<p>Okay, so right now I'm taking 15 credit hours: Philosophy 150, Chinese 102, and Theater 100. I'm doing fine in the last two classes, but Philosophy 150 is kicking my butt. We have ten quizzes that, in total, equal 20% of our entire grade (midterms 50%, two papers 20%, class participation 10%). So far, I have taken two quizzes, and I have done terribly on both. My grade is now at a 75.8% (with just the two quizzes and an "intro-to-the-course" quiz) and dropping (or at least I think it will). If I were to drop this course, I would receive a W, and I would fall behind and become a part-time student (but I have no scholarships, so...).</p>
<p>I'm afraid that this course will ruin my gpa, but I am also afraid of receiving a "W" on my transcript. Should I just drop the course entirely or try my best?</p>
<p>No scholarships, but do you have loans of any kind?</p>
<p>A W is definitely something to avoid, but a failing grade is worse. Unless you were definitely going to be a 4.0 student, one B or C isn’t going to kill you. If you’re that worried that you can’t catch up, and you’ve taken advantage of all the resources available to you (like asking your professor for help, etc) then it may be best to just take the W. It’s really up to you. Personally I’d figure out what the problem is and find a way to fix it, because you may want to save W’s for when you’re an upperclassmen and the courses are tougher. </p>
<p>Also check your schools policies and see if you only have a certain number of W’s allowed, some schools only allow one or two.</p>
<p>I just dropped a class, thankfully before the deadline so I didn’t have to take a W, and signed up for another one instead. I’d met with my professor several times to discuss strategies to help me understand better and to help me keep up, and I tried all sorts of extra resources to try and stay with the material, but it just wasn’t happening. Something you learn in college level courses, if you haven’t already, is when you are truly in over your head. When you’re truly in over your head, it makes sense to drop, what else are you supposed to do? But if it’s just kicking your ass, it can be better for you to just deal. Only you know how bad the situation really is.</p>
<p>If I had a 75.8% in a class, I would certaintly not drop it. I wouldn’t condider a 75.8% a bad grade. Do you understand the material or are you not trying your hardest in that class? I would definately talk with the professor before dropping the class.</p>
<p>If you are living on campus, you probably need to maintain enough credits/semester to be considered a full time student. If you have health insurance under your parent’s family policy, you probably need to remain a full time student in order to maintain your health insurance.</p>
<p>Unless you can add another class in its place, you should seriously consider keeping the class. Have you made use of the professor’s office hours?</p>
<p>nysmile, the way I understand health insurance is that you only need to be a full time student at one point in the calendar year. I’ve had part time semesters in previous years and managed to keep my insurance because I was full time in another semester during the same calendar year.</p>
<p>OP, when is the deadline? At my college it is in early March, you should wait to see how you perform on other assignments before making a decision. According to the formula you posted each quiz is worth about 2% of your grade. So 4% of your grade sitting at a 75% is not bad at all. Wait until you have something heavily weighted before making a decision.</p>
<p>Perhaps I misunderstood the medical insurance situation. I thought that the student had to maintain full-time student status in order to keep coverage under the parent’s family policy.</p>
<p>Talk with the Philosophy teacher and your academic advisor before making your final decision.</p>