So I think I screwed up...any advice?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I'm a junior in electrical engineering, and this is my schedule:</p>

<p>Electronics II (3 credits)
Discrete-Time Signal Processing (3 credits)
C++ Programming III (3 credits)
Differential Equations (3 credits)
Electromagnetism (3 credits)
Digital Design (1 credit)
Electronics Lab (1 credit)</p>

<p>I am considering dropping electromagnetism. We haven't had an exam yet, but I am really struggling with vector calculus and 3-D integrals. I've been told this material is covered in calculus 3, but our school doesn't require us to take calculus 3 for electrical engineering, so I have very little knowledge of the math required for this class. </p>

<p>I knew this coming in, but I thought I could self-teach myself the necessary math. Unfortunately, the professor isn't very good (very difficult to understand) and trying to learn all this has been a real time sink. </p>

<p>I also really want to volunteer in an undergraduate research lab and I feel that if I drop electromagnetism and keep the other courses, I can do well in class and have time to do research. </p>

<p>The problem: Yesterday was the last day to drop the class without a 'W'. I've heard that grad schools essentially look at a W as getting a C in the class, so I'm debating if it's worth dropping the class, especially since I am not failing right now. I want to decide quickly because I don't want to compromise my performance in other classes, but I wanted to hear what you guys have to say. I wish I had thought of this 24 hours earlier, but there is nothing I can do about it now.</p>

<p>One last thing: I do not know if I want to pursue grad school or go straight into industry. Currently, I am leaning towards getting a masters, but again I don't have experience volunteering in a research lab. </p>

<p>Thanks in advance for reading! </p>

2

<p>I’ve never heard that graduate schools treat a dropped class with a W as a C. </p>

<p>There is a little book called Div Grad Curl and all that. Overnight it. It gets right to the point. Spend the entire weekend reading it, working through some problems. If you are not “getting” it by Monday, drop the class. </p>

3

<p>I’ve heard conflicting things regarding W’s. Some say one W won’t really matter and others say getting a B or a C is better than a W. I’ve also heard that W’s look a lot worse in upper level classes pertaining to your major (like this one).</p>

<p>Thanks for the book suggestion, I will definitely try to find a copy!</p>

4

<p>I had a W and got into a handful of top 10 graduate programs. Several year later here I am presenting my research at an international conference in Brazil to a bunch of very big names in my field. So far no one has cared about the W.</p>

5

<p>I agree, the W will not make much difference. When I evaluate applicants for admission to our graduate program, a W is no issue at all.</p>