A discussion I was having with another pre-med: If you knew you were getting a B or even C early on in the semester in a particular class, would you withdraw? What is the more prudent move to improve acceptance chances? We never came up with an answer. Curious to find out what is better.
john
I believe W’s are included in your AAMC GPA as F’s so if that is the case it would be better to take the C and then do a retake, b/c AAMC avgs your grade for the class. So A plus W = C while A plus C = B.
FWIW, this is straight from the AMCAS instruction manual.
Grades that Do Not Affect the AMCAS GPA
The following AMCAS grades do not have a weight or value in computing the AMCAS GPA:
G Used to indicate AP credit not assigned a letter grade
L Used for CLEP or USAFI/DANTES credit not assigned a letter grade
P Used for courses taken in a Pass/Fail system, which are Passed
N Used for courses taken in a Pass/Fail system, which are Failed
For the following types, no entry should be made in the AMCAS Grade Column. These courses
have no value or weight in the AMCAS GPA.
AU Audited courses
CC Courses which are currently being taken or which you expect to take
DG Multi-term courses (incomplete series)
EX Exempt courses
NR Courses for which there is no recorded grade because of school error
W Courses from which the applicant has officially withdrawn or “dropped”
Frankly, I do not know the answer. Many here have both and still made it.
How would you justify your “W”? I mean if you become a doctor, it is not like you can take a W on a dying patient needing some help.
I think if you can make a B, although it will hurt a bit, it won’t be as bad as saying I dropped because it was too hard. Now if you can justify the need to drop, like a change in working schedule, or another problem that you can not get around, the W is perhaps the best alternative.
This is just an opinion and in no way a piece of advice. I’d put myself in the shoes of the interviewer and ask myself “what would I rather hear? Someone who did the best and hanged on to a difficult challenge or someone who quit because he couldn’t achieve perfection”. Again if you have a good excuse to drop, then do so.
In the end you have to do what feels best for you.
Good luck.
What I have been told by advisors and adcoms I questioned is that you need to be able to explain that W. And you need to have very few of them.
My opinion is that taking a W instead of a B is incredibly stupid. You’ve wasted part of a semester and will have to re-take the entire course - why not just put the effort into mastering the material and passing the class? Even if the grade is a C you’d probably be better off finishing it.
Rule 10: Beware of FUD – Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.
Sorry for being dogmatic about this, but a W is far, far worse than a B. Period, end of statement, no ifs, ends, or buts.
W should be used for and explained by an EXTERNAL reason to school (ie illness, family issue, etc). It should be used at best when you are barely passing a course.
Getting a B in a course is perfectly fine. Considering a W instead of B, I think, is caused from the neurosis that many premeds have about the belief that they have to be perfect and if they aren’t perfect, they won’t get in.
Time and energy wasted worrying about this could be better spent working on say, studying and not getting bent out of shape by a B.
FUD has killed more premeds than GPA and MCAT combine.
(sorry I was watching the comedian Lewis Black earlier and he has influenced my tone for the evening)
Speaking of not having to be perfect during postbacc. I have two B’s on my post-bacc record.
Insightful posts everyone. In my “W” instance, I had taken an elective online. My instructor never graded or submitted any grades for the two papers we had written of other various assignments as of the midterm date. He didn’t return emails or calls from students. A number of students went to the department head of online learning and were offered the option to withdraw with a refund as a result of his lack of interest in teaching. Although I felt I would have scored well, I did not want to leave my grade to chance. Most of the students, myself included, withdrew from the course and the instructor was subsequently released from the college at the end of the semester.
- johnnyk Said:
Insightful posts everyone. In my "W" instance, I had taken an elective online. My instructor never graded or submitted any grades for the two papers we had written of other various assignments as of the midterm date. He didn't return emails or calls from students. A number of students went to the department head of online learning and were offered the option to withdraw with a refund as a result of his lack of interest in teaching. Although I felt I would have scored well, I did not want to leave my grade to chance. Most of the students, myself included, withdrew from the course and the instructor was subsequently released from the college at the end of the semester.
You should petition the school thru their academic judicial process (should be outlined in course catalog or school bulletin) to have the grade removed and course expunged from your transcript. I would do so under implied threat of legal action. That is best accomplished by filing the petition with an obvious "cc" to John Smith, Esq or legal counsel or whatever.