Getting a W in grad school?

[psybee]

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Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone has expereince or knowledge about what it would mean to have a W on your grad school transcript? I have a 4.0, pubs, great externships, I have really been doing well in school, and if I do withdraw I intend to retake this class, but I have a major exam tomorrow, major research and clinical commitments with deadlines approaching, and I have had a traumatic expereince and am really having some trouble right now, especially with concentration and sleep. I've emailed the professor so we'll see if I can have an extension, but I am worried about failing a test that I know I would normally ace and moreso about about something that is happeing right now that I know will get better impacting my career long term, be it a C or a W.

Many thanks!

 

[Ollie123]

Sorry to hear about your difficulties.

I'm also in the process of withdrawing from a class. It was an elective statistics course, and it would have required 20+ hours a week just to pass the course. Absolutely not worth the time.

I was encouraged to withdraw by my DCT. I was basically told no one will ever see your transcripts aside from internships, they will only really look at clinically-based courses (I'm not sure what you are dropping), post-docs and beyond just care about your pub record and reputation in the field, and are unlikely to even ask for your transcript beyond needing to confirm you actually have a degree.

I wouldn't worry about a single W. Grades are relatively unimportant to begin with, so I find it hard to believe anyone would care.

 

[psybee]

Thanks so much for your response! It's neuro. I love neuro and will take it next year, but it's a test on 16+ chapters and I just don't know if I can do it right now. I also have a major rsh deadline and I just feel like
it's between just powering through and treating myself like crap and not doing well on any of my committments or processing things and at least ending the week feeling like I did justice to the manuscript. I have trouble imaging everything else I've worked so hard on and feel like I've done well on will be overshadowed by a W in a class that I'll get an A in (next year).

Good luck yourself!

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Always remember, B = Ph.D.

A "W" would, in my opinion, likely look better on your transcript than a failing grade. Even then, I wouldn't imagine that a C or below would significantly impact your career, especially if you were to retake the class and pass. It seems that in most instances, grades tend only to matter in terms of your status in the graduate school (i.e., fail twice and you're no longer a graduate student).

That being said, a "W" is the better of the two alternatives.