Hey guys. I want to make something clear- a B certainly isn’t a bad grade, but how would it look over a W in my situation?
I’m an incoming freshman at Uconn. I chose to come here over USC/Emory since have 44 credits, free tuition, and a 50k scholarship. But because of this, my parents are pushing me to maintain a good GPA. As of now, I have a 3.91 GPA from my non degree coursework.
However, I am contemplating whether or not I should withdraw from Linear Algebra, which I am taking over the summer as a filler course before heading to Analysis I. I usually do well in my math courses. However, I am struggling in this class even with 5 hours of studying per day. The course itself is a mixed, where all our course work is done individually and handed in online while our exams are done in lecture halls. The problem is that I preform poorly in math without a traditional class setting/lectures. I recently took a midterm and I’m sure I bombed it; I’m expecting a C or worse…
I’m not even sure how I’ll do on the final, and I assume I’ll pass the class with a B at best. If I drop, I will have a W written on my transcript as a non degree course work. I can choose not to transfer this as part of my undergrad career, but it will remain part of my transcript regardless. Do you think I should just drop it?
A B certainly isn’t bad, but I’m wondering if grad schools will ignore the W provided that I maintain a good GPA.
I mean, I guess a B won’t harm me in the long run, but will grad schools or transfer schools really consider a high school student’s withdrawal? Do you think I can make an excuse? Based on my current GPA, I’m just bordering on summa. This may bring me down if I choose to accept the grade. I’m just worried about how grad schools will take of this.
The B won’t kill you. I got a B- in my Chem I class with A’s and A-'s in my other classes that semester. You said that you were an incoming freshman, you have a lot of time to get a good GPA. Don’t give up now by withdrawing. Stay in the class and give it your best. Remember, a bad grade won’t kill you.
Is this class at UCONN? If it is in the summer at a community college, there’s a chance that the credit will transfer and the grade will not. If your 44 credits you are bringing are AP or IB, the GPA won’t follow those either so you don’t have a college GPA yet. I’m sure it varies, but check to see what carries over (dual credits might). YMMV - this is how it work at D’s college.
I would confirm that the school you transfer to gives you gpa based on the credits transferred in. My daughter did dual enrollment and is starting with 62 credits at her college. Even with the credits officially approved, her doesn’t have a gpa. She didn’t take a summer class since they said would be considered a transfer if she completed anything between her high school graduation date and the first day of college.
The rule that I have seen is that schools will accept a class for transfer credit if it matches a course it offers and if the student earns at least a C. However, the actual grade doesn’t transfer into the GPA. Take the B.
Hey guys. The course is directly at Uconn, meaning the GPA/W will stick. The credits I’ve received before will also be transferring in with the grade that I have earned (hence, my initial GPA). This is because Uconn offers a dual enrollment plan of its own (known as ECE) and I’ve also taken 5 courses directly at Uconn in my high school years (ex. multivariable, dif eq, transition to advance math, etc.).
I’ve decided to drop the course and instead, retake it second semester of my freshman year in a traditional class where I can hopefully get a better grade. I’m not sure, but I don’t believe I get the option to erase my current grade by retaking the course at a later date as I am a non degree student; in other words, if I retake it, both grades will be written on my transcript. I guess I can just write in my application that I had scheduling issues (class took place during finals and when I was sick) and could not perform to be best of my ability. Hopefully the fact that I will retake the class later will help my cause.
Just as a final question, in your opinion, how much would this W affect me assuming that I will retake this course and end up with a good grade (A) shortly after this withdrawal? Do you think that scheduling/sickness issues would be at least a mediocre excuse?
Take the B for heaven’s sake. You will likely get a lot more B’s in college, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. By getting a B you have shown that you have mostly mastered the content of the course and are receiving CREDIT for the course. If you take the W, you won’t receive credit for the course, have to spend much more necessary time on it, and you will have a lot more grades to bump it up. You can’t overscrutinize every grade like this you will get in college, it will drive you crazy. A “B” definitely looks better than an W. Most students only withdraw if they are failing a course or are going to do really badly in it, which is what people looking at the transcript will think, not getting a B.
