the real down-low on withdrawals

[fish89]

There are a lot of posts here about withdrawals (W's on the transcript). What's the real down-low? There are usually 80% people saying they're ok, and another 20% saying, "oh no, it hurt me." I would like to know, for those of you who have multiple W's, how many interviews have you had? If it has hurt you, then share.

I just dropped Genetics... I saw my grade on my first midterm (a C), I have never scored that low on any midterm, I freaked out and dropped the class immediately. the thing is, I also had a dropped class last quarter - a general education class... what are your thoughts? (And no babying! If you really think that it will hurt me... be mean... say it)...

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[dwc929]

There are a lot of posts here about withdrawals (W's on the transcript). What's the real down-low? There are usually 80% people saying they're ok, and another 20% saying, "oh no, it hurt me." I would like to know, for those of you who have multiple W's, how many interviews have you had? If it has hurt you, then share.

I just dropped Genetics... I saw my grade on my first midterm (a C), I have never scored that low on any midterm, I freaked out and dropped the class immediately. the thing is, I also had a dropped class last quarter - a general education class... what are your thoughts? (And no babying! If you really think that it will hurt me... be mean... say it)...

IDK about multiple withdrawals but I had one and was told it was fine and I don't believe it has hurt me.

 

[Dral]

I had 2 withdrawals on my transcript. One was a physics class I dropped after the first exam to take an easier physics that fulfilled reqs just fine, the second I signed up for and forgot to drop during the normal add/drop period.

Got interviews at Michigan, Penn, Pitt, 5 or so other schools. Currently in third year and doing fine. Don't sweat it imo...just do well in the classes you follow through with and don't have more than a few withdrawals.

 

[AdmiralChz]

You withdrew from a class after getting a C on a midterm??? Weak... you didn't even want to TRY to do better on the next one? All of us have pulled grades out of the abyss like that. Definitely don't mention that in interviews or it will definitely hurt you!

One of my friends with multiple Ws was asked about it at most of his interviews... he seemed to think that his interviewers were less than impressed about it (Ws in intro classes).

At any rate, I'm sure you'll be fine just don't make it a habit !

 

[cubssox2000]

Have 1 W on my transcript as well as a couple of C's. 11 interviews, 2 acceptances.

Having a couple W is not a problem. It becomes a problem if a pattern emerges.

 

[Dilophosaurus]

I had 3 W's on my transcript. I didn't like my teachers and decided that it was more important to learn the material than to not get a W. I took the classes at latter dates and got A's. I'm holding two acceptances.

 

[fish89]

Has anyone had multiple W's and received interviews from top-25 schools?

(thanks for the replies everyone! i'm kind of regretting the drop now. Admiral is right. I could have raised my grade to a B...)

 

[thegetupkid]

just drop and get an A, no biggie.

But, don't make a habit out of it

 

[calnation]

I think the classes matter. For instance if you have a trend of withdrawing from hard classes and then retaking them it won't look good. But if you have a withdrawal here or there from low unit GE courses then I can't imagine anybody looking twice at it.

 

[SiR99]

This is what I was told by an Adcom

W's will start to hurt you if you take a class and drop it and then take the same class again and drop it again.

This is because when you start seeing a trend like that it is more likely to be something you are doing wrong rather then some random bad luck you had during that quarter (random bad luck is understandable and Adcoms understand that pre-meds are only human).

If you take a class and drop it the first time only to retake it and get a B or better, then nobody is counting W's.

 

[AdmiralChz]

Fish - my friend still had quite a few top-25 interviews, 1 acceptance in that range and waiting to hear from 3 more post-interview

 

[virusgirl]

One, or even two, withdrawals is not the end of the world. I have two, and I still managed to get 8 allopathic interviews and 4 osteopathic. The thing about having lots of them -- beyond establishing an unfavorable pattern, which has already been discussed -- is that they begin to impact your AMCAS GPA.

Your W after getting a C was sort of jumping the gun, but whatever. Move on. I don't think it will affect you much, if at all.

 

[NotForTheMoney]

what if one was to have around 10 W's but due to hurricanes and being homeless/and etc(life changing events such as katrina?) went from being homeless to moving to places to places every other week? but gpa is great and mcat score is great? or do the medical school only look at your papers but not the person's life experience?

 

[richse]

The time between your W and application period have a lot to do with how much it can hurt you. If you got a W or 2 during freshman or sophomore year it will probably not be a big deal as long as you can explain. On the other hand, I was specifically told at 2 interviews that a single recent (last year and a half of school) W was a huge red flag. I had a good reason and thus it was over looked but I suspect some of my rejections may be due to adcoms not getting to hear my explanation and just screening me on the W.

 

[richse]

what if one was to have around 10 W's but due to hurricanes and being homeless/and etc(life changing events such as katrina?) went from being homeless to moving to places to places every other week? but gpa is great and mcat score is great? or do the medical school only look at your papers but not the person's life experience?

I imagine that would be completely covered in your PS and not likely to kill your app.

 

[virusgirl]

what if one was to have around 10 W's but due to hurricanes and being homeless/and etc(life changing events such as katrina?) went from being homeless to moving to places to places every other week? but gpa is great and mcat score is great? or do the medical school only look at your papers but not the person's life experience?

Hmm... I'm not sure how things work with that many withdrawals. It seems odd to me that if your school was sufficiently disrupted by hurricanes that people were homeless, they wouldn't be able to do better by you than slap you with a bunch of Ws. But, it's irrelevant at this point.

I would either contact schools directly to see how they would handle such an application, or go on some of the school-specific threads and see how holistic admissions are for that school. Some places are very number-centric, and unfortunately won't care about your personal circumstances. Others are much more accomodating. Tulane is the first place that comes to mind -- not only do they have a reputation for looking beyond the numbers, but they're obviously aware of the huge toll Katrina took on some students. BU also claims to be "holistic" according to my advisor, but I'm not sure I believe them yet (I'll be more inclined to when/if they accept me in March!)

 

[TehDoc]

Stereotypical premed. Good job dropping a class after one test.