How does withdrawing from a course look to a grad school?

Graduate School
1

<p>I'm a 2nd semester junior, and I'm currently failing an online course I decided to take to fulfill some humanities credit. If I drop now I get a WF (withdraw failing). If i try and get my grade up before the deadline, I can potentially get a W (withdraw). If I stick with the class and get 100% on EVERYTHING, the best I can get is a B+, but I really think getting perfect scores on the rest of the assignments is unlikely. I will likely get closer to a B- or even a C...</p>

<p>How does each option impact grad school's perceptions of me? This is a course mostly unrelated to my plan of study. I have done well in all of my major courses and have never dropped or withdrawn from a course before. I want to say it'll be fine and that I can just explain that I felt the format wasn't suited to me being successful but will they see that as a cop out answer? That I should have just tried harder? I do not intend to take this course again since it's online only and I'd much rather explore other avenues. To be honest, I only registered for it in the first place because it fit the requirements and I was studying abroad in a developing nation with limited internet, and I couldn't get the website that listed course times to load. I just went the online route because I knew that would fit with my schedule.</p>

<p>But I am really just not suited to online courses. I had not taken one before this. Otherwise I am an excellent student, 3.67 GPA, have not taken the GRE yet but have worked on major research projects, and expect to submit at least two publications for review by the end of the year.</p>

2

<p>I think you should stick with the class and give it your all. You will be fine, it is just one GenEd.</p>

3

<p>I’m pretty sure a C is better than a W (I was told that a W essentially looks like an F), especially if it’s outside your major.</p>

4

<p>A W looks like a W. Some people take a W to avoid an F and some people take a W because they have some serious issues at the end of a semester. Some students may have been earning an A before having to take a W because they were overwhelmed with illness or what have you. (A WF, however, is seen as an F - it means you were failing when you withdrew.)</p>

<p>One W isn’t going to break your application - I had two on my transcript. A WF doesn’t look good. I’d say stick with the class and bring your grade up, then decide at the point at which you could withdraw with a WF. A C is not necessarily qualitatively better than a W, since a W doesn’t mean anything other than that you withdrew from the class. But a C is better than a WF, and a B- is definitely better, so stay in the course and visit your professor or TA to figure out how to get your grades up.</p>

5

<p>Stick with the class and bring your grade to passing, then withdraw. I had a W on my transcript and I was offered full funding to a masters program still. (My GPA was 3.87 if that helps)</p>