Withdrawing from a University

[Glorified]

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Will withdrawing from a university show up on my academic record? I left a university mid-term my first year of college because I hated it so much. I am now at a community college. Is there some way withdrawl from a university can be detected? And if so will it be detrimental to the application process in the future? Thanks.

 

[blakemd]

Withdrawing does show up on your academic record and is dependent on your schools policies. Yes, it would be detrimental to the medical school application process. But if you haven't reported your University transcripts to the community college and you don't plan to, there is no way for medical schools to really find out. Just take this as an opportunity for a fresh start.

 

[146233]

Withdrawing does show up on your academic record and is dependent on your schools policies. Yes, it would be detrimental to the medical school application process. But if you haven't reported your University transcripts to the community college and you don't plan to, there is no way for medical schools to really find out. Just take this as an opportunity for a fresh start.

I'd strongly warn against following this advice. Most schools report student enrollment to the National Student Clearinghouse (especially those who take out loans in any amount). As such, it would be easily discovered, should a medical school opt to look, that you attended a U.S. school you did not report. Even if they don't look during the application process, they'll be able to find out when you accept their financial aid package. This would almost certainly result in your dismissal from medical school -- even if they didn't find out until the end of your fourth year -- good luck getting in anywhere else after that.

Just be honest and be prepared to explain why you withdrew. Admissions committees understand that things happen, people have bad semesters, and they can bounce back. Unlike blakemd (who is rather new to SDN), I don't feel that withdrawing from a university is automatically going to set you back. It is, however, something you will need to be upfront about to keep it from diminishing the impact of your application.

Talk with a pre-med advisor. Maintain your focus on a career in medicine, if that's what you really want. And above all, don't lie. This is not an "opportunity for a fresh start."


Best,
-z

 

[Depakote]

I'd strongly warn against following this advice. Most schools report student enrollment to the National Student Clearinghouse (especially those who take out loans in any amount). As such, it would be easily discovered, should a medical school opt to look, that you attended a U.S. school you did not report. Even if they don't look during the application process, they'll be able to find out when you accept their financial aid package. This would almost certainly result in your dismissal from medical school -- even if they didn't find out until the end of your fourth year -- good luck getting in anywhere else after that.

Just be honest and be prepared to explain why you withdrew. Admissions committees understand that things happen, people have bad semesters, and they can bounce back. Unlike blakemd (who is rather new to SDN), I don't feel that withdrawing from a university is automatically going to set you back. It is, however, something you will need to be upfront about to keep it from diminishing the impact of your application.

Talk with a pre-med advisor. Maintain your focus on a career in medicine, if that's what you really want. And above all, don't lie. This is not an "opportunity for a fresh start."


Best,
-z

I agree. You can recover from early mistakes, but trying to whitewash over them is only going to get you into bigger trouble.

 

[Meatwad]

Withdrawing does show up on your academic record and is dependent on your schools policies. Yes, it would be detrimental to the medical school application process. But if you haven't reported your University transcripts to the community college and you don't plan to, there is no way for medical schools to really find out. Just take this as an opportunity for a fresh start.

👎 Also reccomend AGAINST this advice. There's no "fresh starts," when you plan on medical school. Just do your best from now on and you will achieve your goal one day.

 

[Glorified]

I wasn't getting bad grades at the university. I was getting all good grades but couldn't stand the place. What exactly do the adcoms see that is bad about leaving a place that I hated? Not being a smartass here, but I just truly want to know. I will be sure to tell them my entire academic record and thanks for the advice. Is there a section on med school applications that allows you to write out previous institutions attended?

 

[BigRedPremed]

I wasn't getting bad grades at the university. I was getting all good grades but couldn't stand the place. What exactly do the adcoms see that is bad about leaving a place that I hated? Not being a smartass here, but I just truly want to know. I will be sure to tell them my entire academic record and thanks for the advice. Is there a section on med school applications that allows you to write out previous institutions attended?

