omg...please help -dropping courses

[basketball]

Hello

i am thinking of dropping a course (4/5 full load) and I was wondeirng how this would look in my transcript... i am a freshman

Is this really bad?? i did bad on my midterm, and its gonna lower my average like crazy. I will be taking a course in the summer though, so is this going to help?? Its gonna lower my average by like 5 % so its worth dropping right? it says "penalty period 1 begins" but not sure what this means... PLEASE help me !! thanks

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[jad2121]

Hello

i am thinking of dropping a course (4/5 full load) and I was wondeirng how this would look in my transcript... i am a freshman

Is this really bad?? i did bad on my midterm, and its gonna lower my average like crazy. I will be taking a course in the summer though, so is this going to help?? Its gonna lower my average by like 5 % so its worth dropping right? it says "penalty period 1 begins" but not sure what this means... PLEASE help me !! thanks

dude drop it like its hot.

always withdraw instead of getting a bad grade. There are all sorts of reasons why you may have had to drop, but there is no explaining away a C (or if you can its harder).

 

[Bacchus]

This is a touchy subject. You should consult your pre-medical advisors about the pros and cons. Additionally reference your handbook or registrar's office about the "punishment" for dropping at this point in time. Drop/Add is over for every school since its "later" in the semester. That being said, here are a few items that may be prevalent.

A significant amount of W's can show immaturity. You're taking on the big classes and not following through, dropping them when the going gets tough. If this is one of very few withdrawals you'll be alright.

A W is better than getting a horrible grade (D or F). However, plenty of people have gotten into medical school with B's and C's (WOW! Sorry.).

If this class is a pre-req you're going to have to take it eventually anyway.

When you retake the course you need to do well.

Have a reason for withdrawing, even if you are never asked why.

Make sure the course doesn't affect upcoming coursework. Withdrawing from chem 101 is going to not allow you to take 102 or organic.

Good luck with your decision and talk it over with a professional at your school.

 

[Jolie South]

I agree with a lot of what ahaydt said.

If it's a required course, you will have to re-take it eventually anyways, and a B or C isn't the end of the world.

Is it possible to study like heck and pull your grade up by the end of the semester? That might be the best option.

I'm not sure that a W would even look better than a D or F, especially if the reason behind it is that you were going to fail. I have one D in a pre-req and it wasn't a deal breaker for me in my applications.

 

[shippudenfan]

100% agree with JolieSouth. If you buckle down and study for this course like its the MCAT, then you should be able to pull through now and may not have to take it again. A W is waaay to hard to explain, and taking a summer course will NOT make up for it.

Go see the prof and ask 1) what kind of mistakes you made on the midterm, 2) how to improve.

Did you study as hard as possible for the midterm?

 

[dienekes88]

100% agree with JolieSouth. If you buckle down and study for this course like its the MCAT, then you should be able to pull through now and may not have to take it again. A W is waaay to hard to explain, and taking a summer course will NOT make up for it.

Go see the prof and ask 1) what kind of mistakes you made on the midterm, 2) how to improve.

Did you study as hard as possible for the midterm?

The best thing to do is to buckle down and study study study. Wreck the next midterm and ace the final. I had a D in Multivariable Calculus after the first midterm. Maybe I should've dropped it, but I finished up with a B. Not great, but not bad. I don't think you'll ever have to explain a B.

Having said that, I have a "W" on my transcript. I had a great explanation, though. I was hit by a car.

I think you'll be given some space to move, because you're a freshman. You can say that you were just a little overly ambitious, and it didn't make sense to take the class at the expense of pursuing something else that you were passionate about, e.g. volunteering...

 

[deuce924]

Hello

i am thinking of dropping a course (4/5 full load) and I was wondeirng how this would look in my transcript... i am a freshman

Is this really bad?? i did bad on my midterm, and its gonna lower my average like crazy. I will be taking a course in the summer though, so is this going to help?? Its gonna lower my average by like 5 % so its worth dropping right? it says "penalty period 1 begins" but not sure what this means... PLEASE help me !! thanks

I agree with what everyone said towards you dropping the class but I have a question. If you are using a 4.0 scale than dropping your average 5% would be dropping your GPA .2, correct? I wouldn't consider that "lowering your average like crazy". Do what you will but I think if you buckled down you could defintiely bring up your grade and avoid having to retaking the class or receiving a W.

