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[Virginger]

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I am trying to figure out how to put a positive spin on my W for calculus this spring. I do not have an Ws on my record, so its a first 😳 ... but I worry that it will look poorly and make it seem that I can manage my time effectively... which vet school will be all about.

I started off this semester taking 14 credits (Human Anatomy and Physiology, 4 credits, Calculus I, 4, Public Speaking, 3, Marine Environmental Science, 3) and working 5 days a week (~38 hours/week).

Since I was earning a B in Calculus (there is no 3.5, only 3.0 or 4.0) I didnt want to hurt my GPA (specifically my Sci GPA), so I withdrew. I feel that since math is consistently my weak point, I needed to earn an A to demonstrate that I have the ability to perform well in mathematics (my previous math grades are not Bs... 😱).

Since withdrawing, I still work 5 days a week, take 10 credits hovering in the As (I need to tighten up my study habit w marine sci, but its soo impossibly boring 😴), and now volunteer 6-8 hours a week doing therapeutic horseback riding.

I am really worried that its not going to look good. Is there anything I should be doing to make up for this?

I was thinking about stating that I need to work as much as I do to pay the bills and that I felt that the course deserved my full attention.... but I think that just doesnt sound good 😡 and I am working my but off and I honestly dont want to take the course (ever) because I dont want to reapply to the schools that require it...

any suggestions would be much appreciated 🙂

 

[Fireflysushi]

I am trying to figure out how to put a positive spin on my W for calculus this spring. I do not have an Ws on my record, so its a first 😳 ... but I worry that it will look poorly and make it seem that I can manage my time effectively... which vet school will be all about.

I started off this semester taking 14 credits (Human Anatomy and Physiology, 4 credits, Calculus I, 4, Public Speaking, 3, Marine Environmental Science, 3) and working 5 days a week (~38 hours/week).

Since I was earning a B in Calculus (there is no 3.5, only 3.0 or 4.0) I didnt want to hurt my GPA (specifically my Sci GPA), so I withdrew. I feel that since math is consistently my weak point, I needed to earn an A to demonstrate that I have the ability to perform well in mathematics (my previous math grades are not Bs... 😱).

Since withdrawing, I still work 5 days a week, take 10 credits hovering in the As (I need to tighten up my study habit w marine sci, but its soo impossibly boring 😴), and now volunteer 6-8 hours a week doing therapeutic horseback riding.

I am really worried that its not going to look good. Is there anything I should be doing to make up for this?

I was thinking about stating that I need to work as much as I do to pay the bills and that I felt that the course deserved my full attention.... but I think that just doesnt sound good 😡 and I am working my but off and I honestly dont want to take the course (ever) because I dont want to reapply to the schools that require it...

any suggestions would be much appreciated 🙂

I had two W's on my transcript. I don't think it's looked on that poorly. Are you retaking that class? Just explain that you need to work to pay the bills and though you weren't doing poorly in the class you didn't think that your B average truel represented your comprehension of the subject matter.

 

[TigerWillow]

I had two Ws in the same year in the same course (curse you ochem B), and that year absolutely sucked my gpa into an abyss. However I got an A in ochem B when i finally kept at it. When I was asked about that year in my interview, I had an excellent explanation (had to deal with my parents losing their jobs and I had to work a lot more just to stay in that particular school, let alone deal with difficult classes). Just the thought of having to change schools was extremely stressful in itself.

It must have been a sufficient answer bc I got in! Everyone makes Ws the End of you Career, but as long as you dont get more than 2, I'd say your ok.

 

[Virginger]

I had two Ws in the same year in the same course (curse you ochem B), and that year absolutely sucked my gpa into an abyss. However I got an A in ochem B when i finally kept at it. When I was asked about that year in my interview, I had an excellent explanation (had to deal with my parents losing their jobs and I had to work a lot more just to stay in that particular school, let alone deal with difficult classes). Just the thought of having to change schools was extremely stressful in itself.

It must have been a sufficient answer bc I got in! Everyone makes Ws the End of you Career, but as long as you dont get more than 2, I'd say your ok.

I had two W's on my transcript. I don't think it's looked on that poorly. Are you retaking that class? Just explain that you need to work to pay the bills and though you weren't doing poorly in the class you didn't think that your B average truel represented your comprehension of the subject matter.

Thanks 🙂

I am trying to prepare a follow up letter to my school of interest for the end of semester as an update. I know they will see that I have a W if I send them my spring transcripts, so I want to clarify why it is there, that it is not a bad thing, and that it was not a result of poor grades (but i dont know if telling them I was earning a B will seem legitimate from them because they have no way of validating it, but i will try to convey it as best as possible)

 

[breenie]

They don't care about a single W. I wouldn't even bother with a letter about it.

