<p>So I'm taking a class required for my major right now and unfortunately, am not doing that well. Right now, I have a B-grade and, I can live with that, but my grade totally depends on the grade I receive on my final (professor's grading system is a little weird). </p>
<p>The W deadline has passed and my professor won't withdraw me from the class. So I just have one question: If you were put in a similar situation, would you take the C or get the F and retake the class?</p>
<p>Note: I already know about the whole transcript-stays-with-you-when-applying-to-grad-school thing. And I know I should try my hardest on my final (which I will). But at this point I'm skeptical about my grade, especially because it's a pre-req. So please help! Thank you! :)</p>
<p>C looks better… sure your GPA might be better getting the F replaced by an A… but when people see your F… it will look terrible… You say you have a B currently, so all you need is to get a B or high C on the final?</p>
<p>I need a high B to maintain my B in that class. I’ve never done so poorly in any class before. The material is so difficult and I don’t know why, ahahaaaa.</p>
<p>Does it really look thaaat bad? Kaz I know for my major they don’t really stress the grade earned in prereq classes and only overall GPA when transferring. Hm.</p>
<p>definitely take the B- or C. if you ever want to apply for medical school or anything post undergraduate, you need to make sure there aren’t any red flags like an F.</p>
<p>I went to school for a couple semesters after high school, and did very poorly. I got a couple Fs, a couple Ds, a couple Cs, and amazingly a couple As (super easy classes). I stopped going and took a few years off, then came back and did well. Since I had taken 2+ years off, I was able to apply for academic renewal, which didn’t remove the Ds and Fs from my transcript, but made it so they no longer counted towards my GPA. There was nothing I could do about the Cs.
So in my situation, it worked out better that I got the Fs and Ds because they were essentially removed from my transcripts (I just put ‘AR’ in the grade box on my UC application).
I think mine is the only situation where getting an F was better than getting a C.
Unless you’re planning on dropping out and coming back in a few years, you should take the C. You can’t be sure that you would get better than a C if you retake the class. Getting a C will not ruin your chances at getting into your dream school. Berkeley is not going to throw away your application as soon as they see a C. Tons of people are receiving Cs at every school you’ll apply to. It’s not a bad grade, it’s an average grade, and it’s ok to be average once in a while.
If your C is surrounded by As and Bs, they’ll probably barely even pay attention to it.
But yeah, don’t sit around and fret about it before you’ve even taken the final. Study your butt off and see what happens. I’ve had a lot of professors give me a grade higher than I KNOW I earned, and I didn’t even ask. If they think you’re quitting, they’ll let you sink. If they think you’re trying (even if you haven’t talked to them at all), they’ll give you a hand.</p>
<p>I’m not too worried about the F haunting me for grad school, because I either want to go to art or seminary school (random, I know hahah).</p>
<p>Bmop, that really helps. But I’m not completely convinced yet… I know a handful of people that took the F’s and retook the class instead of receiving that C. So I’m trying to figure out WHY they chose the F instead of the C. I know that C is better in the long run, but I’m afraid it’ll ruin my chances for UCLA for undergrad. I would like to maintain my GPA so I’m pretty skeptical about everything… Ahhh.</p>
<p>I’m not making things any easier for myself, hah. :T</p>
<p>A C will not ruin your chances with UCLA. They’ll probably won’t even notice it, especially if it’s surrounded by As and Bs.
It will barely dent your GPA. One A will balance it out to a B average.
The admissions people know some people received all As because they took easy professors, and some people got a C or two because they took hard professors. Theres a reason they have people reviewing these applications and not computers.
Getting an F looks like you quit, getting a C looks like you at least put in some effort. If you already have all As and Bs, an F will stick out. A C will just blend in, because hell, as far as they know it was just barely below a B.
If you take an F, you will regret it. It will not benefit you, just as it won’t benefit your friends who did what you’re thinking about doing.</p>
<p>I had one D and one C while applying to schools. I got into both UCLA and Cal. I repeated the course I got a D in (and got an A the second time). My overall GPA was 3.83 at the time of my application. </p>
<p>If your overall GPA is very high, I wouldn’t worry about it. UNLESS you are applying to an extremely competitive major (like Business Econ, Business @ Haas, Communication Studies @ UCLA, etc.)</p>
<p>i had a C in a pre-req class and got into UCLA. like kc_sunshine said if you have a high GPA it isn’t something to be that worried about. i’m a poli sci major so its impacted but not as much as bus/bus-econ. then i would worry a little. also i think it helped that i was in TAP. are you TAP certified?</p>
<p>I am confused. You need a high B to maintain a B? Are you referring to not getting a B- instead of a B? Or are your grades curved against you? 0.o</p>
<p>Our grading system isn’t based on the whole plus and minus deal. But for that class, yeah, my grade is curved against me. ): Her grading system is really weird and hard to explain. My GPA isn’t amazing so it’s still ehhh :T</p>
<p>Thank you for your inputtttt. This helps so much.</p>