The 2nd midterm is scheduled a few days after the deadline to withdraw. I want to be take the test early so I would have a chance to decide if I want to withdraw from the course or not. I got a C on the first midterm and I can’t afford to get a C in a class.
I have a 3.85 GPA for the last few years and only got one B last year. This course is not required for graduation and I took it to enrich myself. It’s a 400 level statistics course and I do not have the prerequisite for it. I thought this intro to stat course we had to take as an EE was enough, but apparently not. I talked to the professor and he was sympathetic, he agreed that it would be difficult if I did not take the course prior to this. I thought about my plan to withdraw, and he told me to wait until after the first midterm. Well, I got a C, and I crammed hard for it. A lot of things I did not know and had to learn at the last minute.
Now that I’ve learned most of the prerequisite material, I feel better for the next midterm. Problem is, that one is after the deadline to withdraw,and I want to take it early. After the deadline passes, I know it would totally stress me out and might even adversely affect my performance on the test.
Bad situation, what should I do? Or I can take the easy approach and just take the W. It’s better than getting a C isn’t it?
I know people who have taken a midterm early because of outside circumstances, like knowing they had to be out of town for medical reasons or an event (like a funeral). I don’t know anyone who was able to take the midterm early just because they wanted to, but I mean, it doesn’t hurt to ask. The worst he can say is no.
Is it still possible to change the grade option to pass/fail? That way you can still take the course but not worry about how it will factor into your GPA. This far in though, that might not be an option anymore.
Was the prerequisite you didn’t take officially required for the course? Where I went to school, you couldn’t even take a class if you didn’t take the required prerequisite course.
If you’re just taking the course for your own personal knowledge, then couldn’t you just sit in on the course without actually taking it for credit? You don’t get the credit for the course, but you do get the experience and knowledge, just without taking the exams. What year are you in? You could also always drop it and then take it again another semester (if you still have more semesters to go). In the meantime, you can take the prerequisite class or take it when you have more time to learn the material.
How much a W is going to matter depends a lot on what you want to do. If you want to get a job after college, it probably won’t matter at all because your employers are likely never to see your transcripts (and probably won’t care about W’s if they do). If you’re applying to graduate or professional school, then how many W’s on your transcript is something to consider. One W is no big deal, but lots of W’s could be concerning. If this is your only W, I wouldn’t worry about it.
One C on your entire college transcript is unlikely to be any more of a big deal than a W.
too late for P/F. I definitely can’t get a C in my last semester, it’ll ruin the whole upward trend thing for me.
I’ll just ask for extra credits tomorrow. The prof did say to those who didn’t do too well to speak to him and figure out how to “improve grades.”
I think I’m going to withdraw from the class. The way I see it, this is my last semester and that course is not required for graduation. I’ve been on a huge upward trend for the past 3 years, getting mostly As and one or two Bs, there is no reason for me to torture myself by taking a course I didn’t have prerequisite for and not only risking getting a C, but also affect my grades in other classes.
If I withdraw, I would have a much more pleasant semester and I’m sure I can get As in my other courses. That one W is probably not going to adversely affect me in any meaningful way.
Do you guys agree with my decision?
If there is no consequence except a W on your transcript, and you are still on track to graduate, then withdraw and enjoy your last semester. You are close to graduating and on to whatever comes next. All the best to you.
If dropping the course doesn’t cause your graduation to be postponed (that is, you will have by the end of this semester enough units to graduate without it), certainly you should drop the course.