To drop or not to drop.

[that redhead]

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Hi everyone. I'm in need of some sane advice right now. I'm enrolled in general chemistry II (lecture and lab, separate courses). I'm doing poorly in the lab (current percentage is 55%, although I know don't the class average currently) and my drop/add date is looming. If I drop the lab, I can probably just re-take in the spring but needless to say, I don't want to have to drop if I really don't have to.

I know a lot of advice is just to take the hit (C) and get it done with, but I'm at a 2.965 cumulative and doing my best to prove that I'm no longer the immature college kid I was throughout most of undergrad. I'm hoping the professor grants me a meeting tomorrow to discuss. Do I drop if I can't swing the B, or stick with it and take the C? I should be getting three As and a B in chem lecture, hopefully.

 

[crittergal]

Hi everyone. I'm in need of some sane advice right now. I'm enrolled in general chemistry II (lecture and lab, separate courses). I'm doing poorly in the lab (current percentage is 55%, although I know don't the class average currently) and my drop/add date is looming. If I drop the lab, I can probably just re-take in the spring but needless to say, I don't want to have to drop if I really don't have to.

I know a lot of advice is just to take the hit (C) and get it done with, but I'm at a 2.965 cumulative and doing my best to prove that I'm no longer the immature college kid I was throughout most of undergrad. I'm hoping the professor grants me a meeting tomorrow to discuss. Do I drop if I can't swing the B, or stick with it and take the C? I should be getting three As and a B in chem lecture, hopefully.

IIRC, you've already applied this cycle? If so, I would absolutely contact the schools where you applied. That could make your decision for you. My *only* C in College II, as I affectionately refer to it, was in genchem II. It was my second semester back in the game, and that class was my nemesis! I sympathize completely.

Assuming the schools don't tell you one way or another, I would probably stick it out IF you KNOW you can rock all your other classes. Will dropping the class change your timetable? Will it prevent you from taking something in the spring or will you stay on your preferred schedule? Will it be more difficult for you to explain a W or a C? To some a W means lack of commitment. I'm not saying that is the case here, just something to consider.

Calculate your cGPA with a C for lab and see how much it could hurt. If you have a lot of coursework, B vs. C in lab only will likely not impact *that* much. If you can pull a B or A in lecture, then I'd stick it out. The lecture portion should show the aptitude and the lab will show the stick-to-it-ness.

 

[variegata]

Definitely talk to your professor before you make any final decisions. Your average thus far may be 55%, but if the class average is 62%, you're not far below average and with a little hard work, could probably work your way back up. At my undergrad, the weeder classes were all curved (they were designed to have an average of like 60-65%), so if that's the case at your school, you may not be doing as badly as you think. See what your professor thinks and go from there.

 

[IthacaIsGorges]

Somewhat along the lines... I had a fellow prevet student ask me the other day if she had to inform the schools she applied to this round that she withdrew from a pre-req course (will show up as a W on transcript) that she listed as In progress for this Fall and is going to take it in the spring. I had no idea what the policy is for this, anyone else know?

 

[twelvetigers]

VMCAS has you list all the courses you've ever taken. It has options for both withdraws and retakes, so there is a way to list both dropped courses and ones you are just retaking for a grade improvement.

Now, if I understand correctly, you mean that she dropped the class recently? In that case, many schools want a fall transcript and will see the W on there. The first thing she'll want to check is if the school allows required courses to be taken in the spring. IF they do allow that, she'll need to make absolutely sure she takes the course (obviously, because it's required). There are also some rules about how many pre-reqs can be left to take in the spring: one, two, or more. If it's one, and she already has one pre-req scheduled for the spring... again, not good. So, she needs to look into this information wherever she has applied. She has a computer, right?

 

[IthacaIsGorges]

haha, yea she does have a comp. I did tell her that some schools only allow 1 or 2 courses in the spring, for example I know Ohio only allows 1 pre-req course to be taken in the spring which was the reason I did not apply there 🙁 I'm not sure how many classes she has to take in the spring that are pre-reqs. She just dropped the course this semester so I would hope she already looked into that for her sake! Mainly, I wasn't sure if she should email the schools now. thanks for the info!

 

[twelvetigers]

I'm not sure that emailing the schools would really make any difference one way or the other. I would be prepared to answer questions about it in an interview, perhaps. One W isn't a huge deal... unless it messes up her pre-req schedule.