If I am trying to transfer to an elite institution, which would be preferred 5 W’s (with explanation) and a 4.00 or 0 W’s and a 3.83 cumulative GPA?
For context, this would be a retroactive withdraw (a simultaneous withdraw due to extraneous circumstances). This would be from my first semester at a four-year university (out of two semesters). I now attend a community college (third semester). I didn’t do necessarily “bad" in these first-semester classes but rather not as great as I could’ve done due to many things that were occurring at the time.
On one hand, I see that colleges could be looking at my grade progression which has increased semi-dramatically, and sure, the surrounding events can be explained that caused my lower grades. But on the other hand, highly competitive schools might prefer a higher GPA - but 5 withdraws might be concerning. But maybe they would be sympathetic towards an explanation?
I by no means failed these classes and if the W’s can be explained, is that better than a 3.83 GPA? Of course, there are parts of the application that are reviewed holistically; however, I don’t know if one option would be better than the other. Any input would help!
How many classes have you signed up for, completed, and gotten a grade?
And to be clear- you are now trying to transfer to your third institution, correct? How many classes have you passed in total??? And the W’s are from the community college?
Can you walk us through a timeline? What are you studying now, what is your planned major? And how is your life going forward going to be more conducive to taking and passing classes than before?
I am a sophomore at the moment at a community college. I am majoring in business administration and economics. I used to go to a 4-year university, but because of the cost and my goals on transferring, I thought community college would be my best bet.
I took 5 classes my first semester, 4 my second, and right now I am taking 4 but I am taking a short class which will make that 5 in a few days. I have gotten grades from all of them. In my first semester, my lowest grades were 2 B’s and one B-. I have completed all of the classes that I’ve taken with A’s. During my first semester, I didn’t know I wanted to transfer and I was stuck at home due to Covid. So I wasn’t very motivated. But that all changed after I knew I wanted to transfer.
I am trying to transfer to a more elite college but I don’t know if because I got those B’s if It is possible. During my 1st semester, some events occurred which allowed me to petition for a retroactive withdraw, which means it could put all my first semester classes to withdraw. This would take away my B’s as well as my A’s. With this, I’d have a 4.0 but 5 W’s.
My question is: What is the best scenario for me to apply to transfer to these elite schools?
If you are worried about costs, then giving up an entire semester of credits because of some B’s seems penny wise/pound foolish, no? Do you have a plan for paying for 3 years at the next college, since you’ll only come in with a year’s worth of classes- assuming they accept all your credits, which isn’t guaranteed.
I agree, both in general and in this case. The concern that Admissions will have is “will (s)he flake out and then drop out?” A fistful of W’s makes that look riskier than a few B’s.
I would think so as well. I guess my logic was that, if the admissions had a story behind the dropping of all those W’s then they might understand, especially if I were to take some of the courses that were dropped initially again. But overall, I think it’s probably best to show the improvement and stick with the 3.8 - which is still exceptional.
Well I wasn’t necessarily worried about the cost - but for my goal of transferring I guess it made it more affordable than paying for a 4-year university. So overall, yes I do have a plan to pay. But like the others have mentioned I’m more worried about what the admissions would prefer - a high GPA with a handful of withdraws or a good GPA with no withdraws.
I would not withdraw from classes where you got a B. Given that this was first semester freshman year and was during COVID, some lack of perfection was very, very common. The COVID pandemic and on-line classes were tough for a lot of students. IMHO under these circumstances B’s plus one B- are going to look better than W’s.
If the retroactive withdrawal was a medical withdrawal (which also covers psych. issues like depression) then those grades should be wiped clean and you should not have any W’s on your transcript.
I am confused though. Why would you petition for a withdrawal with B’s? COVID and virtual study at home caused many students to struggle academically and emotionally. The grades you have gotten since would prove your ability.
Are you saying you petitioned for withdrawal but are not sure you will actually withdraw? If you withdraw from school, I don’t think you end up with 5 W’s for the courses you too. Check this. It sounds like you withdrew from the school.
Also…something to check. Do you receive need based financial aid of any kind? If so, dropping five courses might trigger NOT meeting satisfactory academic progress. If that happens, you won’t be eligible for aid until you meet satisfactory academic progress.
I have not petitioned yet, I was just asking for hypothetical advice. I see what you are saying though, with the events that were occurring at the time and my current grades would therefore prove that I have done better. I have checked again and it says, “Earned grades will be replaced with withdrawals (W) and your GPA will change to reflect this.” Kind of unfortunate to say the least. For now, I think I won’t do the petition and hope for the best.
If you are trying for a medical withdrawal, with documentation, the grades are wiped and there are no W’s either. Not clear on what type of withdrawal but usually a petition is for a medical withdrawal.
If you withdraw from a class for non-medical reasons, the text you cited holds true.
B’s aren’t that bad but if you had a medical or psych. issue then you have a right to withdraw without W’s if the withdrawal is granted.