How bad does 8 Ws look?

[nygiants123]

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I have 8 withdrawals on my transcript from a previous school. This isn't because I couldn't handle the coursework, but I had to help take care of a dying relative during the past few years and it was tough to handle all of the course work I thought I could handle. My grades are otherwise fine. My question is how this will look when I apply to medical school. Will I automatically be weeded out by graduate and medical schools?

 

[Goro]

Ws don't seem to have the lethal power they did when I was in college. One of my friend wanted to apply to SUNY Stony Brook and had a 2 Ws. He was appalled that there was a policy at the time that stated "Ws = F for GPA calculations". At some point in time, this policy disappeared!

I have 8 withdrawals on my transcript from a previous school. This isn't because I couldn't handle the coursework, but I had to help take care of a dying relative during the past few years and it was tough to handle all of the course work I thought I could handle. My grades are otherwise fine. My question is how this will look when I apply to medical school. Will I automatically be weeded out by graduate and medical schools?

 

[theseeker4]

I have 8 withdrawals on my transcript from a previous school. This isn't because I couldn't handle the coursework, but I had to help take care of a dying relative during the past few years and it was tough to handle all of the course work I thought I could handle. My grades are otherwise fine. My question is how this will look when I apply to medical school. Will I automatically be weeded out by graduate and medical schools?

As long as the Ws are over a specific timeframe, and you have subsequent full semesters with good grades and no Ws in the sciences, you shouldn't face more than some questions about what happened. If the Ws are very recent, or you don't have any intensive semesters of science courses since those Ws, you might want to add a semester or two of sciences and rock out A's in them before you apply.

Sorry to hear about your relative.

 

[nygiants123]

Some of the Ws were in the sciences, but I retook them and did well in them. I'll be sure to take some high level science and mathematics classes and ace them. It's not that I'm bad at science by any measure - it was just that my relative was dying and unfortunate circumstances popped up all the time and just killed my grades. The relative in question has now passed away. In spite of the Ws, I was still able to maintain a 3.82 GPA at my former school with 60-something credit hours earned.

 

[Mr Roboto]

If you explain the W's then they won't affect you. That's a perfectly reasonable reason.

 

[dancingmate]

Wow congratulations on that stellar GPA! As the others said, just take some classes over the next couple semesters and do well. I don't think the Ws will affect you. In some secondary applications, you may have the option to share why you got those Ws during that specific time frame. Good luck 🙂

 

[nygiants123]

Thanks for the help, guys. I really appreciated it!

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

It's not pretty and may keep you from the top tier, but you are still very well for mid and low tier programs if you distance those Ws by a couple of years of coursework.

 

[DermViser]

Ws don't seem to have the lethal power they did when I was in college. One of my friend wanted to apply to SUNY Stony Brook and had a 2 Ws. He was appalled that there was a policy at the time that stated "Ws = F for GPA calculations". At some point in time, this policy disappeared!

Which is interesting as SUNY Stony Brook isn't even that great of a school.

 

[nygiants123]

It's not pretty and may keep you from the top tier, but you are still very well for mid and low tier programs if you distance those Ws by a couple of years of coursework.

If my grades are high, why would it keep me from the top tier? I'm guessing that they just accept immaculate records?

 

[Boolean]

If my grades are high, why would it keep me from the top tier? I'm guessing that they just accept immaculate records?

Pretty much. Top tier schools are going to see people with your GPA and higher applying with not a single smudge. Even though your W's are justified, they may wish to lean more towards those without any W's.

 

[nygiants123]

Pretty much. Top tier schools are going to see people with your GPA and higher applying with not a single smudge. Even though your W's are justified, they may wish to lean more towards those without any W's.

Would I have a chance at, say, a UMDNJ, if I kept my grades up for the next few years?

 

[theseeker4]

Would I have a chance at, say, a UMDNJ, if I kept my grades up for the next few years?

You could potentially have a chance anywhere if your MCAT matches your GPA. The problem is, as mentioned before, there are plenty of 3.8/36+ students to fill all the top tier seats several times over. What gives people a good chance at those schools is the ECs in addition to the academic performance. If you have truly amazing ECs, you would still have a chance at the top tier, but the number of W's WILL be a blemish to top schools. For that reason, you would need even better LORs, EC's, etc. to have a good chance than the person with the same GPA and MCAT applying without any W's.