I had a W when I applied (dropped a really stupid class I hated), and a second one by the time I finished school (dropped a really stupid class I was too lazy to take with an acceptance already in hand).

Don't even give it a second thought or tell them what you were getting. That's kinda weird. I'm sure you're great. No need to convince them.

 

[Chinola]

Thanks 🙂

I am trying to prepare a follow up letter to my school of interest for the end of semester as an update. I know they will see that I have a W if I send them my spring transcripts, so I want to clarify why it is there, that it is not a bad thing, and that it was not a result of poor grades (but i dont know if telling them I was earning a B will seem legitimate from them because they have no way of validating it, but i will try to convey it as best as possible)

I had 1 or 2 Ws and a C- on my transcript. I got in on my first try to multiple schools (I also got rejected from multiple schools!). Having a W isn't that big of a deal. I never addressed it and I was never asked about it in my interviews.

 

[katsmiaow]

FWIW, I think it's commendable that you are able to work 5 days a week, volunteer, and still maintain your grades around A's in 4 subjects. I don't think people would fault you for being realistic in that taking a fifth subject you were overloaded, to the detriment of your other grades. If you were questioned about it, you can easily say that you wanted to do a good job with your math course, and you felt that you really didn't have the time to show that you could do this. The reality is that people have to work to support themselves, and the fact that you are able to do all of these extra things is a big positive.

 

[Emiloo4]

They don't care about a single W. I wouldn't even bother with a letter about it.

I had a W when I applied (dropped a really stupid class I hated), and a second one by the time I finished school (dropped a really stupid class I was too lazy to take with an acceptance already in hand).

Don't even give it a second thought or tell them what you were getting. That's kinda weird. I'm sure you're great. No need to convince them.

I agree with this. I had a W on my transcript but made no mention about it anywhere in my application. It came up in 1 of my 4 interviews and I explained what happened. But until it's brought up, I wouldn't worry about one W. If you had 4 or 5, you might have some splanin to do!

 

[nyanko]

To be honest, I assume somebody is doing worse in a class than a B if they ended up with a W in it. To put a different spin on things, if I were an adcom member I'd question whether you would want to "give up" if you weren't getting A's in vet school.

 

[Katie8]

To be honest, I assume somebody is doing worse in a class than a B if they ended up with a W in it. To put a different spin on things, if I were an adcom member I'd question whether you would want to "give up" if you weren't getting A's in vet school.

I'm going to have to agreed with nyanko on this one. This might be a bit blunt, but dropping something because you didn't want a "B", I don't think will get you much sympathy with admissions. Dropping it because you knew you would have difficulty maintaining your GPA at the level you wanted with your work schedule is more understandable. For the record, I don't think adcoms will know what your almost grade was. I dropped biochem the first time I took it, took a straight 0.0, not even a W. Retook it and got a 4.0. I had some "extenuating circumstances" but it's still possible to get accepted to vet school with a w. I wouldn't over stress about it, but if you do chose to bring it up then admissions committees are going to want to know why.

 

[DVMDream]

I had one W on my transcript as well; it was my senior year, last semester and that dropped me down to taking only 10 credit hours. I really had a hard time deciding to drop this class and the full story can be read here:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=704327

As you can tell, I was really nervous about dropping the class and having a W.

In my 3 interviews this year only 1 school asked about it. I simply told them that due to inclement weather I was unable to make it to school on the day of the first exam. I informed them that the exam was a huge part of the grade (It would have been a struggle to get a C in the course) and based off recommendations from the professors I decided it was best to drop the class. They asked no further questions and laughed about how I was taking a severe weather class in the same semester where severe weather impacted my life in some aspect. 🙂

I am now waitlisted at the school...

As long as you have a reasonable explanation for dropping you should be ok. Also, it is NEVER anyone else's fault! That was the hardest explanation on my part for my W. It was not my fault that I had to drop and the professor was an ass, but I was not about to rant about the professor in my interview. I just simply stated that based off the recommendation from the professor we came to a mutual agreement that it was probably best that I drop the course. Simple. No blame no complaining.

 

[Virginger]

To be honest, I assume somebody is doing worse in a class than a B if they ended up with a W in it. To put a different spin on things, if I were an adcom member I'd question whether you would want to "give up" if you weren't getting A's in vet school.

I am def not detoured by not getting As, as my GPA shows ... but looking at my stats, I have poor odds of getting in ... I have seen some people with success with scores that are within arms reach, so every grade counts as far I am concerned.

