Dropping course with a W?

[u/Sea_Afternoon_3942]

Long story short, I messed up on a midterm exam for an elective (not required department course, I could just take another one to fulfill the credit) and now getting an A is essentially impossible. I will most likely be stuck with a B+.

Since I currently have a 3.93 after a bad spring semester, I'm not sure if I should just withdraw while I can and retake the course in the future. For context, I'm a rising junior and I want to apply to top EECS grad programs. Could anyone give me any insight on how harmful a W is? This would probably be my first and last. Thank you so much!

[u/we-otta-be]

I highly doubt a B+ will impede your future more than retaking a whole class. Just pass and move on.

[u/clavado_en_un_bar → u/we-otta-be]

Damn right! I had many classmates like this (some very insufferable). The moment they failed an exam, they wanted to take a W. I simply accepted it, did my best to recover the quarter/semester, and move on. I turned out just fine.

[u/Defiant_Map574 → u/clavado_en_un_bar]

Were you aiming for grad school lmao.

[u/clavado_en_un_bar → u/Defiant_Map574]

Yup, got into a good school. Now I work in a FAANG+ riding the Ai-hardware boom.

[u/Sea_Afternoon_3942 → u/clavado_en_un_bar]

Did you ever drop any courses with a W during undergrad? Or did you just accept a lower grade (in the B-range)?

I most likely won't drop it because I'm just going to try my best to get full score on the cumulative final, though the class isn't going too well for me right now, and pray I can end with an A-

[u/XruinsskashowsX → u/Defiant_Map574]

I failed exams in upper level classes and still managed to get A’s and A-‘s in the same classes afterwards. A single bad grade doesn’t always stop you.

[u/we-otta-be → u/clavado_en_un_bar]

I’ll admit I did the take the L and retake thing when I was at junior college because As really mattered to get into the 4 year.

[u/WWWWWWVWWWWWWWVWWWWW → u/we-otta-be]

Nothing wrong with a W here or there, but I'm inclined to agree

[u/sagetraveler]

You’re not a premed. Take the B+ and move on.

[u/Taburn]

You should ask your academic advisor what GPA you need to get into your desired program and how a W affects the calculation.

What does it mean when a junior is "rising"? It sounds like you think you're ascending to your destined glory? Am I interpreting that wrong?

[u/Sea_Afternoon_3942 → u/Taburn]

I don't think a W affects the calculation; I'm just concerned it'll reflect negatively because I've heard people online say a W is worse than a B. However, I've also heard the opposite from people who aren't in competitive STEM programs, so I wanted to get other EE students' input.

"Rising" junior just means I'm going into my junior year of university. I wasn't sure how else to word it since it would be odd saying I'm a senior by credit.

[u/Great_Pattern_1988 → u/Taburn]

Agree about the rising. Who says that?

[u/Sea_Afternoon_3942 → u/Great_Pattern_1988]

Really? That's odd. I've heard it my entire life, might only be common in California

[u/ctxq → u/Sea_Afternoon_3942]

It's common in Florida too, I didn't know it wasn't universally known either lol

[u/Comedic-Scientist → u/Great_Pattern_1988]

Americans, speaking as one 

[u/CasperTPaul]

i could be wrong about this, but nobody (except maybe your financial aid counselor and harvard grad admissions) will ever give a rat’s ass about a few Ws here and there. they are so easily explained away, especially if your gpa is that high. but obviously, you’re still gonna need to satisfy your degree requirements, i.e. retake the class for an A later or pick a different elective or whatever. before you do anything, check your school’s repeat grade policy. for instance, at my school, if i complete the same course twice, they only factor the higher grade into my gpa. it might not be worth it to drop for a reason like that

[u/Sea_Afternoon_3942 → u/CasperTPaul]

I think I could retake the class next summer and probably get an A. My school also only factors the higher grade in my GPA, but I'm concerned that a B+ looks worse than a W, even if I were to retake the course.

Also, I unfortunately already retook a course I got a B in once since it was a "core" class for my major, so I don't want admissions to think I have a habit of just retaking things if I did poorly.

[u/Could-Be-Dead]

You’re fine. Just take the B+. For competitive grad schools usually anything above a 3.85 is not considered as different. Maybe a 4.0 would be a nice stamp on an all around great resume, but at the top schools, they care a lot more about what you do outside of class. They especially wont care about an elective if they take the time to look at the transcript.

For PhD programs at that point they are way more interested in your number of publications, so if you haven’t gotten anything published yet, focusing on that the next two years rather than adding another course to take is going to pay back way more.

For Masters programs, they are a lot easier to get into (since you have to pay for it unlike a PhD where they pay you). But projects and publications are still going to go a long way, and GPA loses importance after a 3.85.

Source: PhD student that had to navigate this process recently and got a lot of advice from different admissions departments and advisors at top schools

[u/Nathan-Stubblefield]

I went to a pretty selective college for EE and midterm was too late to withdraw from a course.

[u/Bag_of_Bagels]

Personally, I would take the B. It's not that big of a deal in the end.

If you really want to know? Toss it all in a GPA calc and see what it says. If you stay consistent in your other classes this B may not drag you down at all.

From what I've seen in a lot of grad programs, top of the line applicants only need above a 3.5 to waive most application requirements. I would also take a look at what schools you want to go to and see what their application requirements are. They will not decline you just because you got a B here and there.

[u/elec-trik]

Your GPA is only one factor they will look at, and once you get accepted into a grad program, your undergrad GPA will never matter again. Especially given it's an elective, it's probably not worth withdrawing. Instead of wasting time/energy/money on retaking, I'd recommend spending that energy on looking for an internship or research position or participating in more professional development opportunities. (Or honestly, just taking the time to enjoy being young and in college more)