Explain 3 W's on application?

[Noggin]

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So i've been getting mixed opinions on this one. Here we go...

During my first year of college I took a W in a science course because the professor was terrible. I repeated this class for a decent grade.

During sophomore year of college my sibling died and I was so traumatized that I had to take two W's in two different science classes. I later repeated these courses for straight A's/A+'s. The last two years of college I was able to maintain a greater than a 3.9 GPA taking difficult science course. My questions is...should I explain these W's in my personal statement? I really don't want to waste space talking about this, but I feel as if adcoms will be curious as to what happened. Any advice on what to do?

 

[MalinaRana]

I had three Ws, didn't mention it in my personal statement and was never questioned about it during interviews. One of the W's was during a year where generally my grades were low, and I was asked about that during interviews and was able to explain it (family trauma).

I'm sorry for the loss of your sibling. I think if the loss of your sibling is what you are going to talk about in your personal statement, it wouldn't be a stretch to mention how detrimental the loss was to your grades while grieving. However, if your personal statement is about something else, then it would be something that you should be able to mention in interviews if they ask. I doubt any adcom committee would look down upon Ws in that sort of situation.

 

[Dingo Mango]

If it comes up in an interview/secondary, you shouldn't say it was because your "professor was terrible."
I'm very sorry for your loss, I can't imagine. 🙁

 

[TexasSurgeon]

So i've been getting mixed opinions on this one. Here we go...

During my first year of college I took a W in a science course because the professor was terrible. I repeated this class for a decent grade.

During sophomore year of college my sibling died and I was so traumatized that I had to take two W's in two different science classes. I later repeated these courses for straight A's/A+'s. The last two years of college I was able to maintain a greater than a 3.9 GPA taking difficult science course. My questions is...should I explain these W's in my personal statement? I really don't want to waste space talking about this, but I feel as if adcoms will be curious as to what happened. Any advice on what to do?

I'm so sorry man. You had good reason to take a W so I wouldn't worry that it'll affect you adversely.

 

[Noggin]

Thank you everyone for the wonderful support! I guess I won't bring it up in my app because now I realize that I don't want to bring attention to it. If it comes up in an interview I will address it appropriately.

 

[calimdluv]

I had 3 Ws as well, my reasons were nowhere as legit and heartbreaking as yours and I didn't repeat all of them.
I didn't mention it in my application and no one asked me about them during interviews. I wouldn't worry about your Ws.

Ditto the above comments. Sorry for your loss, I can't imagine losing anyone close to me...

 

[IncognitoGuy]

Some applications will give you room to explain anything you want to ("If there's anything else.." kind of thing). But given your track record of good grades (esp. in more difficult things) and that you don't have a history of Ws, I wouldn't worry about it. Just have explanations ready should they come up during an interview.

 

[addy]

I withdrew from 3 classes, too; no justifications, just hated the classes. Never explained it anywhere in primary or secondary. Never asked about it on interviews. If you wanted to you could talk about what you learned/how you grew from your sibling's death and just throw in there that's why you withdrew from classes. I honestly wouldn't though...here's why...

I had 11 interviews, including Columbia, Dartmouth and Mayo. No one has cared, not even remotely.

Relax and don't look back at it all. No one else will/is.