Effect of Dropped Class on Grad School Acceptance

[Daweih]

I'm currently a Bio major in freshman year, and I currently have plans to go to optometry school. The thing is, I made the mistake of underestimating a class (Freshman Biology) and "ruined" my gpa as a result. I got an A-, which is perfectly fine, but nonetheless, if I had put forth a little bit more effort, an A would have been entirely possible. I'm currently in my second semester of Biology, and pathetically enough, I'm basically committing the same mistake as last semester. At this point, truth be told, I'm absolutely sick of this class. I had previously taken AP Biology in high school and got a 5 on the exam, so technically, I do have credit for this class. However, I decided to take it again with the idea of making it my gpa cushion, if you will. In hindsight, that was a idiotic mistake on my part. Right now, I'm considering dropping this class with a W since my chances of getting an A are very slim at this point. I just don't want to put up with it anymore. I just need to know if this would seriously compromise my chances of getting into Optometry school. Thank you in advance guys.

 

[DrummingAtom]

Talk to an adviser.

 

[Daweih]

My gpa is only 3.6 at the moment. I'm on the verge of getting a C in the class. You tell me if my choice is unreasonable or not. i just want to know whether dropping the class before it seriously hampers my gpa would yield worse consequences than sticking with it.

 

[Choppy]

From a technical point of view a single dropped class is unlikely to have a significant effect on your opportunities for graduate school or professional school.

However, the bigger issue is that you're hurting in the first year introductory course of your major. Your future classes are only going to build on what this class covers. It would seem naive to think that just because you've taken it in high school and have credit for it that you "know" the material. If you knew it that well - wouldn't you be breezing through with the marks you thought you were capable of?

Another possible issue is that professional schools like medicine or optometry have a set of required courses in undergrad. Depending on the school they may or may not accept your "AP" course as one of their prerequisits. I would seriously look into this before dropping a course.

 

[micromass]

From a technical point of view a single dropped class is unlikely to have a significant effect on your opportunities for graduate school or professional school.

However, the bigger issue is that you're hurting in the first year introductory course of your major. Your future classes are only going to build on what this class covers. It would seem naive to think that just because you've taken it in high school and have credit for it that you "know" the material. If you knew it that well - wouldn't you be breezing through with the marks you thought you were capable of?

Another possible issue is that professional schools like medicine or optometry have a set of required courses in undergrad. Depending on the school they may or may not accept your "AP" course as one of their prerequisits. I would seriously look into this before dropping a course.

I agree completely. You seem to be worried about your GPA and how it will look on your transcript. But you seem to be missing the fact that you're failing (a C is failing for me) a freshman biology class. You should be thinking about what you are doing wrong in the class and why you are doing so badly. The classes next year aren't going to be any easier to you and withdrawing won't be an option. That your GPA takes a hit right now is much less important than the fact that you don't seem to know the material well!