 

[RelativeRisk]

Since you're a freshman, as long as you pull it together for your other, more difficult, higher-level pre-reqs, you'll be fine. So I think it comes down to convenience... if you finish the class, even if you have a bad grade, you can keep going with the next course in the sequence. If you take the W, then you're stuck waiting another semester (possibly a year if the scheduling doesn't work out) to finish that class before moving on to the next one in the sequence. So... I would say buckle down, talk to the prof, study hard, and finish the course.

 

[jad2121]

you guys are crazy, a W is better than even a B. He's just a freshman so he can retake it. If they ask him he can always say that his uncle died or something.

 

[Jolie South]

you guys are crazy, a W is better than even a B. He's just a freshman so he can retake it. If they ask him he can always say that his uncle died or something.

sure, he could, but would that teach the OP study skills or to dig himself out of a similar hole in the future?

The OP can't drop every class that he thinks he his doing badly in.

 

[RelativeRisk]

you guys are crazy, a W is better than even a B. He's just a freshman so he can retake it. If they ask him he can always say that his uncle died or something.

1) hehe. yikes!

2) yeah, he's a freshman, so he can explain away a B. one B isn't going to kill his gpa, and if he takes the W he'll have to wait even longer to get his pre-reqs done. i figure you can explain away either, but taking a W just throws a wrench in the whole pre-med sequence.

 

[Jolie South]

2) yeah, he's a freshman, so he can explain away a B. one B isn't going to kill his gpa, and if he takes the W he'll have to wait even longer to get his pre-reqs done. i figure you can explain away either, but taking a W just throws a wrench in the whole pre-med sequence.

i agree with this.

also, if he takes the W, how will his uncle's death explain the A's he got in his other classes? the two don't jibe. he was grieving enough to drop one class, but not enough to do badly in the others?

 

[futuredrcrawfor]

i agree with this.

also, if he takes the W, how will his uncle's death explain the A's he got in his other classes? the two don't jibe. he was grieving enough to drop one class, but not enough to do badly in the others?

I agree with this- however, I dropped a class last semester (as a junior) when I got diagnosed with a chronic disease. I ended up with a 4.0

So just remember taking one bit of stress out of life can result in a better GPA- I got rid of Micro to and just did Orgo 2, Physics, gen ed, and research. Had I stuck with Micro I know my Orgo grade would have suffered because I would be more stressed and not have time while managing the disease.

 

[basketball]

thanks for all of the info!! Ok so my gpa was a 4.0 in my first semester and this semester, i was doing very well until i got my midterm back for a health 101 course... because i am in science, i dont really need to take this course...

i got a 75% on the midterm... and I was shocked... and it was worth 33% of my mark... so the highest i can get is 91-92.%....(I studied really hard for that test also) I asked my advisor and he said this course will appear as a W in my transcript...

so i should drop it right?? I'll be taking another course in the summer anyways. THANKS

 

[Jolie South]

thanks for all of the info!! Ok so my gpa was a 4.0 in my first semester and this semester, i was doing very well until i got my midterm back for a health 101 course... because i am in science, i dont really need to take this course...

i got a 75% on the midterm... and I was shocked... and it was worth 33% of my mark... so the highest i can get is 91-92.%....(I studied really hard for that test also) I asked my advisor and he said this course will appear as a W in my transcript...

so i should drop it right?? I'll be taking another course in the summer anyways. THANKS

i would not drop it. i would take a hard look at how you're studying as opposed to how much. are you keeping up with the reading/homework? are you attending class every day? are you reviewing lectures after class?

find someone that did well on the test and ask them how they studied. or you could go see the professor. attend office hours and find out what you're doing wrong.

