<p>Today I dropped Calculus 1 w/ Pre-calculus (pretty much calculus 1 with a week of pre-calculus). I was almost in tears when I turned in the drop slip to academic services. We have something called a "gateway exam" in math where we are 'tested' on skills that should be 'basic' for us. There are a total of fifteen questions. You have to get a total of 13/15 correct to pass. There is no partial credit. If you get below 13/15 points, no matter how well you are doing in the class, even if you have an A (like I did), you will get an automatic F in the course.</p>
<p>Anyways, we have two attempts. The first attempt was yesterday and I failed it by one question (because of a simple sign). Only about 1/10th of the class passed (and at least 2/3 of the class has dropped since the first day). The next attempt is next week (which is of course to my luck, after the freshman drop deadline). Being pre-med, I simply did not want to take the risk of failing that gateway exam. Think about it. If I fail that exam, I might as well give up my dreams of getting into medical school. I just didn't want to take the risk of having my future in the hands of one stupid exam that proved nothing, quite frankly. If I have an A in the class, why does my background knowledge in algebra/pre-calculus not suffice? The precalculus on the gateway exam is nothing similar to what we were doing in the class.</p>
<p>Anyways, how bad will this look? If I pull off a 3.8-3.9 this semester with only 12 credit hours, will that still look good? :/ I'm taking business calculus next semester with the same professor. He thinks I'll do well in the class. Would an A in business calculus help diminish the negative effect of a W in Calc 1 w/ precal?</p>