W on a transcript

[Ccronen]

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I was wondering about the consequences that one W has on a medical school application. I currently have a 3.8 as a sophomore bio major who has a position in her sorority and volunteers at a clinic and have never had to withdrawal from a class before. I am in a biostats class with a new teacher who has never taught the subject. I thought I would do alright on the first midterm seeing as I had done ok on the homework and in class worksheets. Needless to say I came down with the flu the week of the test and ended up taking it anyway, the test was in incredibly harder than expected (10/28 people got D's and F's) and I now have a D in the class with only one more midterm to go. I'm not sure if it is worth sticking out to see if I can pull it up or withdrawaling now and focusing on my other classes. I have never done so poorly on anything in my life and don't want to regret taking a W if it's going to hurt my chances of getting into med school. Thoughts?

 

[knv2u]

You'll be fine. Most admission committee members probably won't even notice, and if anyone does, I don't see it making a difference. You should withdraw while you can and save your GPA.

 

[Catalystik]

I agree that a W won't hurt you. Just don't use the same strategy too often. A pattern might elicit concern.

 

[13132]

I was wondering about the consequences that one W has on a medical school application. I currently have a 3.8 as a sophomore bio major who has a position in her sorority and volunteers at a clinic and have never had to withdrawal from a class before. I am in a biostats class with a new teacher who has never taught the subject. I thought I would do alright on the first midterm seeing as I had done ok on the homework and in class worksheets. Needless to say I came down with the flu the week of the test and ended up taking it anyway, the test was in incredibly harder than expected (10/28 people got D's and F's) and I now have a D in the class with only one more midterm to go. I'm not sure if it is worth sticking out to see if I can pull it up or withdrawaling now and focusing on my other classes. I have never done so poorly on anything in my life and don't want to regret taking a W if it's going to hurt my chances of getting into med school. Thoughts?

I had two (in elective humanities courses) and got asked about them in an interview. Interestingly, only one of my interviewers out of my 8 interviews asked me about them. She was a student interviewer too... She also asked why I took a summer class at an extension and why my grade in that course (Physics II) was high than Physics I. That was a super fun interview...

Moral of the story...you might get an interviewer who has really scrutinized your transcript, so have a good answer prepared.

 

[lbadams11]

I was wondering about the consequences that one W has on a medical school application. I currently have a 3.8 as a sophomore bio major who has a position in her sorority and volunteers at a clinic and have never had to withdrawal from a class before. I am in a biostats class with a new teacher who has never taught the subject. I thought I would do alright on the first midterm seeing as I had done ok on the homework and in class worksheets. Needless to say I came down with the flu the week of the test and ended up taking it anyway, the test was in incredibly harder than expected (10/28 people got D's and F's) and I now have a D in the class with only one more midterm to go. I'm not sure if it is worth sticking out to see if I can pull it up or withdrawaling now and focusing on my other classes. I have never done so poorly on anything in my life and don't want to regret taking a W if it's going to hurt my chances of getting into med school. Thoughts?

Take the W. Look at it this way, whether you get a D or a W, it may require an explanation on your medical school application. The only difference is that the W won't harm your GPA.

I took a W in biochem my senior year (for good reason, but still) and wasn't asked about it in any interviews. However, I did explain the W in most of my secondaries if they gave you the opportunity to add anything else about your grades. I was told by some people not to do that as it calls attention to the W, but I decided that I'd rather explain it in my own words rather than leave it up to chance that they wouldn't notice. Up to you to make the decision but it worked out for me.

Whatever you decide, just make sure you have a plausible explanation that includes more than "the tests were hard." They don't want to hear that. If you are asked, take responsibility for it and tell them what you learned from the experience. No excuses.

 

[Cinabonchik]

I had two Ws on my transcript, it didn't seem to affect me!

 

[ruedjgtc]

Don't worry about it, just don't make it a habit. I had a W, I forgot what class it was, I just wasn't interested in it and missed the drop period. I wasn't a premed at the time so I didn't really care (whoops).

Anyways, just qualify why it happened, like Ibadams11 had already mentioned.

 

[Ccronen]

Take the W. Look at it this way, whether you get a D or a W, it may require an explanation on your medical school application. The only difference is that the W won't harm your GPA.

I took a W in biochem my senior year (for good reason, but still) and wasn't asked about it in any interviews. However, I did explain the W in most of my secondaries if they gave you the opportunity to add anything else about your grades. I was told by some people not to do that as it calls attention to the W, but I decided that I'd rather explain it in my own words rather than leave it up to chance that they wouldn't notice. Up to you to make the decision but it worked out for me.

Whatever you decide, just make sure you have a plausible explanation that includes more than "the tests were hard." They don't want to hear that. If you are asked, take responsibility for it and tell them what you learned from the experience. No excuses.

Thank you!
My pre-health advisor essentially said the same thing. She told me that if they asked to explain that I didn't feel as if I could succeed to the best of my ability in the class for various internal and external circumstances so I decided to take it at a better time. I am just obviously paranoid that it will hurt my applications, but I guess with my other experiences, gpa, and good letters of rec it shouldn't matter.

 

[Catalystik]

My pre-health advisor essentially said the same thing. She told me that if they asked to explain that I didn't feel as if I could succeed to the best of my ability in the class for various internal and external circumstances . . .

Citing the medical issues is a good enough reason.

 

[OneDayDoctor]

Just so this is clear.... Clearly 1 or 2 Ws won't hurt, but surely you don't address this on the app or secondaries? Only if they ask in interviews? I don't see one W being worth the space on a page.

 

[lbadams11]

Just so this is clear.... Clearly 1 or 2 Ws won't hurt, but surely you don't address this on the app or secondaries? Only if they ask in interviews? I don't see one W being worth the space on a page.

I addressed it on the secondaries only when there was an allotted space for grades that you wanted to explain. Because mine was in biochemistry, which is relevant to med school, I felt like it required an explanation. If it was something random like film theory, I probably wouldn't have.

I wasn't asked about it in interviews. But I don't know if that's due to no one caring about it or due to the fact that they already had an explanation in the app.

 

[OneDayDoctor]

I addressed it on the secondaries only when there was an allotted space for grades that you wanted to explain. Because mine was in biochemistry, which is relevant to med school, I felt like it required an explanation. If it was something random like film theory, I probably wouldn't have.

I wasn't asked about it in interviews. But I don't know if that's due to no one caring about it or due to the fact that they already had an explanation in the app.

Seems some adcom or expert advice is needed!

 

[Catalystik]

Just so this is clear.... Clearly 1 or 2 Ws won't hurt, but surely you don't address this on the app or secondaries? Only if they ask in interviews? I don't see one W being worth the space on a page.

I agree that 1-2 Ws aren't worth explaining in an essay. A semester's worth or more: then an explanation is a good idea.

 

[OneDayDoctor]

I agree that 1-2 Ws aren't worth explaining in an essay. A semester's worth or more: then an explanation is a good idea.

Awesome! Thanks a bunch.

 

[Pose]

You got your answers already, but may as well add my anecdote. I had a W in a pre-req, and a couple others throughout the years. I didn't explain, and wasn't asked. Just be ready to explain in case you're asked.