Take the W in physics 2 or C?

[Hopefulpremed123]

Hello everyone,

I need advice regarding what I should do regarding my physics class. Just some background info: I have one W I took my second semester of my freshman year in an English class, and I retook it and got an A.

Now I am a second semester sophomore, and my current load involves ochem2, physics 2, bio 2 and an cross cultural anthropology class. In phyiscs I'm on the border of an B/C so I wasn't sure if I should you know take the C worst case scenario or drop and retake. Overall I have a 3.92 gpa right now.

This is the final semester of physics, and to be honest I don't feel like I learnt much at all this semester. However, there is one more month left and I made it this far with that crazy load and dropping it is disappointing to me. However, I don't know in my scenario which is better a W or a C. I have ONE W before this. I feel like I worked very hard the past two years for my gpa, and I don't really want to see it drop, but I'm not sure at the moment.

Thanks for your help!


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[kamakazi5]

Take the C, your GPA can handle it.

 

[begoood95]

I normally say take the W, but given that you already have one -- and this may be a bit neurotic but -- I think having a record of,

• take X course load, but can't handle it so
• take W, then
• retake and get A

twice would stand to show that you can't handle heavy course loads, and resort to jumping ship. I'm not saying that's the case, but that's what it could look like to adcomms. At this point, work as hard as you can to get a B, and if you get a C, oh well it's not the end of the world! As @kamakazi5 said above, your GPA can handle it -- just don't make the same mistake again.

 

[Hopefulpremed123]

@Goro suggested that W's are not that big of of a deal once in a while.


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[Lucca]

If you had no Ws I would say take the W. In this case, it's not as clear to me.

More importantly, stop taking such overloaded semesters.

 

[Theseus]

I had 3 Ws in total by the time I applied to medical school, and nobody ever asked me about it. High GPA is your priority. Just don't get in the habit and chucking those Ws.

 

[Dagrimsta1]

Take the C IMO. Get that **** over with at the end of the day. Do you really wanna take the course over?

 

[deev04]

Generally I think think taking a W would be better. There are a wider range of reasons ppl take a W (cool research comes up, schools with weird withdrawal policies/deadlines, family problems, etc). Obviously there's some overlap, but I generally think it's not worth the (albeit small) GPA hit. You have a 3.92– nobody is going to wonder if you are using Ws to keep your GPA nice and high (especially with just 2 Ws).

The only variable here is that Physics 2 is a prereq. Do you have time to retake it (especially before taking the MCAT)?

 

[pseud0]

Take the C...did you guys see his 3.92? Why would he take an entire course again over lowering his gpa by a tiny bit? Hes gettint As in everything else! Why do that to yourself

 

[futurephysician57]

If you have a 3.92 take the C bro. It's not worth your time

 

[efle]

overall effect of a 2.0 instead of 4.0 in a 4-credit class for a 120-credit degree: -0.07 off the GPA. That would suck but so would re-taking an entire semester of a prereq. There's no guarantee you'd get an A in round two either.

I'd just bust ass to get back over the threshold to a B

 

[futurephysician57]

Educational videos for college students

Watch this for physics and you'll do well

 

[deev04]

There's no guarantee you'd get an A in round two either.

I'd just bust ass to get back over the threshold to a B

If you can get a B, you should not think twice about taking a W.

Bolded part above is important to consider. Really important. Only you know the ddx on what went wrong this semester (weird tests, bombed a test, physics not your thing, beer, etc.) You are going to need some of this stuff for the MCAT, though, so if it's a problem with not being able to understand some of the fundamental concepts and your schedule has a wide open hole that you were planning on filling with basketweaving, it might be worth a retake.

Any single subject is inherently not super high yield for the MCAT and self studying specific MCAT concepts might be more helpful than a retake. But, it might be worth considering if you feel you need to strengthen your physics foundation (this might not actually be your problem).

 

[Murrrr]

take the C

 

[To be MD]

overall effect of a 2.0 instead of 4.0 in a 4-credit class for a 120-credit degree: -0.07 off the GPA. That would suck but so would re-taking an entire semester of a prereq. There's no guarantee you'd get an A in round two either.

I'd just bust ass to get back over the threshold to a B

Are you serious? That difference in one class is a -.07? Holy $#$k.