If you hated the place, you should've transferred. It shows you didn't have any foresight to apply for transfer. It shows that you're a quitter. A lot of people hate the school they're in, but they don't withdraw from the university. Not only that, you went down a step from a university to a community college. They're not necessarily my opinions but those would be a couple of conclusions medical schools may draw.

 

[Glorified]

The reason I hated it was I was surrounded by kids who left their brain at the door and replaced it with alcohol and drugs. Instead of being surrounded by it I decided I had to get out of there. This is why I am choosing to commute, so I don't have to deal with that kind of thing. I guess you could call it quitting, but I see no reason to torture one's self. Hate is a strong word. If I just was uncomfortable, I wouldn't have left immediately and would have transferred.

 

[BigRedPremed]

The reason I hated it was I was surrounded by kids who left their brain at the door and replaced it with alcohol and drugs. Instead of being surrounded by it I decided I had to get out of there. This is why I am choosing to commute, so I don't have to deal with that kind of thing. I guess you could call it quitting, but I see no reason to torture one's self. Hate is a strong word. If I just was uncomfortable, I wouldn't have left immediately and would have transferred.

Like I said, those are not necessarily my opinions so you don't have to justify anything to me. However, withdrawing from school is never a good thing so you'd better have a good excuse. I don't think that "I didn't like my peers" is the best reason for withdrawing as it raises issues as to why you chose that school in the first place and why you didn't just suck it up for a semester and just transfer.

 

[Glorified]

Well you are making it pretty clear those are your opinions. So I guess I do have to justify myself. Life is experience and you learn from it. I had no idea I would hate it so much, because everything looked fine at open houses, etc.

 

[Thayer]

hey going along with the posters above said, I would consult with a pre-med adviser about your situation. When you report the grades you received from the university you withdrew from on your AMCAS (which I believe you have to do, someone correct me if I'm wrong), the med schools will see that you didn't withdraw because you were failing out/struggling which is good.

Also, I think BigRedPremed was just trying to be helpful. He listed some conclusions people may draw when reviewing your application. And if you think BigRedPremed is overly critical, I am pretty sure an admissions committee and interviewers will be even more critical when reviewing your application. He's not sugarcoating the reality of the situation.

But keep in mind, you don't need to justify your history to me, BigRedPremed or anyone else on this forum. You will however, need to explain your choices to the admissions committees so it's good to consider the grilling questions admissions officers will ask when examining your file. Better to accept the critical comments and use it to come up with a solid explanation.

Applicants make mistakes and bad decisions. Admission committees understand this. I had below a 3.0 for my undergrad gpa and then worked hard to compensate for my mistakes after college and am now going to med school in the fall. It's important to show how much you have matured and to show them yeah, I made decisions that were less than ideal, but I'm excelling now and this is the applicant I am now. Do well in all your classes and on the MCATs, consult with a premed adviser. I have faith that if you want to go to med school bad enough and are willing to work for it, you can achieve your dream. 🙂

 

[Glorified]

hey going along with the posters above said, I would consult with a pre-med adviser about your situation. When you report the grades you received from the university you withdrew from on your AMCAS (which I believe you have to do, someone correct me if I'm wrong), the med schools will see that you didn't withdraw because you were failing out/struggling which is good.

Thanks for the reply. I am confident I made a good decision and not a bad one. I will no longer try to prove this. If this is the worst obstacle I encounter, I will be lucky.

I actually withdrew right before mid-term grades were issused, after two months. I don't see how it it is possible in this case to report them. Now I am really confused.

 

[Meatwad]

Thanks for the reply

I actually withdrew right before mid-term grades were issused, after two months. I don't see how it it is possible in this case to report them. Now I am really confused.

What does your transcript from your old University look like? Do all your classes have W's as grades?

