My D is studying abroad at a University in a post high school GAP year and did amazing (mostly As) in most of her subjects but she thinks there is one class she will probably get an F in (there are reasons but not great ones, she did not get mono or anything). She was accepted at a Top 20 college in the Fall that she has already accepted.
She recently mentioned that some people on her program failed a class last year and got Ws instead of Fs. Which is the better option? It may be possible for her to request a W instead. Since it is a study abroad she cannot retake the class and probably would not even if her academic life depended on it.
She plans to go to grad school (although not necessarily medical school) and I am not sure where to post this (if someone has suggestions, please direct me or move this post). These classes are social science classes and have nothing to do with her future major. Thank you
I would recommend W. I know med schools and some other grad programs will count any gpa for any college class even when taken as a high school student. I guess one complicating factor is that it’s take at a foreign school. That could be an exception, but why take the risk of getting F counted in the gpa calculation.W would count as no credit and wouldn’t count towards gpa but it would still show up on the transcript
W is always better than an F…always
Can you get an I(as incomplete)? Some times its better than a W or F.
I wish. I reviewed the stated policy after I posted. An “I” is not mentioned. There is a one week add/drop, a W no penalty that ended a month ago and a WF that ended two weeks ago.
Do schools ever make exceptions to their stated policy when the grade is just too bizarre?
A friend suggested she go to the administration for help. Literally this kid has never even gotten a B, ever. Not even in middle school. The other content based grades were all the highest As you could get. The B+ is in the language class which has never been her strong suit. The probable F is a humanities class. I did not know it was even possible to fail such a thing, especially for a kid who writes well. Thank you for the responses.
Assuming it is as I say, and she does get an F that sticks, I assume even if she does not get credit she will have to disclose this transcript for graduate schools? Assuming again that this is her only such screw up, would a competitive program hold it against her? This is not an area she would ever choose as a major even if she had gotten a perfect grade.
You have to fight for exceptions. It is up to the professors to fight for you or not. Some times they do.
Everything is petitionable. Ask the professor if a W is still possible.
An “I” is only indicated if the student has a reasonable chance of making up the missed work in a timely way. The university will set a deadline of a semester or a year and if the work is not completed, it converts to an F.