]

So if a 3.5 is considered low, what does a solid GPA looks like? I know it depends, but whats your opinion?

Considering your GPA is on the lower end, I'd drop and retake.

 

[Geneticist]

I'd be aiming for at least the median for matriculants which is currently a 3.67. Don't get me wrong, a 3.5 is good and can get you into lots of DO schools and some less competitive MD schools (with the help of a good MCAT, ECs, etc.), but shoot for a 3.7+ and you'll be good to go. 😉

 

[MeowMeowCAT]

Just take the B, and if you want to retake the class and get that A then do so afterward.

B looks better than a W.

 

[orthomyxo]

Just take the B, and if you want to retake the class and get that A then do so afterward.

B looks better than a W.

What? Retaking a B makes no sense, and nobody is going to care about one W unless they see that you dropped, then took the course again and got a crappy grade. Anyways, OP said the BEST he can get is a B. Not that he is getting a B.

 

[MeowMeowCAT]

OP said the BEST he can get is a B.

Missed that part.

 

[PSU2013]

If you can get a B why would you withdraw? When medical schools see your transcript they are going to assume that you dropped it bc you were failing or barely passing. & the average accepted student has a 3.6 gpa so you're not far off. I think dropping the class would hurt you more then keepin it would.

 

[SFGuy2011]

How many quarters/terms do you have left?

Your application is not going to depend on this one class. It's going to depend on your GPA at the end, your EC's, and your MCAT. Dropping one class because you can't get an A is weak.

After this, you should get your head right, stop making ridiculous mistakes, and get all A's.

 

[orthomyxo]

How many quarters/terms do you have left?

Your application is not going to depend on this one class. It's going to depend on your GPA at the end, your EC's, and your MCAT. Dropping one class because you can't get an A is weak.

After this, you should get your head right, stop making ridiculous mistakes, and get all A's.

Let's not overreact here. Getting an average grade on a midterm in a notoriously difficult class is hardly a ridiculous mistake.

 

[SFGuy2011]

I'm pretty confident I can get an A with the same professor. I can only get a
a B at the most because 2 midterm (each 45% of final grade) and 10% section attendance. I got a 71% percent on the midterm, which was pretty easy but I just made ridiculously stupid mistakes. Well my GPA is a 3.54, but this is my second quarter and I only took 3 classes, one P/NP, last quarter so yeah.

Let's not overreact here. Getting an average grade on a midterm in a notoriously difficult class is hardly a ridiculous mistake.

Overreacting?? I'm using the OP's words.

 

[tesfawMD]

I have about 7-8 quarters left. I'm thinking about dropping it because I'm trying to get all the easy A's I can, which I know this class is.

How many quarters/terms do you have left?

Your application is not going to depend on this one class. It's going to depend on your GPA at the end, your EC's, and your MCAT. Dropping one class because you can't get an A is weak.

After this, you should get your head right, stop making ridiculous mistakes, and get all A's.

 

[SFGuy2011]

I have about 7-8 quarters left. I'm thinking about dropping it because I'm trying to get all the easy A's I can, which I know this class is.

I'm sorry, but what are you going to do next quarter if this happens in another course, withdraw again?

Get your B this semester and get A's for the rest of the quarters you have left. So you get a B in Genetics...so what? Get an A in the rest of your courses, and in the long run, none of this will matter.