This is my second time taking organic chemistry II and not doing too well should I drop it or stick it through? Just finished the 1st exam and felt like I did really bad. I studied but orgo has always been really confusing for me. I don’t wanna fail again. So I can either “W” drop which will show on transcript or attempt to stick it through and by some miracle ace the next exams. The exams are mostly written so the prof knows their challenging and will add decent curve. So hopefully that can help boost my grade if I keep the class? I feel like as much as I don’t want to I should just try even harder and get through it instead of dropping but not completely sure. I also don’t wanna fail again. But at this point i’ll be happy with even a C. I know this looks bad for grad schools and i’m worried.
Have you exhausted all of the help resources at your school for orgo? Everyone knows it’s a challenging course (especially orgo 2–my orgo 2 class was so heavily curved that I got a 68 on one exam and still got an A in the course). Have you been to tutoring and the prof’s and TA’s office hours? If those are full have you tried making independent appointments to discuss the challenging bits with your professor? Chatting about what he/she finds important about the material will give you hints on what to expect on the exam. Grade improvements rarely happen by “miracle” and are usually the product of sustained effort.
What is your major? Is Orgo something that you will need (i.e. you’re in chemistry/chemical engineering, art restoration, or are planning on medical or nursing school so need it for the standardized testing), is it something that grad schools like to see but you don’t need to remember exact reactions (i.e. you’re in biology or bulk materials science so you need it more for a general idea of how it works), or is it a random requirement for your major that shows rigor? This will really affect how grad programs view your grade in that course as part of your “package”. If you’re on a chemistry track I would suggest withdrawing and taking it again fresh, as long as this is your only W, and make sure you really really understand it because it’s important. If you’re on a biology/bioengineering type track and don’t plan on doing molecular biology in grad school, just get through it.
I agree with @GoatGirl19. Her explanation covered everything you need to do and consider.
We also had a steep curve. There was 1 test, the midterm, and the final. My grades were 60, 61, aand 60, and I ended up with a B. The lowest D for the class was a 38.
I would definitely talk with the professor before deciding to drop the class.
Agree with above advice. If not needed, sometimes in college there are a few classes that sometimes just getting through them is a win.
Talk to your school advisor and find out what is the least damaging to you at this point, withdrawing or chancing certain grade outcomes.