Withdrawing from same course twice

[mb1994]

Hello everyone,

I have a unique situation compared to other students. My father passed away a little over a year ago and since I have fought for custody of my younger half brother. In the spring semester last year I was granted partial custody where I was given time to see him in the evenings til the following school morning. This resulted in me picking him up from his school most days of the week and it required me to skip my Biochemistry course. I eventually decided to withdraw from the course because I was unable to attend class.

This semester, I decided to retake the Biochemistry course and I made sure to make it a morning course so that I would not have any problems with picking him up. However, he recently changed schools and now I drop him off at school late enough that it is conflicting with my Biochemistry course again. It is difficult to keep up in a course when you can't attend it. My first instinct was to just withdraw from the course but I am concerned about how two withdraws from the same course would look to medical schools.

Any advice on this dilemma would be wonderful. Thank you for your time.

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[Boolean]

It would likely show a lack of forethought and appear as if you couldn't handle the material.

 

[baxt1412]

^^agreed. what about public transport? carpooling him with another family? gotta figure something out.

 

[estanton]

Drop him off earlier. Most schools have some sort of morning program. Also if the professor teaches the course at another time ask him if it would be okay to attend that one!

If you have to withdraw again I can't see it being the end of the world. It's not like you're skipping classes for a bad reason.

 

[Afford]

Yeah I like the idea of carpooling and public schools could have buses that deliver close to your home.

 

[mb1994]

I guess the biggest problem is that he is 8 and the morning care programs cost money at his school. I realistically cannot afford the extra $465 dollars per month that it will cost to put him into the morning care program.

Carpooling is hard to set up for an 8 year old. He has little to no friends at this point and most of them live within the school district so that they can take school buses. Since I live outside of the school district, that is not an option for me.

 

[Afford]

You can talk to the teacher to see if she would send out an email to the other parents in the class. Maybe one of them lives close by and wouldn't mind taking him.

 

[hurryupnwait]

Try not to withdraw if at all possible. I understand your reasons (which are valid), but withdrawing twice will significantly hurt your application. After all, it's totally possible to keep up with your courses without physically attending lecture in this day and age. I assume you can see all your lecture material on Powerpoint slides and I'm sure there are students who are recording these lectures as well. Talk to your professor and identify resources for academic assistance, but stick it out and rock the course.

 

[baxt1412]

You can talk to the teacher to see if she would send out an email to the other parents in the class. Maybe one of them lives close by and wouldn't mind taking him.

this. don't just assume that nobody will offer to help you guys. i think you'd be surprised. it could be a perfect way for him to develop a new friendship.

 

[PlaqueBuster]

If you do withdraw because it seems like you will here is what it will look like: Medical schools will see this W twice, and they would only know the reason if you are given an opportunity to explain on a secondary. However, they will probably attribute this to your lack of planning and they can assume you were failing the course even though you didnt take it.

I suggest you exhaust all other resources before withdrawing again. I recommend that you talk to the professor and see if you can attend an afternoon or evening lecture for that class if the professor teaches mutiple classes. Or drop your brother off at an early morning program at the school (if there is one). Or you pay for the school bus.

 

[baxt1412]

i would bet if you contacted the school you could find a way to get him there. that could be carpooling with another parent, getting a grant/scholarship for the before school program, etc. might help to go into the school to talk in person. you just have to express to them how difficult this situation is for you and that you simply cannot afford to keep missing class but also can't afford to send him to the before morning programs.

 

[HelpPleaseMD]

Hello everyone,

I have a unique situation compared to other students. My father passed away a little over a year ago and since I have fought for custody of my younger half brother. In the spring semester last year I was granted partial custody where I was given time to see him in the evenings til the following school morning. This resulted in me picking him up from his school most days of the week and it required me to skip my Biochemistry course. I eventually decided to withdraw from the course because I was unable to attend class.

This semester, I decided to retake the Biochemistry course and I made sure to make it a morning course so that I would not have any problems with picking him up. However, he recently changed schools and now I drop him off at school late enough that it is conflicting with my Biochemistry course again. It is difficult to keep up in a course when you can't attend it. My first instinct was to just withdraw from the course but I am concerned about how two withdraws from the same course would look to medical schools.

Any advice on this dilemma would be wonderful. Thank you for your time.

do not withdraw. I can commiserate with your situation, but the bottom line is that if you do withdrawl you did not complete the course twice. what if this issue happens again? you cannot withdrawl from medical school classes, so if you do poorly you'd have to repeat a year which essentially takes a spot from another student/future doctor. It sucks, but this is how they will likely view it.

 

[clairephillips]

I'm a teacher, as well as a medical school applicant. PLEASE, before you drop the course, go in and talk with the principal... Not just the teacher, but the assistant principal or principal. There is often much they have access to that you won't. I know in our school we circle the wagons when there is a family in need. Then, if principal can do nothing, talk to your professor about options. Talking to both and looking for other options means you've lost nothing in the conversation and you can still drop if necessary.

 

[PlaqueBuster]

I'm a teacher, as well as a medical school applicant. PLEASE, before you drop the course, go in and talk with the principal... Not just the teacher, but the assistant principal or principal. There is often much they have access to that you won't. I know in our school we circle the wagons when there is a family in need. Then, if principal can do nothing, talk to your professor about options. Talking to both and looking for other options means you've lost nothing in the conversation and you can still drop if necessary.

He is in college....not a high school student.

 

[baxt1412]

He is in college....not a high school student.

lmao

 

[Silverflash]

He is in college....not a high school student.

Pretty sure they're talking about the principal of the brother's school, haha.

 

[clairephillips]

Pretty sure they're talking about the principal of the brother's school, haha.

Exactly. That's why I said THE principal, rather than YOUR principal.

 

[PlaqueBuster]

read it wrong my bad

 

[optimistic3]

Definitely talk to your brother's teacher as well as your professor. Also, there's only about 1 month of school left (assuming you are on a semester system). If they are unable to find you a solution, maybe the $465 for early morning care for just 1 month would be worth it. Finish up this semester and then plan your classes out differently next semester.

How much did you pay for your course? Think about how much money you've lost by dropping the class once and how much it'd be if you drop it again. (I also don't think I need to mention how bad it would look to adcoms).

Good luck.

 

[BlueCircle]

I actually dropped the same BCPM class twice (!!!) with a W only to finally pass it with a B. I havent applied yet but I'm not too worried about it. Maybe I should? Idk, but worrying about it wont change the situation so I choose not to pay it any mind.

 

[ProudMD]

I actually dropped a BCPM class twice (!!!) with a W only to finally pass it with a B. I havent applied yet but I'm not too worried about it. Maybe I should? Idk, but worrying about it wont change the situation so I choose not to pay it any mind.

You shouldn't worry about this. I have multiple W's on my transcript (including dropping the same class twice (!!!)), and I just got accepted to my top choice MD. While it isn't ideal having W's on the transcript, don't let these minor issues derail your application. Just make sure the rest of your application is strong.

 

[Snakes]

I dropped Biochem I twice with a W for similar reasons (child pick up issues). These are the only 2 W's on my transcript. I didn't give it a second thought. I took it the third semester and got an A. W it and move on, just don't make a habit of it. Be prepared to explain it on your med school secondaries.