<p>Question regarding how TOP grad programs (law and MPP) will view a 'W' (withdrawal) on a transcript:</p>
<p>I'm a senior majoring in Government, with a focus on foreign policy. My area emphasis is the Middle East. I'm currently enrolled in 5 classes (school is on the quarter system, so this is 9 units over the minimum required), including Arabic and writing a thesis. Due to illness contracted in the Middle East, which left me pretty ill for about 6 weeks, and the death of 2 friends, I've fallen pretty far behind in Arabic. I feel confident that I would earn at least a C, but I'm maintaining around a 3.8 GPA, so lower than a B wouldn't look too good, especially given that it's in a course related to my major (though it is not a required class).</p>
<p>I'm seriously considering withdrawing; I know this would leave a 'W' notation on my transcript, but I also think it might be better than earning a C/B-, particularly given that I plan on learning the language in the region itself prior to attending grad school. I feel that if I were able to prove that I'd learned it another quarter, or through time in the region, schools wouldn't care too much. But maybe I'm wrong. </p>
<p>So my question for you is, should I risk it and finish out the quarter, or take the W? I've never withdrawn from a class before, so I don't have a history of doing so. But I also know that top law schools and MPPs look meticulously at your transcript, so I don't want to totally screw myself over if a B- or C will look better than a W.</p>
<p>I would still withdraw. There’s no excuse for getting a C/B but there can be a hundred reasons why you had to withdraw. Fortunately you happen to have a great reason and perhaps a killer personal statement in it as well.</p>
<p>I once had a bad semester in college. I was taking five courses, and doing poorly in three of them for health-related reasons. I decided with withdraw from two, but wi as convinced that I could get at least a C in the class. I didn’t. I got an F. Two lessons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You’re never sure what grade you’re going to get, so it’s a good idea to talk to the professor about your standing in the class before you decide. (I’m still a little bitter, though, since I don’t understand how I got a C. It was a class in my field, for pete’s sake.)</p></li>
<li><p>I’m in a top 10/top 20 PhD program now (depending on which department rank you look at; I have two). So it is possible to go to graduate school after a W, even an F.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Once upon a time, I had a bad quarter too. I registered for a class, but decided to drop it after the 1st class session. Like an absolute idiot, I thought I officially dropped the class after the 1st day. BUT nooooooo, I forgot to…</p>
<p>Bottom line: I never attended the class and later got a big fat “0” for the grade. That was a shocker after I got my quarter grades. I can laugh about it now:)</p>
<p>I have a friend who claimed not to know that you couldn’t just stop showing up to classes and/or just drop the class on an online system past the drop date, and that you had to formally withdraw from classes in order not to get an F. I’m not sure whether or not he was lying, but he had no motivation to. Anyway, this friend has a collection of Fs on his first attempt at college transcript because he stopped going to classes and never withdrew. He’s (rightfully) afraid that they’re going to negatively impact him when he tries to transfer into a new college, after four years in the military.</p>
<p>Moral of the story: Make sure you are following all of the college’s procedures when withdrawing from classes and/or when trying to get your grade changed from a retake.</p>