Is a withdrawal worse than a D?

Artonos · October 2008

All right I'm in stats in college. Well its tough, since I'm not very good at math. Right now I have a D (64.4% above 60% is a D) and I don't know if I can get it up in the last half of the semester. Is a D on my transcript worse than a W? Tommorow is the last day to drop a class.

I wasn't really considering dropping it until today I had a test and did not do too well on it. There were 0 people who got done with the test in the time that he gave us. So, the proffesor is letting everyone pick up where they left off today on monday. I'm going to talk to the professor tommorow and ask him whether he thinks that it is likely that I can get my grade up. Right now it is a distinct possibility that I could get an F.

I really don't have anyone to ask here. I tried my advisor, but she really didn't help at all.

Zombie Nirvana · October 2008

I think you'd be better off dropping the class, assuming it isn't one of those that gets curved where 64% is actually an A because the course is tremendously difficult.

Dark Moon · October 2008

A bunch of Ws on your transcript looks suspicious, but only one or two isn't the end of the world and is certainly better than a D, which will not only look bad but damage your GPA. I'd say definitely consider withdrawing from the course if your mark is already this poor and is likely to stay the same/go down.

Matt_S · October 2008

I have a W on my transcript from my first semester in college. I was taking Chem 101 and, well, turns out that I'm not very good at chemistry...

But to your point, when I talked to my adviser about law school after switching majors about the W, he said that one W on your transcript isn't a big deal, but when you start having multiple withdrawals is when law schools start to wonder how committed you are to your work.

Are you planning on doing any postgraduate work?

see317 · October 2008

I'd recomend dropping the course and retaking it at a later time. Even if the over all course is curved, it's difficult to count on everyone in the math course being, as you said "not very good at math".

I don't know how your school handles it, but my school would only factor a withdrawal into overall GPA if you didn't retake the course, when you retook the course it would over ride the withdrawal (on the GPA, it would remain on the transcript though). However, taking a D would stay on the record even if you took the course over again. At least, that's the way I remember it, but it has been a while.

Speak with your Prof. They're there to help you, though some of them tend to forget this fact.

Artonos · October 2008

I am planning to do physical therapy. All my other grades are good enough to do this. But, physical therapy is really hard to get into, especially at the college I'm at right now. I talked to my dad and he basically said that they probably won't mind if I drop a hard class my first semester.

I don't see my grade being any better than a C at max. If a D really is worse than a W then I think I'll probably drop it.

RedCreamSoda · October 2008

I agree with some of the above. If it is your first W, then just drop it. But you should also check with your advisor . . . if you retake a course, will the W be replaced, and do you think if you take the course again that you can get a better grade than a "D"? It's a tough call, and decision, but I say drop it if it's your first.

Ganluan · October 2008

If this is your first semester, make sure you don't get into this "habit" though. As soon as you start dropping others you'll be in trouble. If this is a required class you'll have to take it again, so be better prepared next time. If you took it as an elective, well I guess now you know better :P

tsmvengy · October 2008

I would go ahead and drop the class - one W on your transcript isn't going to look bad, and if you retake the class later it will go away completely.

Improvolone · October 2008

My school has a grade-forgiveness policy, perhaps yours does? It allows you to retake a class in order to replace a grade.
The only reason you should stay in this class is if you
a) Have this option
b) Don't mind the hit on your GPA
and only if you think staying in the class will
a) Teach you enough to help you the next time you take it
b) Get you to a C

CooterTKE · October 2008

drop the class, i got into this boat in college and it is better to take the class again then to drop your GPA.

Dunadan019 · October 2008

you can also withdraw and then retake it if you really wanted.

if you got a good grade the second go around it would actually look better than just getting a good grade the first time.

acidlacedpenguin · October 2008

it would be considered differently if it is a required course or an optional course.

if you have the time, and this is a required course I recommend dropping the course but still attending the lectures, taking notes, and attending the tests so that you can prepare yourself for the next time.

BUT if you do this, you can't just assume your old notes are good enough and not pay attention the next time.

Also, this comes from the guy who failed a require calc course twice, withdrew twice, and finally ended up with a B on the last time he was even able to take it. He finally learned how to prepare for a class.

Sarcastro · October 2008

My info is probably a bit outdated, but if youre thinking of getting into anything to do with kinethesiology, you need to have a kickass GPA. Too many W's may look bad in terms of effort, but it wont detract from your average, which is probably more important at this point.

Take a look at how hard your faculty is to get into- when I was in school one needed a 99% for acceptance into that field. Hopefully its changed a bit, but I'll bet its still high.

Artonos · October 2008

Yes sarcastro it is hard to get into. I'd probably need atleast a 3.7. Which I can do and will probably have if I drop this course. I think I am going to drop it. Thank you for all your help guys, after thinking I think it really is for the best if I drop it and take it again next year.

Thank you!

mcdermott · October 2008

Dark Moon wrote: »

A bunch of Ws on your transcript looks suspicious, but only one or two isn't the end of the world and is certainly better than a D, which will not only look bad but damage your GPA. I'd say definitely consider withdrawing from the course if your mark is already this poor and is likely to stay the same/go down.

At my school at least courses you retake replace the old grade, so if he retakes it it won't hurt his GPA.

Still, a single W isn't a big deal and you're probably better at this point dropping it and focusing on your other classes. Just don't make a habit of it.

Spherick · October 2008

As a student in the Masters program at my school I can definitely say DROP IT.

I have 4-5 W's on my transcripts, but A's everywhere else. I think ive had 1 recruiter (accounting) and my masters acceptance interview ask about them. Just waved it off as stupid Freshman/College mistakes and all is good.

A W is 1000 times better than a D in my opinion!

VisionOfClarity · October 2008

'W''s are fine as long as you don't have too many. A 'D' is far, far worse. I took a W on Calc when I got overwhelmed one semester, then retook it and got a B. That W didn't affect my GPA, the 'D' would have.

Zek · October 2008

Talk to the professor first and ask him about what the average grade is and a possible curve. But yeah, if it's as bad as it looks then go ahead and drop it.

Inquisitor77 · October 2008

A "W" is always taken in context. And for the most part, unless your transcript is littered with them, no one cares. The truth is, getting a "W" reflects something of good decision-making on the part of the student, particularly if all their other grades are good, doubly so if you're still over the minimum unit limit for a full quarter/semester even after the drop. What it means is that you understood your boundaries and made the choice to concentrate on your other classes so you can do well in them, rather than spread yourself thin and either take an unnecessary hit in one class, or worse, take a hit in all of your classes.

And as other people have pointed out, there's a good chance that all you need to do is re-take the class and pass it in order to erase the "W" from your transcript entirely, or at least replace the lack of grade in your GPA calculation.

Just don't make it a habit!

Penny Arcade

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