 

[Glorified]

Subj Nbr Grade Cred Title Instructor
CHY 121 W 03.0 INTRO TO CHEMISTRY TRIPP, CARL P
CHY 123 W 01.0 INTRO TO CHEMISTRY LAB BRUCE, MITCHEL
ENG 101 W 03.0 COLLEGE COMPOSITION CROUCH, TERREL
FYE 100 W 01.0 FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE SEMINAR LOPPACHER, JUL
MAT 122 W 04.0 PRE-CALCULUS BENJAMIN, ELLI
PSY 100 W 03.0 GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY KING, MATTHEW




Thanks for asking that. I guess I don't have to report specific grades, then?

 

[Meatwad]

Subj Nbr Grade Cred Title Instructor
CHY 121 W 03.0 INTRO TO CHEMISTRY TRIPP, CARL P
CHY 123 W 01.0 INTRO TO CHEMISTRY LAB BRUCE, MITCHEL
ENG 101 W 03.0 COLLEGE COMPOSITION CROUCH, TERREL
FYE 100 W 01.0 FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE SEMINAR LOPPACHER, JUL
MAT 122 W 04.0 PRE-CALCULUS BENJAMIN, ELLI
PSY 100 W 03.0 GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY KING, MATTHEW




Thanks for asking that. I guess I don't have to report specific grades, then?

Well, if you mean grades like A-F, then no, obviously you have none to report. If you meant you don't have to report W for each individual class, then I'd say this is false. As far as I know, you have to enter all of those courses and put a W as a grade for each.

W's don't count as F's, so don't get too worked up about everything. If you were that unhappy at your school, you made a better decision getting W's than getting bad grades. I know you say you were doing well, but if you disliked the school so much eventually your would have stopped caring about going to class and done poorly. So don't beat yourself up in the future about it (although it doesn't sound like you are).

I'm sure your grades at the CC are good. Now transfer to another university, work to your true potential, and when the time comes, you will explain this whole story to an adcom. I doubt this experience will keep you out of medical school; people have gotten in that have had worse undergrad records. It's how and to what extent you can rebound which is important.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Glorified]

Very true. Thanks a lot. I actually did stop going to psych, because class discussions were so outrageously off-topic.

Do I have to report grades in courses unique to the institution I took them at. For example

University one

W
W
W
W
W

Community College grades

University 2 grades

 

[146233]

Do I have to report grades in courses unique to the institution I took them at.

Why don't you just log in to AMCAS and find out the answer? Yes, you list courses by the school at which you took them. In your case, this is advantageous, since you can mention elsewhere in the application that you withdrew from the school for non-academic reasons. The AdComs shouldn't hold the W's against you, provided your subsequent grades have been solid.

-z

 

[KeKe88]

I agree. Be upfront and honest and explain why you did withdrew. I had a horrible semester and ended up leaving. I came back the following semester, pulled straight A's and proved that I was back and capable of doing well. Good luck!

 

[Glorified]

Why don't you just log in to AMCAS and find out the answer? Yes, you list courses by the school at which you took them. In your case, this is advantageous, since you can mention elsewhere in the application that you withdrew from the school for non-academic reasons. The AdComs shouldn't hold the W's against you, provided your subsequent grades have been solid.

-z

Thanks for the reply. I tried searching their website, but I couldn't find the answer in the FAQ's and I don't have an AMCAS account yet. This is good to know that it is by school.

Thanks

 

[notdeadyet]

When you start your AMCAS application, you will be asked to list every class you've ever taken at every college, regardless of outcome. For you, you'll have to send them a transcript from your first college, then list the classes like you have now, with W's for grades for each of them.

This does not affect your GPA. And folks who think this is all doom and gloom are wrong. Withdrawals on your transcript are bad when they happen a lot throughout your college career. When they happen all at once, during one semester, it is much easier to explain. Illness, death in family, etc.

I doubt it will come up until interview. If you're nervous about it, work it into your personal statement somehow. Shouldn't be a problem.