 

[nygiants123]

What about MSTPs (MD/PhD)? That's actually what I'm looking at, since I've been doing undergraduate research at my current school and it's something I'm passionate about.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

If my grades are high, why would it keep me from the top tier? I'm guessing that they just accept immaculate records?

Why? Because they can. Those applicants with immaculate records exist more than you and I would like them to.

 

[mct2762]

I had a similar number of W's, but mine were all from one semester: i had to leave school. It was brought up in my interviews, but they said that my answer showed maturity. So just be prepared to answer why you withdrew! I got in, so it was not a big deal for me. Good luck!

 

[mrh125]

I think Ws are okay if you explain. Incompletes count as Fs (correct me if i'm wrong).

 

[nygiants123]

What about MD/PhD (MSTP) programs? I'm doing research in two labs and will likely continue to do so for the next couple of years at my current school. Will I be screened out of those?

 

[Member011]

What about MD/PhD (MSTP) programs? I'm doing research in two labs and will likely continue to do so for the next couple of years at my current school. Will I be screened out of those?

That's a question best answered by an MD/PhD adcom member like @Fencer
Feel free to check out the Physician scientist threads, too. They will be more helpful during the admissions cycle than the general pre-allo

 

[Fencer]

Every school has a different policy. Some schools care more about W's than others. In general, if you have a good explanation for taking a medical or family leave of absence associated with that event, and subsequently you demonstrate a high GPA, it isn't a big deal. However, as I said, some schools have very poor reasoned policies.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

I have 8 withdrawals on my transcript from a previous school. This isn't because I couldn't handle the coursework, but I had to help take care of a dying relative during the past few years and it was tough to handle all of the course work I thought I could handle. My grades are otherwise fine. My question is how this will look when I apply to medical school. Will I automatically be weeded out by graduate and medical schools?

It makes you a stronger candidate. You're applying to medical school and you had to deal with a sick relative, which gives you a perspective that many other applicants lack. People will obviously spout the same ol' platitudes about perfect transcripts etc, but as a doctor you're helping ppl that were in your (and your relative's) situation. This isn't the NASCAR standings. Illness impacts patients and their families in so many ways.

When ppl get sick, adjustments have to be made and certain tasks have to be put on hold. And if a med school admissions committee isn't understanding of your situation, then they are in the wrong field.

 

[nygiants123]

Should I include this information in an essay on my primary application from AMCAS? I figure that there's no point putting this information on secondaries, because if it's on the primary app and I'm sent a secondary, then they've already seen the essay.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Should I include this information in an essay on my primary application from AMCAS? I figure that there's no point putting this information on secondaries, because if it's on the primary app and I'm sent a secondary, then they've already seen the essay.

I would. As I mentioned before, it'll distinguish you from other candidates.
Moreover, med schools ask about this sort of stuff (i.e. hardships, personal challenges) on the secondaries so they can see if there's any real substance behind those with great stats. And you probably can continue to elaborate on secondaries as well (in addition to other stuff if you feel that it'll help). Obviously, this is just my opinion but please keep in mind that you are applying to medical school, not for a job at an investment firm, so you should feel confident!

 

[CollegeGirl94]

I'm not familiar with Ws. Can you take a W right before the end of a course?

 

[nygiants123]

I'm not familiar with Ws. Can you take a W right before the end of a course?

W is short for "withdrawal." Basically, you drop the class after an add/drop period, but before a certain date. I've never heard of a school where you can drop the class right before the end. There's usually a time frame. An add/drop period, and a date by which you may drop the class, which counts as a W.

 

[CollegeGirl94]

W is short for "withdrawal." Basically, you drop the class after an add/drop period, but before a certain date. I've never heard of a school where you can drop the class right before the end. There's usually a time frame. An add/drop period, and a date by which you may drop the class, which counts as a W.

I see, makes sense, thank you.
We have the same thing, but instead of receiving a W, it's erased completely. It goes up to like half the quarter.