Those Ws on my transcript..

[JimmyG]

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Hey guys,
I have read more than a couple of times on here applicants mentioning that, unfortunately, they have those Ws on their transcripts when they withdrew from a course. I have read the AMCAS guidelines front to back regarding the possible penalty a W may have on your GPA, and I see nothing. So is it a negative in adcoms eyes when you have a W? What if you retook the class that you got a W in (and the W was when you were a freshman 10 years ago??) What is the negative aspect of a W? 😕

If any of you could clear this up for me, I would appreciate it!!
Thanks!

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

There is no impact on your GPA from having W's. The effect is more intangible... if you constantly have W's on your transcript, you may give the impression that you have a habit of bailing-out when the going gets tough. I did some graduate work in computer science before I decided to finally take the pre-med plunge. I had a number of W's on my transcript (4-6) from those computer science courses... sometimes, taking com sci courses at the graduate level, programming projects were assigned that I simply could not complete within the allowed time frame because I was working full-time - and I had to drop. I certainly wasn't thinking about med school back then!

Anyway, at my interview my W's were mentioned in passing - I explained why I couldn't complete some of the courses - and my explanation seemed reasonable, I guess. The issue wasn't discussed further and I was accepted.

 

[kimmcauliffe]

Ah, the mystique of the 'W'.

It's a case by case thing, from what I can tell. Some students get W's when they drop the class for academic reasons, some for personal. I ended up with a W in Sociology when I was told that I didn't need it anymore.

For the time being, don't sweat it. You'll get the chance to explain if need be.

 

[gardengirl]

One W won't hurt you - especially if you can explain it (like an illness or something). Just as long as it's not a trend I don't think it matters. Others have written about this before and some have even said they weren't even asked about it in interviews. Everyone is different. Don't sweat it.