<p>Hello! I go to UNA and I am about to be a Junior. I have previously dropped a Chemistry class and a Trigonometry class. I need to drop this one, because the teacher simply doesn't teach ( I have gone to the department chair and the dean - to no avail). I am a Psychology/Biology major with a pre-med concentration. I have over 100+ hours of job shadowing a pediatrician, psychiatrist, and pathologist. I have yet to take the MCAT. I have A's in both parts of chemistry and A's in both parts of biology. If I don't have any other withdrawls and I do well on the MCAT, will I still have a good chance of getting into medical school? Oh and by the way my GPA is 3.83. I would appreciate any advice I can get! Thanks!</p>
<p>It’s not going to help, but it’s not going to destroy your chances either.</p>
<p>It may throw up a red flag. That doesn’t mean that you can’t get in anywhere. Just apply widely don’t apply to too many reach schools.</p>
<p>So would I generally be ok? I mean ( I plan to go to ASU) and I dropped Trig previously because my grandpa had cancer. I can explain everything, and other than that I have mostly As and a few Bs. I called the admissions at ASU and she said it would probably be better to drop than make a less than stellar grade. I am just worried:/ Thanks in advance for any more advice!</p>
<p>I would not ever mention that you dropped class because of any family matter. Find another reason. They will tell you that you will have to be able to perform under any circumstances, including any trouble with immediate family members. And when you have your own small children, they will be in some kind of trouble one time or another, it is impossible to raise them without. Then you will drop sick patient? I am sorry to sound cruel, I am not trying to do so. I am saying, find another reason.</p>
<p>That goes against a lot of advice that I have heard in the past. I suggest you take MiamiDAP’s comments into account, and also go search SDN for comments by people with “Faculty” or “Advisor” underneath their avatar.</p>
<p>I would try to limit the # W’s. 3 W’s would be pushing it. Honestly, no one will care about your excuses for your W’s. Everyone has family members. And family members die. My grandfather passed away a few months ago. I don’t think my med school would’ve liked me rearranging my schedule because of that. A professor “not teaching” isn’t a legitimate reason to drop a class. There are going to be crappy professors. It’s your job to take responsibility for your learning. You are doing crappy on the tests. Take responsibility for that instead of blaming it on the professor.</p>
<p>I can totally agree with MiamiDAP on the not mentioning family. I will just be honest and say I put too much on myself (in addition to a family member dying). But I am sorry norcal, I am in Alabama, at the University of North Alabama, most teachers are unqualified, if you don’t believe me, then look it up. My teacher gave us what page number to do the Trig, and it was just teaching ourself. I have always been a B student in math and I am not afraid to admit that, so it is kind of hard to teach yourself a new topic, and you must realize, not everyone is as “smart” as you norcal. But thank you MiamiDAP and TuftsStudent, YOU both were helpful.</p>
<p>^The adcom will roll his eyes just like I did when I read your post. Seriously, do not put what you just wrote if asked about the W. I’m not trying to be mean but no one is going to care because poor professors exist everywhere. There are many resources both at your school and online to help you through a course if the professor is poor. It’s not about intelligence, it’s about taking initiative for your own education. In med school, there are times when you will be flat out ignored by the attending or resident. At the end of the rotation, no one is going to give a crap about you whining how the attending didn’t teach you. It’s a fact of life.</p>
<p>You can’t do anything about it now so quit looking backwards. It won’t kill you but it doesn’t look good. Just don’t do it again. Y’all beat yourselves up too much. If you are going to worry about something, worry about something you can change. Life is just too short and this process is just too difficult for this crap. Don’t let it drag you down. Give yourself a break and move on.</p>
<p>Edit: </p>
<p>Think about it this way: mediocre app vs exceptional app with 3 w’s. I’ll take the exceptional app with 3 w’s every time. Try to have an exceptional college career for the remainder of your time and reflect that in your app. Now that’s something you can do something about. Get busy. ;)</p>
<p>Thanks curmudgeon, that was the most uplifting and well thought-out reply!
I’ll be sure to do just that!</p>