What would be looked upon as worse ...

[MaybePharmacist]

What do you think would be looked upon as being worse by pharmacy schools: passing a class with possibly a C or dropping that class with a "W" and then taking it later (and possibly getting a better grade)? Any ideas? Thank you.

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[Passion4Sci]

Option 1 - A possible C.

Option 2 - A for-sure W, and another possible C, or worse.

If your transcript is not fraught with Cs, one won't kill you. Likewise with a W but remember, there's no guarantee you'll do better the next term, and you might do worse. Then you'd have a W and a possibly worse grade. The nested assumption is, of course, that you'd do worse next term but I'm not a gambling man. I'd take the C and move on and improve on whatever I was lacking in that caused my C.

 

[MaybePharmacist]

I appreciate your opinion so thank you. However, I am unfortunately not one of those people that can afford another not so great grade. I think the reason I'm having so many issues with this class is because it's been compressed into 4 weeks and I just don't have the capability to remember the huge amount of information that's required (it's a summer Anatomy course). The reason I'm considering dropping it is because I feel as though I can do much better in this class than I currently am. I understand what I'm learning, but I just don't have enough time to do what I need to do in order to succeed.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Then take the W and, at all costs, get a B or an A in the class next term. One or two Ws won't kill you either, so if you don't have one (or you only have one) so far, you'll be fine.

 

[Hels2007]

Don't withdraw unless you have a damn good reason for that. Because you will be asked about why you withdrew from the class. In pharmacy school, you won't be able to drop and retake a class without loosing a year (at best, you can be kicked out too, depending on a school), so why would a school waste space on someone who will bail out when going gets tough?

 

[Passion4Sci]

Don't withdraw unless you have a damn good reason for that. Because you will be asked about why you withdrew from the class. In pharmacy school, you won't be able to drop and retake a class without loosing a year (at best, you can be kicked out too, depending on a school), so why would a school waste space on someone who will bail out when going gets tough?

It's obviously a fine line to walk.

If OP's GPA would be dropped to a precipitous point with a C, s/he may not even get fully and duly consideration by having his/her application rejected.

 

[ADN1226]

I would take the W. Be prepared to give an answer as to why you dropped the course if they ask but in my experiences... most of the interviews i've had were closed file so they have no idea what your grades are. And those that are open file, they never asked. If you search the forum there are many others that have a W here or there and made it in. Still, be prepared to answer the question if it comes up.

 

[Kaiter]

It sounds like you're unsure if you can do well in the class in the future. How done are you with your pre-reqs...do you got any hard classes left you still need to take? Your grade may not be that great with a C, but it'll look much better than a W followed by a C. Unless you are absolutely sure you can handle the class in the future and get at least a B then don't drop it and try to get as high a grade as you possibly can. Like a poster above said, be prepared to explain the W.

 

[aboveliquidice]

As stated above - be prepared to explain any Ws. That being said, one or two Ws is not cause for concern (life happens). If you retake the course and score an A - no one will look twice (assuming the course was taken at the same institution).

 

[MaybePharmacist]

Ok, so I ended up dropping the class. It was an anatomy class that was only one session long (about 4 weeks), and I was having a very difficult time memorizing all of the necessary information. Our lab final consisted of memorizing various structures from the nervous system, circulatory system, digestive system, reproductive system, and urinary system (I'm guessing about 200-250 structures). On top of that, the lab final was the day after the in-class final. I'm also taking another summer class that involves a lot of reading, and I was falling behind in this class as well. In the end, I was just really frustrated and couldn't keep up with either class. Thank you everyone for you help!