I have been working hard to bump my GPA up a full 0.1 since graduating last spring (no small feat when I have 120 credits done prior to that). I should be able to get it up to a 3.3-3.5 if I 4.0 the semester now.

Getting a B in chem II last fall dropped my sci GPA by 0.01, but if I had gotten a 4.0 it would have increased by 0.1! I cant have my sci GPA move in the wrong direction I have been working too hard. Calc would do the same thing 🙁

I have to admit that I have an excel sheet with all my grades calculated for the various GPAs in which I test out specific grade outcomes. I am 99.9% sure my spread sheet is right. ...My love of excel to compensate for my crappy math skills



Once again everyone, thank you for the input 🙂 I just want to try to secure any opportunity to bump myself off the waitlist if i can and/or at least make myself better for next cycle.

 

[Virginger]

I had one W on my transcript as well; it was my senior year, last semester and that dropped me down to taking only 10 credit hours. I really had a hard time deciding to drop this class and the full story can be read here:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=704327

As you can tell, I was really nervous about dropping the class and having a W.

In my 3 interviews this year only 1 school asked about it. I simply told them that due to inclement weather I was unable to make it to school on the day of the first exam. I informed them that the exam was a huge part of the grade (It would have been a struggle to get a C in the course) and based off recommendations from the professors I decided it was best to drop the class. They asked no further questions and laughed about how I was taking a severe weather class in the same semester where severe weather impacted my life in some aspect. 🙂

I am now waitlisted at the school...

As long as you have a reasonable explanation for dropping you should be ok. Also, it is NEVER anyone else's fault! That was the hardest explanation on my part for my W. It was not my fault that I had to drop and the professor was an ass, but I was not about to rant about the professor in my interview. I just simply stated that based off the recommendation from the professor we came to a mutual agreement that it was probably best that I drop the course. Simple. No blame no complaining.

I agree, that is for sure the way to go.

 

[mooshagen]

.

 

[mooshagen]

To be honest, I assume somebody is doing worse in a class than a B if they ended up with a W in it. To put a different spin on things, if I were an adcom member I'd question whether you would want to "give up" if you weren't getting A's in vet school.

I agree. I was pretty surprised to read that a person would drop a class because they were getting a B... I got B's in all my math classes. Is 10 credits full time or part time?

 

[Virginger]

part time

 

[wldlfstdnt]

I am trying to figure out how to put a positive spin on my W for calculus this spring. I do not have an Ws on my record, so its a first 😳 ... but I worry that it will look poorly and make it seem that I can manage my time effectively... which vet school will be all about.

I started off this semester taking 14 credits (Human Anatomy and Physiology, 4 credits, Calculus I, 4, Public Speaking, 3, Marine Environmental Science, 3) and working 5 days a week (~38 hours/week).

Since I was earning a B in Calculus (there is no 3.5, only 3.0 or 4.0) I didnt want to hurt my GPA (specifically my Sci GPA), so I withdrew. I feel that since math is consistently my weak point, I needed to earn an A to demonstrate that I have the ability to perform well in mathematics (my previous math grades are not Bs... 😱).

Since withdrawing, I still work 5 days a week, take 10 credits hovering in the As (I need to tighten up my study habit w marine sci, but its soo impossibly boring 😴), and now volunteer 6-8 hours a week doing therapeutic horseback riding.

I am really worried that its not going to look good. Is there anything I should be doing to make up for this?

I was thinking about stating that I need to work as much as I do to pay the bills and that I felt that the course deserved my full attention.... but I think that just doesnt sound good 😡 and I am working my but off and I honestly dont want to take the course (ever) because I dont want to reapply to the schools that require it...

any suggestions would be much appreciated 🙂

It sounds like you have a lot on your plate. If you had to explain it, which it sounds like everyone is saying you don't, I would not say it was because of a grade of B. I would explain it as you were a full time employee and it was a little over whelming to be a full time student at the same time.

 

[ANY2003]

One W? I had 5 when I applied and I got into Davis my 1st try. Two were in the same class, then when I finally took it, I took it pass/no pass, and it was a required math course! I really wouldn't sweat it too much. It's not like one W is going to make or break your application.

 

[nyanko]

It sounds like you have a lot on your plate. If you had to explain it, which it sounds like everyone is saying you don't, I would not say it was because of a grade of B. I would explain it as you were a full time employee and it was a little over whelming to be a full time student at the same time.

Yeah, that's basically what I was getting at.

 

[Virginger]

Phew! Well then thats good. It makes me feel more confident about my decision then. Thanks!