Should I get a W for this class?

[marielena]

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I took my MCAT recently so for the first month of the semester I was totally locked out of my classes. All my first midterms were the week after my MCAT so I thought I’d be chilling. But the weekend after my MCAT literally all I could do was rot I was just soooo burnt out. Ended up bombing one of the exams, and basically due to how the class is structured, I need a 98 on the other 2 exams to get an A (so basically impossible).

I can try and stay in the class, or I can drop. My only concern is this is my last semester of grades before I apply in May. I’m only taking 13 hours rn, if I drop I’ll be down to 9. Does this look bad? Is having a W the semester before I apply awful? It is a science class but not a pre req (think like zoology/ecology/evolution). I'm worried it might look bad because the other three classes I'm taking are an upper level bio, intro creative writing, and a co-op volunteer type class, and it'll look like I can't handle academics or smth. I don’t have any other drops on my uni transcript, I do have a W from a math class I was going to take at CC over the summer in 2024 but realized I didn’t actually need the course (so separate transcript and that’s literally the only thing on it lol). My scholarship won't be affected so that's not a factor.

I have a 4.0 rn and some people have said it will look like I'm GPA protecting if they see both of the Ws. Some people are telling me it's fine to have a W, others are telling me it's awful. Idk what to do.

 

[wysdoc]

You don't need all A's. pick yourself up and study for the class!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Review the policies on withdrawing classes and its impact on your graduation. Have you talked with your prehealth advisor?

Does this look bad? Is having a W the semester before I apply awful? It is a science class but not a pre req (think like zoology/ecology/evolution). I'm worried it might look bad because the other three classes I'm taking are an upper level bio, intro creative writing, and a co-op volunteer type class, and it'll look like I can't handle academics or smth.

Let's be honest: you couldn't handle it with MCAT studying.

Your self-worth as an applicant does not hinge on being a 4.0 GPA applicant, especially if you knew many other people employ similar W's to stay a 4.0 applicant (again a couple of W's don't raise concerns, but it doesn't alleviate pressure on all applicants that they have to be "transcript perfect.")

As long as you don't fail this class, a B will be just fine. Years from now, this will be an embarrassing bump that you will advise future premeds about. I doubt it will mess you up with graduating with Latin honors (summa CL). Breathe, and study.

And hope you didn't bomb your MCAT.

 

[marielena]

Review the policies on withdrawing classes and its impact on your graduation. Have you talked with your prehealth advisor?



Let's be honest: you couldn't handle it with MCAT studying.

Your self-worth as an applicant does not hinge on being a 4.0 GPA applicant, especially if you knew many other people employ similar W's to stay a 4.0 applicant (again a couple of W's don't raise concerns, but it doesn't alleviate pressure on all applicants that they have to be "transcript perfect.")

As long as you don't fail this class, a B will be just fine. Years from now, this will be an embarrassing bump that you will advise future premeds about. I doubt it will mess you up with graduating with Latin honors (summa CL). Breathe, and study.

And hope you didn't bomb your MCAT.

It's more about my parents, if I get a B I really won't hear the end of it from them and I'd like to avoid it if at all possible
I'm also worried I might not even get a B based on how this class is going lol

 

[wysdoc]

It's more about my parents, if I get a B I really won't hear the end of it from them and I'd like to avoid it if at all possible
I'm also worried I might not even get a B based on how this class is going lol

I know some parents are like that, but "my parents will be mad" is not a reason to make major academic decisions.

 

[marielena]

I know some parents are like that, but "my parents will be mad" is not a reason to make major academic decisions.

That's a good point
My next exam is before the drop date so I can stay and see how I do on it. But my question is in general how poorly would this be viewed if I do end up dropping?

 

[marielena]

Review the policies on withdrawing classes and its impact on your graduation. Have you talked with your prehealth advisor?



Let's be honest: you couldn't handle it with MCAT studying.

Your self-worth as an applicant does not hinge on being a 4.0 GPA applicant, especially if you knew many other people employ similar W's to stay a 4.0 applicant (again a couple of W's don't raise concerns, but it doesn't alleviate pressure on all applicants that they have to be "transcript perfect.")

As long as you don't fail this class, a B will be just fine. Years from now, this will be an embarrassing bump that you will advise future premeds about. I doubt it will mess you up with graduating with Latin honors (summa CL). Breathe, and study.

And hope you didn't bomb your MCAT.

I spoke with my advisor and there won't be an impact on graduation or anything except my transcript/GPA

 

[Mr.Smile12]

That's a good point
My next exam is before the drop date so I can stay and see how I do on it. But my question is in general how poorly would this be viewed if I do end up dropping?

A dropped class should never be reported on a transcript and has no bearing on your GPA in the end. (TL/DR: no one will ever know.)

 

[marielena]

A dropped class should never be reported on a transcript and has no bearing on your GPA in the end. (TL/DR: no one will ever know.)

Sorry if my wording was unclear, I meant that it's before the deadline to withdraw from the class, so it will appear on my transcript as a W

 

[polymerization]

My read is that you might be feeling some analysis paralysis because all of the options you feel you have access to are unideal and carry significant risk that won't have outcomes you can conceive of until it's too late. You can only actually carry out one of the options, so you're going to be asking yourself the counterfactual/second-guessing yourself regardless of the path you choose.

If you withdraw, you risk schools asking uncomfortable questions, and that is assuming you make it to the point of interviewing. Yes, there is an obvious risk there, not just in terms of being perceived as protecting your GPA, but also in terms of your judgment (i.e., why did you take coursework you knew you didn't have bandwidth for?).

If you stay in the classes and get anything short of an A, you obviously can't maintain your perfect 4.0 which isn't necessarily going to tank your app, but you apparently run the risk of failing or near-failing, which has its own downstream effects on your chances (or not, we don't "know" but we can make educated guesses based on the competition).

Neither option feels good. I wonder if what you are really negotiating here is the realization that you won't graduate with the perfect transcript you spent the last several years building. A wish to unbreak a mirror...you can try to fix it, but you will still see the cracks in the reflection.

T'is what it is. If you've done the math and you know that you cannot mathematically ace those classes, I think it is more psychologically sparing to ask yourself what kind of wound you want to be left to tend after this.

Personally, I would take the W if you know in your heart of hearts that you will likely fail. It will raise questions, no doubt, but failing outright will answer them unfavorably.

PS, you also need to make sure you won't have major issues if you are on financial aid contingent on being a full-time student. You may even have to refund the school unexpectedly. Just an FYI.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Joining with my point: a B is not a failure.

If you get into medical school, check your perfectionism at the door or else it might devour you towards failing out.

 

[LelouchLamperouge]

It's more about my parents, if I get a B I really won't hear the end of it from them and I'd like to avoid it if at all possible
I'm also worried I might not even get a B based on how this class is going lol

Respectfully, your parents were not the ones sitting 8 hours for the MCAT. That is a terrible reason as to why you're worried about getting a B. You are doing well by juggling both school and the MCAT. However, you can still recover. Who knows? What if you get 98 on both exams?