Graduate School Application (about dropped courses)

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the implications of dropping a finance course on a graduate school application for a mathematics major. Participants explore concerns about how a "Course cancelled" notation on a transcript might affect admission chances, as well as the overall impact of course load and academic performance on graduate school prospects.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested, Homework-related, Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests checking if the school has a course forgiveness program that allows retaking the course, indicating that a dropped course may be viewed more favorably than a failing grade.
  • Another participant notes that graduate committees typically look for anomalies on transcripts and implies that having a dropped course is preferable to an "F," while also considering the overall application context.
  • A participant emphasizes the importance of making the final semester count, especially if it will be the last seen by admissions committees.
  • Concerns are raised about the quality of teaching and support from faculty, with one participant expressing frustration about the lack of engagement from professors and teaching assistants.
  • There is a clarification regarding terminology, with one participant noting that "Course cancelled" may imply the university's action rather than the student's decision to withdraw.
  • Questions are posed about the specific graduate program the original poster is considering, suggesting that the impact of dropping the course may vary depending on the field of study.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions on the implications of dropping the course, with no consensus on how it will specifically affect graduate school applications. Some agree that a dropped course is better than failing, while others emphasize the need for a holistic view of the application.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the lack of specific knowledge about the original poster's university policies regarding course withdrawals and the variability of graduate school admission criteria across different programs.

rad0786
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Graduate School Aplication (about dropped courses)

Hi

So i am a math majour, and i took a 3rd year finance course.

I wrote the midterm (for the finance course) and just bearly passed - i got ~50% on the midterm and it is worth 25% of our final grade.

I am 3rd year.

If i drop the course, it will show as "Course cancelled" on my transcript (this WON'T inclcude the date dropped nor the reason)

Then my course load will be reduced to 4 courses...from 5.

Would this really hurt my chances for Graduate school?? :confused:
 
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First question -- does your school have a course forgiveness program (i.e. can you retake it next year)?

Second -- grad committee's typically look for anomalies on transcripts, but I think a dropped is better than an "F"... and are there other things going on that term... like really exciting difficult courses... or maybe starting some research project, that you could use to justify?

My thoughts have always been that somehow the grad selection process usually puts you in the correct program for YOU. Consider your whole application when it comes to application time... be ambitious but realistic.
 
You need to ask the registrar at your school; no one here will know exactly how your school handles withdrawn classes.

- Warren
 
Oh i was asking just generally.

I did ask the graduate advisory at my university via email and requested to book an inperson appointment. He did not reply.

Im sorry for complaining here...but I've come to a conclusion that the mathematicans at my school don't socialize much. Theylso never update course websites, they suck at teaching, they suck at helping students academicllay and career wise, and they suck at teaching. The grad TA's generally suck too. Oh, i forgot to mention that 90% of the math prof's at my school have montone voices.

Only a handfull of profs are "prof's for students" who care for us and give us a helping hand.

I hope other universities are better than mine!
 
Classes have been pretty good at teaching up until my jr. year. Now its basically here is the book, I'm going to talk about whatever I want for the next 50 minutes, the midterm is on this date, have fun. You'll get use to the suck and embrace it.
 
Actually, "Course cancelled" sounds like the university might have been the one to cancel the course. "W[ithdrawn]" is the term I have more commonly seen. As mentioned above, withdrawing is better than failing.

Make the seventh semester count (since it's probably the last semester that'll be seen by admissions committees, assuming you are going straight in after the eighth semester).

What kind of graduate school program are you trying to get into?
Finance? Mathematics? something else? In any case, it probably won't hurt much if you are going into a non-finance graduate program.
 

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