<p>Son is taking a one-credit elective course that he thought would be just for fun. He is carrying a full load (actually more than a full load) and does not have a lot of time to devote to this class outisde of the class, which meets for just one hour a week. He got his midterm grades last week and all were As and one B except for this class which was a C. He talked to the professor who said that son's performace was average so that is the grade he got. Son really wants to drop this course. He thinks that he can pull the B up to and A and finish the semester with a 4.0, again except for this class.</p>
<p>Withdrawing now would mean a "WP" would be noted on his transcript. Is this a big deal? Should he just get the C (assuming the professor doesn't surprise him with something lower for his final grade)? The class is a "fluff" class and not related to his major at all. What is the lesser of the evils--a C or a WP?</p>
<p>It’s not a big deal if he doesn’t make a habit of it. I don’t think it would hurt at all. Of course a one credit “C” isn’t going to do much to his GPA either, but I really don’t think you have to worry about him dropping this. I hope he doesn’t expect a 4.0 all though school though.</p>
<p>I am a college professor, and we sort of think if someone gets a 4.0 they’re not challenging themselves.</p>
<p>But this is a class he absolutely doesn’t need, and I guess he doesn’t even like. Don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>Is it too late to change the grading to a Pass/Fail for the class instead of a letter grade? If it has nothing to do with his major and he is taking it for fun, taking it pass/fail would be easier (assuming his school does that).</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughts. It is too late to take the class pass-fail. I do not think he expects to get all As in college. (He didn’t have all As in high school either.) But I think he really does not want a C in the class–partly because it is a C and partly because he thinks people will look at the grade and the particular class and think how could you get a C in that? He actually likes the class okay (not as much as he expected) but he really is upset now that he knows he is not living up to the professor’s expectations. Apparantly the professor did not give any indication to son before the C that son was not living up to expectations. I don’t know if this is completely true or not–sometimes son is not good at picking up those kind of cues. But there were no graded assignments, nor will there be for the rest of the semester. The whole grade is how the professor thinks you are doing. He would be happier at this point to drop the class, for sure.</p>
<p>The course is a one-credit music performance elective. He is not planning on majoring in music. I am tempted to tell him talk to the appropriate people and make the decision himself but I am prepared to argue that he should stick it out and possibly get the C (it is possible that he will not get a C but from what he says, the grade is entirely up to the discretion of the professor) if the W would be a big problem. I guess I just don’t know which would strike future employers or grad school admissions committees as worse–the C or the W.</p>
<p>W in music performance, I don’t think that would ever be an issue, while the C could lower the GPA permanently. Unless he’s really enjoying it, I think it would be fine to withdraw.</p>
<p>And just to add, if anyone ever questions it, all he has to say, is that he was in over his head, it was for much more advanced musicians than he was.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. Looking back, he should not have signed up for this credit without asking some questions, but he is used to pretty laid-back music experiences in high school and just expected college to be the same. Strangely he is in another music performance class (larger, with a different professor) that seems to be operating according to his expectations (he has an A in that one).</p>
<p>I think I will tell the kid to talk to his advisor and make whatever decision he wants, since the consequences of either keeping the class or dropping it don’t seem like they will be severe.</p>