So this summer I signed up for an introductory C++ course at my local Community College. The course that is normally 12 weeks was squeezed into 6 weeks. To make matters worse classes are only 2 times a week for 4 hours each. On top of that the instructor isn’t a great teacher and a strict grader.
In our labs and homework I’ve been keeping barely an 90% so I thought I could keep it up and get the A. We had our midterm last week and I performed very poorly. I got a 63% on it. He does curve at the end of the course but I’m not sure it’ll be enough. Our final is next Wednesday and I’m not confident at all that I can score high enough to bring my grade up.
Today is the last drop and I’m stuck on what to do. If I choose to drop then I’d simply retake this course with a better instructor in the fall and in a longer class time. It simply adds another class to my incoming fall schedule.
So my question is if taking the W would be terrible for my prospects in comparison with a C or B. Any advice?
I am not sure what your grades are in your other classes, but try to not get a lot of W’s. I think it’s reasonable to have around 2-4 W’s, maybe less for two year transfer.
As for dropping, don’t risk your GPA. It is not easy to raise your GPA once you get bad grades. Plus, after graduating, if you wish to continue with graduate school or professional school (law,medical etc.) , GPA is calculated differently and it don’t help to have to retake classes you got bad grades for (all grades are usually counted towards your GPA calculation). Good Luck!
This was my first class and the first “W” I’ve gotten. I hope to keep it my only “W” I’ll be getting before I transfer however unrealistic that might be later.
hmm, take the W if you really aren’t confident that you won’t get at least a B. I’m a CompSci major, what programming topics weren’t/aren’t you getting? Mind you though, I recall a CompSci instructor here telling us that the intro class is meant as a weeder class, don’t get discouraged whatsoever just make sure to study well for the upcoming semester. C++ is definitely a hard language to start off with as your first programming language (I assume this is the first time you’ve had programming experience).
Forgive me for hijacking your thread, but it’s sort of a similar question - Would it be better to P/NP a course in your major or get a B, considering you are allowed to P/NP one of your major requirements? I know the automatic answer is going to be the graded option, but would it make sense to take the P instead, thus keeping a higher GPA for grad school?
I wasn’t planning on doing it because I still have the chance of getting a higher grade, but I was curious about P/NPing in general. Does it look like, say, a C, but without the adverse affect on GPA? Or is it just not really considered?
@goldencub, are these the actual requirements you would be taking at your CCC or core classes that you can only access at Cal? They usually want major req to be for a letter grade but when I casually mentioned in passing a couple months ago that in some very rare cases you can do major courses P/NP I got totally chewed out, so despite it being allowed “sometimes,” not sure I want to bring the wrath of God upon me. It’s a tough crowd!! :))
But if that course is up there and it says that, I suppose. The only thing is: you might want to opt for the B because if those aren’t all taken yet, you might want to apply a P/NP later to a tougher course (if they’re core courses and not major req at the CCC - I’m not exactly sure which they are).
Does that make sense?
Re how it looks, yeah grad schools might tend to consider it a C, but it’s also the first two years of your undergrad and they put way more weight on the last two years. I wouldn’t really worry about that part.
On topic: “Mind you though, I recall a CompSci instructor here telling us that the intro class is meant as a weeder class, don’t get discouraged whatsoever just make sure to study well for the upcoming semester.”
Weeder course taken at Cal, I’m assuming. UGBA 10 (Intro to Business) at Cal is very difficult to get an A in, but at a community college it can be done in one’s sleep. My example isn’t exactly the same thing, but while Class X may articulate with Class X, I’m curious to know if they’d look at Class X from a CCC vs. Class X from Cal exactly the same, as they must know they are worlds apart in terms of difficulty, and these intro “weeder” courses aren’t considered weeder courses at CCCs.
You’re totally right dude, this also makes me think of Laney’s CS61 class (modeled directly of UCB’s 61A), CS61 @ Laney is supposedly really easy and I’ve heard of countless people struggle with 61A at Berkeley.
@briank82 my daughter, same thing. The intro to bus class was the easiest she ever took at CCC. I don’t think they’ll judge you differently, though. I think the weeders are mainly a means of controling numbers within the UC campus population. They only have so much room in the major, so it’s a form of thinning the herd. They are calculating transfer separately (even though some do take the weeder). Otherwise they would make everyone take it at the UC.
@lindyk8 noted. Yeah, it was more of a hypothetical thing regarding the class I’m taking at Cal - I expected to get a C or B on my midterm (worth 30%), and because of that, I was considering P/NP. Turns out I got an A- on it, so there’s no point in P/NPing it, even if the second half of the course is much more intense. I should at least get a B in the course, possibly higher, although I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch.
Apparently tons of people in my major P/NP this course because it’s much more difficult than the other courses. For people already at Cal, it may be a no-brainer, but for a transfer, it would make sense that Admissions would prefer to see a grade considering it’s from UCB and not a CC.