Which is worse a D on college transcript, or a D?

[unsettling manong]

Hey everybody, so I am taking summer school Calculus 1 at a community college, rather than my regular 4 year university, and did not study very hard the first couple weeks of the course. I am shooting for at least a C in the course, but there is a high probability that I will get a D. The withdrawal deadline for the class is a week away, and I am trying to decide whether to study hard and try to get a C, or just withdrawal. Keep in mind that this is a community college, so my getting a D would not affect my overall GPA at the university I actually attend in the regular school year. Thanks for your feedback!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[LateToTheGame755]

It will effect your AMCAS GPA. So will getting a C unless you want to go to DO

 

[ZPakEffect]

A > W > B > C > D

 

[ProspectiveKidd]

Its still going to count towards your medical school GPA either way. If it were me id probably withdrawal. If its early on in your academic career (being at a CC I presume it is) I don't think it would be much of an issue if you don't make a habit of it from now on.

Your thoughts?

 

[Turkishking]

I would take the W. Taking it at a CC is suspect already, and doing poor is even worse.

 

[JustAPhD]

A > W > B > C > D

So in a semester if you got A, A, B, B, B (a 3.40) you'd rather make that a A, A, W, W, W? Seems irrational and could definitely backfire on you when the adcom looks at your transcript and realizes you were just protecting your GPA.

 

[Bethany555]

So in a semester if you got A, A, B, B, B (a 3.40) you'd rather make that a A, A, W, W, W? Seems irrational and could definitely backfire on you when the adcom looks at your transcript and realizes you were just protecting your GPA.

Personally, I think you are allowed a single W on your entire college transcript without anyone asking questions. Even 2-3 (total over 4 years) wouldn't hurt you that much, although some people may bring it up at that point. If it is your first W, I would say a B > W > B-. Try not to get more in the future, and you'll be totally fine.

 

[ZPakEffect]

So in a semester if you got A, A, B, B, B (a 3.40) you'd rather make that a A, A, W, W, W? Seems irrational and could definitely backfire on you when the adcom looks at your transcript and realizes you were just protecting your GPA.

Worked for me, but I was never in danger of making more than one B every other semester or so. Your example student is unlikely to get into medical school anyway with that kind of performance.

 

[takeurmeds02]

That's what she asked...

 

[ZPakEffect]

Personally, I think you are allowed a single W on your entire college transcript without anyone asking questions. Even 2-3 (total over 4 years) wouldn't hurt you that much, although some people may bring it up at that point. If it is your first W, I would say a B > W > B-. Try not to get more in the future, and you'll be totally fine.

I had 10+ W's on my transcript. 8 apps, 7 IIs, accepted to Top 25 school, ZERO questions asked about the W's.

 

[JustAPhD]

Worked for me, but I was never in danger of making more than one B every other semester or so. Your example student is unlikely to get into medical school anyway with that kind of performance.

Eh I don't believe one semester of 3.4 quality is a death sentence to med school, hell you could pull 3.4s over four semesters and end up with over a 3.6cGPA and be competitive. My example may be an extreme but I'm just illustrating it may be silly to think your way for many individuals. Of course your strategy works if you average a B maybe once a year but I wouldn't and couldn't recommend that approach to undergrads.


Edit: you must be quite the nontrad with over 10 Ws if you averaged one B every other semester! Glad it worked for you, but I still am weary of recommending that. Perhaps the resident adcom members will correct me though.

 

[Ochemphd]

I had 10+ W's on my transcript. 8 apps, 7 IIs, accepted to Top 25 school, ZERO questions asked about the W's.

You can't take Ws in Med school. Good luck. I hope you didn't end up where you don't belong.

 

[ZPakEffect]

You can't take Ws in Med school. Good luck. I hope you didn't end up where you don't belong.

If 3.9 cGPA, 4.0 sGPA, and 39 MCAT is a harbinger of medical school failure, then a lot of people are in trouble.

 

[ProspectiveKidd]

That's what she asked...

See, now this is interesting. Now that I think about it from this perspective there is actually no other option but to take the D in this situation. Opting for a W avoids the L, but the D will still circumvent by any means necessary as you well know. Basically it comes down to t=(D-Δx)/c Where any change in direction is removed from the D and it becomes divided by light speed (c). Summarily it involves taking the D at a slightly reduced impact but adcoms will still know you took it ether way.

Your thoughts?

 

[takeurmeds02]

See, now this is interesting. Now that I think about it from this perspective there is actually no other option but to take the D in this situation. Opting for a W avoids the L, but the D will still circumvent by any means necessary as you well know. Basically it comes down to t=(D-Δx)/c Where any change in direction is removed from the D and it becomes divided by light speed (c). Summarily it involves taking a D at a slightly reduced impact but adcoms will still know you took it ether way.

Your thoughts?

Bcuz math...duh.

 

[doctorleospaceman]

I had 10+ W's on my transcript. 8 apps, 7 IIs, accepted to Top 25 school, ZERO questions asked about the W's.

I don't think I'd ever recommend someone to just assume they'd win the lottery. I've even been pestered about the one class I've taken P/F. (that wasn't a prereq or required for my major but taken purely out of curiosity my last semester of undergrad)