A "B" is not the end of the world. Many people accepted to med school have Bs. I think it would be much more valuable to stick out the class and try to do better. As a freshman, you are still adjusting to college and how courses work. Once you have it down, you will be able to well.

You cannot drop every class that you think you will not do well in. There are courses that are more difficult than others. Do your best, and unless this is a trend in all classes, a few scattered Bs will not hurt you.

 

[SStorm]

If it's not a pre-req, you might be fine. If you do withdraw, taking it again and rocking the class (if you can fit it into your schedule) would mitigate the W.

Then again, I had an unexplained W on my transcript. Hell, it was an upper-level bacteriology course and I never took it again and no med school even batted an eye about it. But that was my only W during undergrad. And before anyone asks, I dropped it because I started it, realized it was too early in the morning, and stopped going to class and forgot to drop it until I looked at my schedule one day and realized that it was still there. That was really stupid of me.

 

[deuce924]

Sounds to me like they are waiting for someone to tell them that dropping it is the right thing to do. There are plenty of reasons to stay in the class but obviously you want to drop it.

 

[basketball]

i would not drop it. i would take a hard look at how you're studying as opposed to how much. find someone that did well on the test and ask them how they studied.

or you could go see the professor. attend office hours and find out what you're doing wrong.

A "B" is not the end of the world. Many people accepted to med school have Bs. I think it would be much more valuable to stick out the class and try to do better. As a freshman, you are still adjusting to college and how courses work. Once you have it down, you will be able to well.

You cannot drop every class that you think you will not do well in. There are courses that are more difficult than others. Do your best, and unless this is a trend in all classes, a few scattered Bs will not hurt you.

Is a W really bad?? I have a reason for it because I can say "ithought this course was required but it wasnt so i dropped it" or something lol

 

[Jolie South]

Is a W really bad?? I have a reason for it because I can say "ithought this course was required but it wasnt so i dropped it" or something lol

a W is probably not really bad in and of itself. to me personally, it just seems like taking the easy way out instead of learning how to succeed. you're always going to be faced with difficult courses. you just need to learn how to tackle the material in an effective way.

 

[basketball]

a W is probably not really bad in and of itself. to me personally, it just seems like taking the easy way out instead of learning how to succeed. you're always going to be faced with difficult courses. you just need to learn how to tackle the material in an effective way.

arggg ok... if I get a W, I wont be eligible for the dean's list right? does this even matter if my gpa is 4.0?? omg i dont know what to do!! WHY DID I EVEN TAKE THIS COURSE ahhhhh

 

[notdeadyet]

arggg ok... if I get a W, I wont be eligible for the dean's list right? does this even matter if my gpa is 4.0?? omg i dont know what to do!! WHY DID I EVEN TAKE THIS COURSE ahhhhh

Chill out. And you're asking very school-specific questions. Ask your school about your dean's list. Ask your school about penalty phase 1.

Plenty of people get to medical school with C's on their transcripts. Plenty of people get to medical school with W's. This is not a big deal but panic has a way of making problems snowball so take a deep breath.

And no one will really care about the dean's list. Except for maybe your mom. Mom's dig that kind of thing.

 

[Jolie South]

arggg ok... if I get a W, I wont be eligible for the dean's list right? does this even matter if my gpa is 4.0?? omg i dont know what to do!! WHY DID I EVEN TAKE THIS COURSE ahhhhh

notdeadyet is right in many ways.

dean's list. . .doesn't really matter. the gpa you finish college with does.
a w is not that bad. . .many people have gotten into school with a W.
a d or an f is not that bad. . .many people have gotten into school with one or the other.
also, you do not need a 4.0 to get into med school.

I mentioned staying in the course because you are a freshman. you're new to college. people make mistakes. you are still adapting. it's ok. my intent wasn't to make you panic or feel bad about yourself. i'm sorry if i made you feel that way. take the advice i gave above and work really hard. do everything possible to get the B or C. this one grade will not kill you.

if you decide to take the w, that's fine, but you will have to retake the course if it's required and there is the possibility that you will face another equally challenging class in the future. also, you might be out some tuition money.