Should I drop orgo?

<p>I am considering dropping Organic Chem I, which I am currently taking this semester. I do not feel prepared for the upcoming exam in this course (and don't feel that any amount of time/effort at this point will be sufficient for doing well on it). I also received a D grade on the first exam in the course. I feel overwhelmed with the work for the class, especially because I am currently taking it in addition to my engineering courses (Linear Algebra/Diff Eq, Physics I, Intro to Engineering II, and an Honors Philosophy Seminar). Most "premed" majors are taking lots of liberal arts classes, and therefore have the time to channel the time & effort necessary for success in orgo. I feel as though I could do much better, and truly learn and understand the material, if I were able to take the equivalent orgo course during the summer. I am too far behind at this point, and unable to devote the time and effort for this course that is required to do well. I am doing fine in my other classes this semester so far, but I fear that if I continue orgo, my other classes will take a backseat (as I will be spending so much time on orgo), just to receive a mediocre grade in orgo rather than a terrible or failing one. I am a mechanical engineering major (biology minor), potentially considering med school. I am wondering if any of you would have any reservations about my making this decision. If I drop orgo this semester, I would probably take the equivalent course (+ lab) at an esteemed university that I live by over the summer. Please let me know your opinions on this...thanks in advance!</p>

<p>PS. I got about a 3.0 GPA first semester freshman year, so I need to bring this up! I go to a top 20 university (just in case it's not obvious which one...)</p>

<p>Go ahead and drop the class. You’re carrying a heavy courseload already. Just make sure that your grade won’t be recorded as WF (withdrawal-failing). AMCAS considers WF as equivalent to F in GPA calculations.</p>

<p>Please don’t take OChem during the summer. Especially don’t take OChem at a college that is NOT your college of record. Especially after already taking a W in the same class. It screams that you’re trying to duck a tough class.</p>

<p>Adcomms are suspicious of summer coursework for a number of reasons, including: the reputation that these classes are less rigorously taught/graded than their regular semester equivalents; the material covered in summer courses is often truncated or abbreviated; the people in summer classes are less competitive students; and it doesn’t demonstrate that you are able to do well in this time intensive course while balancing a regular course load. </p>

<p>You may want to consider applying to medical school after graduation rather than during your senior year. This will allow you more time to raise your GPA and allow you time to spread out your pre-reqs so you don’t end up with a bunch of 18-21 credit/semesters.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice!</p>

<p>If I drop it within the next couple weeks, it will not appear on my transcript that I even took the class. </p>

<p>Also, if I plan to take it at UMichigan-Ann Arbor (live close by), would it be okay?</p>

<p>^^It doesn’t matter that it doesn’t appear on your transcript, AMCAS will require you to report the class and W anyway.</p>

<p>As for taking at UMich–see all of the above reasons why you shouldn’t take it in the summer…</p>

<p>I don’t know about that WOWMom. I dropped a class a week after Brown’s shopping period (the first 2 weeks of the semester when you can add/drop classes willy nilly) once just because I wanted to wait an extra week to see if it was worth taking. I never listed it and it never came up anywhere.</p>

<p>Instructions to Applicants 2012-13</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>There’s a difference between dropping a course after a week and dropping a course after it’s halfway over. At ND, dropping a class this late in the semester require written approval from the Dean.</p>

<p>This is probably one of those scenarios where Brown is unique and no one should listen to this but at Brown the deadline to drop a course is the beginning of reading period. There is no approval or anything needed, you simply go on-line and drop the class. There is really no such thing as a withdrawal at Brown - which may be the distinction at Brown compared to other schools. Classes are dropable until reading period, and after that point you simply can’t pull out.</p>

<p>What about courses that you enrolled in, but switched out of due to scheduling issues? DS didn’t even go to those classes.</p>

<p>All of the colleges I attended distinguished between a drop and W, similar to this:</p>

<p>[Drop/Withdraw</a> from a Course | Office of the Registrar | Oregon State University](<a href=“http://oregonstate.edu/registrar/dropwithdraw-course]Drop/Withdraw”>Dropping a Class | Office of the Registrar | Oregon State University)</p>

<p>D1 had a reading period like iwbb and she often took an extra class to see if she could carry a heavier load, but kept an eye on the drop date and made a decision before that time. There is sometimes a small charge for dropping a class to cover the administrative paperwork.</p>

<p>Honestly by the time I’m applying to med schools I’ll probably forget I even attempted to take it with this schedule freshman year. There will be no “W” grade or indication of me taking it on any papers, I may just let this one slip under the carpet.</p>

<p>

Same at my son’s school. ;)</p>

<p>Oops, in my post, I meant shopping period, not reading :o. B is definitely much more liberal than most colleges to permit withdrawals all the way to the reading period; for most schools the deadline for dropping is usually a few weeks into the new sem/qt.</p>

<p>Here is the policy at my son’s school:</p>

<p>It follows that if a student withdraws by midterm, the transcript will not show that the student has been enrolled in any course during that term. If a student withdraws after midterm, but before 5 p.m. on the last day of classes before the reading period, the transcript will record the student’s courses with the designation W (Withdrew).</p>

<p>Wow! Your schools are generous with their drop-add and withdrawal policies.</p>

<p>At D2’s undergrad, students could drop or add only during the first 2 weeks of the semester. No notation will appear on their transcript if they drop during this period. After the first 2 weeks, students must get written approval from their academic advisor to drop a class and receive a status grade of either WE (withdraw-failing) or WP (wthdraw-passing). There are no Ws… After week 13, a student cannot not withdraw from a class except for documented medical reasons.</p>

<p>At D1’s undergrad, students have 3 weeks from the first of classes to drop without anything showing up on their transcript. Students who withdraw between the 4th and 12th week, receive a W regardless of their academic standing in the class. Students can only drop in weeks 13 thru 15 with written permission from the Dean of Students, and they will recieve a grade of W for the class.</p>

<p>NOTE: both assume a semester = 16 weeks</p>

<p>gourish, what week are you dropping the course? As noted on the link posted above (which I know is not your school), your transcript may reflect a W or it might not show at all. What is your school policy about dropped courses?</p>

<p>lol, when you mentioned if it was obvious which school you were attending, I thought of Cornell. Then I saw you’re username : P. Anyways, a 3.0 is pretty bad and you might as well drop orgo. You’re still a freshman so you can always take it another time.</p>

<p>Alternatively, you can transfer to Nova Nation, have a great college life. and still go to med school : P.</p>