The significance of a "W"

January 16, 2006 11:54 AM

Will a withdrawal from a course, and therefore a grade of "W" ultimately hurt my chances of getting into a good grad school?

I'm currently an underclassman at a fairly well regarded public university in the US. Now that the first week of classes are over, I realize that I have overcommitted myself this semester (I am taking the maximum number of credit hours that my university allows) and would like to get out of one of my classes.

The first problem is that while today is technically the last day to drop classes without a grade of "W", the Office of the Registrar is not open (as it's MLK day) which means that I cannot actually do this today. The second is that I'm a political science major, but the only course that I can legitimatly drop (due to distribution requirements and pre-requisites for other classes) is a higher level political science course.

Now, my GPA is fairly high, the "W" won't hurt my GPA at all, and I will hopefully take this same course next semester, but the school at which I would eventually like to pursue a MA in International Relations is highly competitive when it comes to admission. Will this one "W" make a difference, or am I just worrying too much?

posted by almostbarefoot to Education (18 answers total)

Do you have time to meet with your assigned advisor tomorrow? They are paid (well paid) to coordinate with the Registrar and help you resolve these issues on your transcript. If your grades are good, it would otherwise seem you have a pretty reasonable explanation for not withdrawing sooner.
posted by Rothko at 11:59 AM on January 16, 2006

I'm not certan, but I kind of doubt it. Can you just take the class again later?
posted by delmoi at 12:02 PM on January 16, 2006

Isn't there an automated (computer) system that will let you drop the class without human interaction?

or

Just go to the Registrar and say the following: "Hey, I wanted to drop this class yesterday but you weren't open. I really don't want a "W" on my transcript. Would you mind doing me a favor and withdrawing me?"

And if that doesn't work, go to your advisor and complain.
posted by elisabeth r at 12:15 PM on January 16, 2006

It wll not hurt your chances of getting into grad school. You're worrying to much.
posted by duck at 12:20 PM on January 16, 2006

Duck is right. It will definitely not hurt your chances. Most schools actually put W followed by the number of the week you with drew. No one will care about W1 but maybe they'd look less kindly on W12 or whatever.
posted by joegester at 12:24 PM on January 16, 2006

plus a W is ALWAYS better then a D or F. trust me, i went the W route a few times.
posted by ShawnString at 12:32 PM on January 16, 2006

Send an email to the registrar and to the professor of the course and include the contents of this post. As long as you're not too far past the deadline, generally all it takes is a polite email to get out of the class.
posted by nixerman at 12:33 PM on January 16, 2006

I'll add the the chorus: the W is not going to hurt your chances. I have 4 of them on my undergraduate transcripts, and they have been a non-issue.
posted by Quartermass at 12:42 PM on January 16, 2006

Yep, I have about 4 or so on my undergraduate transcripts, and I'm at a top-tier grad school now.
posted by onalark at 1:00 PM on January 16, 2006

Oh, if we're also reporting our own acitivites as evidence...I have "worse" than a W, I have "Withdrew for the semester" (whatever the abbrev for that is) on my transcript. (Took a course in summer, changed my mind and since it was the only course, withdrawing essentially meant dropping out for the semester). I'm also at a top graduate program in my field.
posted by duck at 1:27 PM on January 16, 2006

See an advisor at your school; they usually have the power to remove that 'W' from your transcript if you give them a good enough reason. (At least they did when I was in school at UBC in Vancouver). My best friend went in a month after the deadline and cried, claiming that she wasn't going to get into med school with a W. They took it off for her.... so it can't hurt to try.
posted by cgg at 1:33 PM on January 16, 2006

Your grad school applications will almost certainly give you an opportunity to explain any "blemishes" on your transcript; and having sat on a graduate admissions committee, this wouldn't be a very big one.

If you feel you need to say something when time for applications rolls around, you can say something like "In the spring semester of '06, I withdrew from 'Ontology of Fredonian Parliamentary Debate' during the second week of classes due to the workload in the other required classes I was taking." But as everyone else has said, I'm not sure you'd need to.
posted by Johnny Assay at 2:05 PM on January 16, 2006

I doubt it. I repeated two classes and got into every grad school I applied to.
posted by fshgrl at 2:56 PM on January 16, 2006

I withdrew from 2 classes when I was an undergraduate, & I'm getting my doctorate in a great graduate program now. The most important things to worry about (if you meet the grade & test requirement) are usually recommendations & experience in your field. Those are a HUGE factor in getting in to grad school.
posted by Four-Eyed Girl at 3:44 PM on January 16, 2006

Don't worry about it.
posted by Netzapper at 4:33 PM on January 16, 2006

As long as you don't make it a habit, I'm thinking it's a non-issue. I withdrew from two classes at a state school and managed to get into a competitive graduate program at Northwestern.
posted by awegz at 4:58 PM on January 16, 2006

Regardless of whether you expunge the "W" or not, it is certainly better than getting lower grades in your other classed because you're overloaded.

Oh, and a "W" or two on your undergrad transcript is no big deal.
posted by maniactown at 5:02 PM on January 16, 2006

A W is always better than a D or an F.
posted by k8t at 1:57 PM on January 17, 2006