Withdrawl Question/Need a reality check

[GonnaBeADDS]

Hey guys,
I've got a bit of an issue:
I took Gen Chem I last year and got a C.
I tried Org Chem I last year and withdrew.
I'm in Gen Chem II right now, and I'm finding it really hard; the withdrawal deadline is 2 days away; should I stay in the class? The only other W I have is the one from Orgo last year, but I'm worried that if I withdraw from this one that it will look pretty bad on a d school app in a couple of years.

Oh yes,
I have another question:
I want to think that I'm in a position where I'm potentially doing 'OK' but I want to get some other opinions.
I'm in my sophomore year, my oGPA is 2.9 and my sGPA is 2.6. (no marks from this year yet) I haven't completed all the prereqs for d school yet, but they will be finished. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but my school does not allow classes to be re-taken once a grade (other than a W or an F) has been assigned, so I'm going to take some upper level bio and chem classes to supplement 'mediocre' grades. I do find myself struggling academically sometimes, so I don't know how far up I can push my GPA. I have about 50 shadow hours and intend to do a lot more over the next two years. I've also been volunteering, but not as much.
HONESTLY, how do I look as a potential future dental applicant?

Thanks, and I'm sorry for the long, rambling post.

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[KillaCam]

The shadowing, volunteering, research, ect. can all be done by anyone and you can easily get this done on your timeline. However, the issue here is your grades and as far as right now, you are simply not making the best case for yourself and convincing schools you can carry an academic courseload. Are you finding it hard to find time for study time, are you working, or playing college athletics (and intramurals does NOT count)? Or is the class content too difficult? You should be honest with yourself and do not feel ashamed or less of a person if this is the case. Some are good at science and others just need to work really really hard at it.

As far as the withdrawls, a W is certainly better than a bad grade. You can retake the class later, do better, and tell the schools, if they ask, what the scenario was/is.

 

[laundry]

O wouldnt so much worry for 1 or 2 Ws as i would for your GPA. you will deff need to retake some of lower grade classes eventually

 

[GonnaBeADDS]

Are you finding it hard to find time for study time, are you working, or playing college athletics (and intramurals does NOT count)? Or is the class content too difficult? You should be honest with yourself and do not feel ashamed or less of a person if this is the case. Some are good at science and others just need to work really really hard at it.

I'm really finding it difficult to spend time studying. My other classes (Anatomy, cell biology, physiology and psychology) all require a ton of memorization, and I think I'm spending too much time with those ones. I'm writing a midterm in chem tomorrow...I'm gonna try and find out how I did sooner rather than later, and make the decision (W or stay) asap.

 

[KillaCam]

yeah that's quite a courseload!

The thing is that college is really intented to not teach you content but rather to teach you how to work and learn what workes best for you. The idea here is to gain interests and skills to use these for the rest of your life. I think that your lesson here might be time management and to focus more on the weak and less on the stuff you pick up easy/fast. I can only see this becoming crucial in studying for the DAT, taking classes in dental school, and preparing for board exams in the future. I think that your idea to wait until after the mid-term is a great one and re-evaluate after the test.

Good luck!

 

[yappy]

That is a huge course load - you may want to trim it down 1 science or so in order to get a higher GPA. It would be better if you took only 2-3 sciences and did WELL than taking more and not as well.

I too, am TERRIBLE at memorizing. It is okay if it's one class but when I have several that all require aton of memorizing I tend to be stretched in a way that i'm not talented. Example: physiology - I rocked that class. Anatomy - I did well but it took 3x the effort because I'm more a big picture/conceptual learner. My point is learn your learning style - weakness/strength - then build your class schedule around this. If you know you're bad at memorizing try not to take more than one of these classes/term.

I would take another W if I were you than get another bad grade in a prereq. See how you do and go from there in chem. From purely number perspective you're in pretty bad shape - but you have time to bring it up - let this be the year the adcom will see turned, and never looked back.... as in 3.5+ from now on.