<p>I recently changed my major from premed to engineering because I enjoyed my engineering classes and I am currently failing my biology class. After talking to my advisor I do not need biology. Is a W better than a C?</p>
<p>@bamagirl18, how certain are you to end up with a “C” if you’re presently failing the course? I took a “W” in college because I was worried about failing a course outside my major that I didn’t need to graduate (due to some AP credits). Will the “W” affect your ability to graduate in four years? Would a “C” (or lower) jeopardize any scholarships?</p>
<p>Also there’s no such thing as a premed major, is there? Are you an engineering student who was solely taking biology to meet your premed requirements? Did you have AP Bio credits you could possibly use now that you don’t need to take biology for medical school admissions? (Not sure if that’s possible once you enroll in a biology class.)</p>
<p>I was an engineering student taking bio solely for premed and decided premed wasn’t for me. And staying in biology would not help me in any form to graduate it would be considered an unnecessary elective. That being said I got a 50 on the first test. And even if I got 80s it would give me an C+ I’m the class. Is it worth it if I don’t need it at all and I’m gonna get a C or worse in? I guess I’m asking is it worth getting a W and saving my 4.33 GPA? I won’t lose my scholarship either way.</p>
<p>I’m assuming you talked w/ Engineering Advisor (not A&S advisor)?
Please go talk w/ your professor of this class you’re taking. Often students get poor grades on a first test and think this is indicative of how things will be from there on out - and this is not necessarily so! My S was in a similar situation w/ a class (only his grade was a D on the first test)…told him to stick it out until midterm (which was the drop deadline for a W on the transcript), and also to go talk w/ prof. He ended up w/ an A in the class, partly because he established a connection w/ the professor, partly because he spent a lot more time on the classwork to do better, and partly because the class’ results were at that point heavily curved.
Also, make sure before you drop the class that you are certain of your path. If you change your mind again you will kick yourself, because the class is needed for some majors. What branch of engineering? ChemBE reqs BSC 114, which I’m assuming you had prior credit for?
That all said, you’re not a Freshman, right? 4.33 GPA at this stage (in engineering field) is worth preserving, IMO. You can explain away a ‘W’ (if anyone even bothers to ask), but a GPA is upfront out there on every resume and application.</p>
<p>I am aerospace and mechanical engineering. After talking to my advisor and my professor I think it would be best to drop the class. I wanna preserve my GPA and don’t need the class. Thanks for the advice! Oh and I am a freshman but I took some UA classes during the summer and all so that’s why I have a GPA.</p>
<p>Drop it. This way if you later decide to “try again”, you’ll have a fresh start in bio. Otherwise, you don’t need it.</p>
<p>I realize there are a lot of things I don’t know and it has been a long time since I (or anyone all that close to me) was in college, but how does one have a GPA above a 4.0 in college? Are there grades above an A/4.0 in college now too? If so; do all colleges do that? Thanks in advance. </p>
<p>An A+ gets add’l quality points. </p>
<p>However, med schools do NOT give extra quality pts for A+. When applying to med schools, AMCAS recalculates every applicants’ GPA…and an A+ gets the same as an A. </p>
<p>Extra quality pts are still given for a B+, though…just not A+ for AMCAS.</p>
<p>Is the rewarding of A+s fairly universal? I don’t recall that being a possibility in my day; 100% was as good as it got. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised that in this “everyone gets a trophy” world that college “kids” are now beyond perfect as well. </p>
<p>UA uses + - system. Professors determine the value of +, and the value of A=? also varies between college majors. Only 4.0 shows on transcripts.</p>