Hello, so I made a stupid mistake by taking a GE course for letter grade option rather than p/np.
and now I’m struggling in that class. I have 78% right now and I’m afraid that I won’t be able to get any better if not worse than that. Right now my gpa is 3.9 overall and if I do pass and get a C- or something it drops to 3.3 ( considering that I get good grades in my other classes)
the problem is that I really don’t want my overall gpa to drop because of this GE course that I couldn’ve taken for P/NP but then I heard that W looks really bad. I’m planning on going to graduate school maybe for business or music and idk which is worse??
and if I do drop it, i do not have to retake the same course because it’s not my major class.
should I risk my gpa? or just drop it? ( if I did p/np it wouldn’t even affect my gpa. stupid me)
thanks in advance
First ask yourself if you can afford ($) to drop it. Everytime you withdraw from a class you are not only giving away the chance to earn credit toward your degree, but you are also giving up the money that went into paying for that course. In addition, you run the risk of not being able to graduate within four years. Is taking the W worth all of those costs? If you can afford the extra costs, then maybe you can afford to drop the class and take the W. If you can’t afford the costs, then take the C. In the end the most important outcome is to finish your degree. One C won’t likely keep you out of graduate school. The extra costs involved with taking a W could add up if this becomes a habit everytime your grade falls to the C level, and then you start to run the risk of really extending the timeline for your degree and/or not finishing it at all. Over time, employers are more interested in the finished degree and you work ethic over your GPA.
Now all that said, isn’t there some action you can take to try to bring the course up before the end of the semester? There are a number of weeks before the semester ends. Visit the professor and talk about your problems with the class, seek strategies to improve your grade.
If you’re a full-time student, you usually don’t pay extra to take five classes compared to four, or six classes compared to five. So there probably isn’t any extra cost associated with this class (beyond the textbook), unless the OP has to take summer classes or stay an extra semester to complete requirements.
If C is the highest possible grade you can mathematically get, you should probably withdraw because there’s a high risk of getting a D or an F. If C is just a likely grade and it’s still theoretically possible to get a B, then you could probably raise your grade.
Since your goals may be business/music, I’ll assume you can do some basic math. Get a GPA calculator. One “C” will have very little effect on a 4 year GPA. Especially since your currently at 78%, a borderline B. stay with the course. Good luck
A C looks much much worse than a W. Nobody cares about a few W’s on your transcript.
An honestly earned C looks better than a string of Ws.
Are you a freshman? Otherwise a C would not make that much of a difference in your GPA.
Can you get a tutor or go to Professor’s office hours?
One W is better than a C…but you have to make up the credits for that course at somepoint…taking an extra course during a semester or over a summer.
The best is get it up to a B. Find out what the cut off for a B is and if it is possible for you to get one. Talk to the professor about tips on how to do better in the class.
Yes I am a freshman and dropping the class won’t affect me financially nor I will fall behind academically.
It’s just that idk which is worse. A low GPA caused by a GE course or a W?
And I did go to my professor’s office hour and talked to my TA and it seems like I’m the only one who’s struggling in the class. Most of the students taking it are taking it for major class and this course wasn’t recommended for first years… Idk why I chose this class… ): And I can make up the credit during my four years so credit wise it’s not a problem. I won’t have to take summer courses.
so you’re suggesting that it’s better to drop than get a C?
and thank you all for your replies!
Since it won’t cost you in time or money, probably won’t matter that much one way or the other whether there is only one C or one W on your entire transcript, but the one W won’t affect your GPA, so probably the way to go. Try not to make a habit of Ws or Cs.