Would Withdrawing from a whole semester look bad?

[ILuvOpt]

Ok, so originally I wanted to become an optometrist, but now I've decided that I'm more interested in medicine. And because I'm falling behind in all the classes I'm currently taking this semester due to lack to interest, I decided to withdraw from the whole semester. Would 4 W's this semester along with 2 others (for a total of 6 W's) affect my chances of getting into medical school? I've taken most of the prereqs for med school, and by the time I graduate next year, my cGPA and sGPA should be 3.80 and 3.66, respectively, assuming that I do well in all the remaining classes.

I also have excellent EC's, and I plan to do some research after taking the MCAT in spring of 2010.

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[Analog]

You're definitely going to have to explain them. It reflects badly on you

 

[nuneyah]

I take a more unique approach to these circumstances. If you have one of these "red flags" to your application, you have the amazing and wonderful opportunity to explain why!

If you make your explaination compelling, then you can consider your misfourtune almost on the verge of an advantage!

I see it like this: You explain why you withdrew from 6 classes, "Originally I wanted to become an optometrist, but now I've decided that I'm more interested in medicine because ... blah blah blah. Although it was a tough and decision to make, I felt it would better suite my new-found aspirations for the future ... blah blah blah. In the mean-time, I was able to explore the healthcare field further through ... blah blah blah."

They see a kid who realized that his true calling was medicine. The calling was so strong that he dropped everything he was doing to focus 100% on it! And look, in his absense of school, he was doing worthwhile stuff like volunteering and clinical exposure, he wasn't just sitting at home. What a noble kid!

Always turn your misfourtunes into brownie points and more face-time for yourself with the admissions staff!

 

[ILuvOpt]

I take a more unique approach to these circumstances. If you have one of these "red flags" to your application, you have the amazing and wonderful opportunity to explain why!

If you make your explaination compelling, then you can consider your misfourtune almost on the verge of an advantage!

I see it like this: You explain why you withdrew from 6 classes, "Originally I wanted to become an optometrist, but now I've decided that I'm more interested in medicine because ... blah blah blah. Although it was a tough and decision to make, I felt it would better suite my new-found aspirations for the future ... blah blah blah. In the mean-time, I was able to explore the healthcare field further through ... blah blah blah."

They see a kid who realized that his true calling was medicine. The calling was so strong that he dropped everything he was doing to focus 100% on it! And look, in his absense of school, he was doing worthwhile stuff like volunteering and clinical exposure, he wasn't just sitting at home. What a noble kid!

Always turn your misfourtunes into brownie points and more face-time for yourself with the admissions staff!

Thanks buddy, I was feeling a little depressed, but after reading your post, I'm starting to have to some hope!

 

[wanderer]

It would look terrible. You would need a valid explanation (and I mean an explanation, not an excuse).

 

[Techno]

Would 4 W's this semester along with 2 others (for a total of 6 W's) affect my chances of getting into medical school?

From what I have heard, W's are not such a big deal.
Although I could be wrong.

 

[FutureCTDoc]

From what I have heard, W's are not such a big deal.
Although I could be wrong.

4 or 5 Ws over 4 years is not a huge deal, beyond that it is. If you have a good reason to take all those W i.e. a medical leave of action or something along similar lines, it is less of an issue. However without a compelling reason it may be more difficult to be accepted.

 

[armybound]

what classes are they?

 

[Mattabet]

The other thing you might need to be careful of is falling off of insurance and what-not. I know that going from being a full time student to not at all can be a little bit tricky bureaucratically.

 

[locus000]

OP: it doesnt look good that you drop 4 classes due b/c you arent interested in the subjects. think of a creative story to tell MD school like breaking a leg or something.

The other thing you might need to be careful of is falling off of insurance and what-not. I know that going from being a full time student to not at all can be a little bit tricky bureaucratically.

very true. I was drop from my insurance for not taking 12 credit hours. my new insurance require just 6 credit hours to stay cover