How bad is a "W" on a transcript?

[Rugger81]

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Does anyone have any idea how bad W's look on transcripts?

 

[skypilot]

One or 2 Ws will not even be noticed on a transcript. If you have 7 to 10 it might generate some questions. 🙂

 

[voltron77]

I had a W and I was never asked about it in any of my interviews. 🙄

 

[MEG@COOL]

If you withdraw from all your classes you will be taking 0 credits.

 

[Rugger81]

I have two:

One was for Gen Biology I - I dropped it junior year because I decided for awhile that I didn't want to go into medicine (I was a chemistry major). I wound up re-taking biology senior year (same school) and got an A in both classes.

The second W was for Spanish. I took advanced spanish comp. and conv. senior year as an overload (extra course) but the professor was giving me C's on my papers even though she was telling me how well I was doing. I decided to give it up rather than take a C on my transcript. I am planning on taking Spanish again at a SUNY this coming spring and have listed it as Current/Future coursework on AMCAS.

I'm going to mention the W's on my essay, but I'm afraid some schools will just use them to exclude me from an interview.

Anyone have any opinions, thoughts, etc? Thanks.

 

[skypilot]

I have two:

I'm going to mention the W's on my essay, but I'm afraid some schools will just use them to exclude me from an interview.

Anyone have any opinions, thoughts, etc? Thanks.

Don't mention the Ws in your essay! You have only two. Nobody will even notice. Your essay should be about much more lofty subjects than making excuses for minor blemishes on your transcript. Like why you will make a great doctor and what inspired you become a doctor. 🙂

 

[IcedCube]

I have two:

One was for Gen Biology I - I dropped it junior year because I decided for awhile that I didn't want to go into medicine (I was a chemistry major). I wound up re-taking biology senior year (same school) and got an A in both classes.

The second W was for Spanish. I took advanced spanish comp. and conv. senior year as an overload (extra course) but the professor was giving me C's on my papers even though she was telling me how well I was doing. I decided to give it up rather than take a C on my transcript. I am planning on taking Spanish again at a SUNY this coming spring and have listed it as Current/Future coursework on AMCAS.

I'm going to mention the W's on my essay, but I'm afraid some schools will just use them to exclude me from an interview.

Anyone have any opinions, thoughts, etc? Thanks.

If you feel its necessary to explain 2 W's in your personal statement, by all means...to me, your 2 W's seem insignificant and an utter waste of character space for your PS

 

[kingcer0x]

You may get asked about the bio W on an interview, but don't include it in your essay. The spanish W isn't important at all really.

Making excuses for W's is a bad idea too. Explain the circumstances surrounding it if asked; it will demonstrate that you are now committed to medicine.

 

[Rugger81]

yeah, maybe i'll avoid mentioning it in the PS.

i just don't want these W's to be a factor in getting interviews.

 

[skypilot]

yeah, maybe i'll avoid mentioning it in the PS.

i just don't want these W's to be a factor in getting interviews.

They won't but your inspiring personal statement will.. 🙂

 

[Premedtomed]

Chill out dude, I have a W as well. It doesn't make a difference. Only if you have more than two Ws then it is a problem.

If aske, just tell them what went wrong. For eg. In my case I dropped the course because I was going to get a real bad grade. The reason being car wreck me and my brother got into. He got a terrible fracture and I ha to make arrangements for taking him to the hospital, see the doctor... The test was right after Spring break and the accident happened on Saturday night around 3 am. Dunno what made us wait so late to get back from Florida to Northern Ky!

Conclusion: things happen, life goes on 😀

 

[Rugger81]

Yeah ok I was just concerned. I read a post somewhere back and somebody said "You'd be better off with a B than a W" which made me think that W's might be considered taboo. But if other people have them too and they got in, I guess it's not as bad as I thought.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

My first Semester of College consisted of 7 W's. And look at my sig.

The question is? What does the rest of the application look like. Is it good enough to extrapolate that the student's excuse for that period of W's is legit?

Good Luck, 👍

 

[chicagohope]

dont sweat it. its nothing if the rest of your grades are good. i went on about 14 interviews and NO one asked me a single thing about my W in OCHEM. Some wierd lady asked me about my SAT scores (??), but nothing about a W. As long as you re-took the class and did decently don't lose sleep over it, just have a simple explanation.

 

[skypilot]

"You'd be better off with a B than a W" which made me think that W's might be considered taboo. But if other people have them too and they got in, I guess it's not as bad as I thought.

There is nothing wrong with B's either. As long as your GPA is high you can get as many B's as you would like!

Like a 3.6 GPA with 5 B's is the equivalent of a 3.6 GPA with no B's. A few Ds and Fs might raise a few questions though! 🙂

 

[Rugger81]

No I wasn't saying anything bad about B's. I was just referring to someone else's post. The point I was trying to make was that some people made it sound like W's were the worst thing to have on a transcript.

Thanks for everyone's advice/opinions.