Should I withdraw from a class?

[symbolipoint]

I am currently in the beginning of my Junior year as a physics major. This semester I am taking Electromagnetic Theory A, Mathematical Physics A, Mathematical Physics B and a special topics course (which consists of some minicourses and seminars on a range of topics in theoretical and mathematical physics). I am also in the second-half of a year-long research project I am doing in mathematical physics and I am also a member of an extracurricular program that organizes and plans various academic activities (such as events, workshops, outreach projetcs, etc). My gpa is currently 3.63/4.

I am thinking about withdrawing from a class: Mathematical Physics B. The reason why is that I am not enjoying it, I don't like the lectures, the teaching methodology, the lecture notes. The content is interesting, and the professor is a really nice guy and he is extremely knowledgeable in mathematical physics, but this class is just not my style.

You are enrolled in parts A and B of Mathematical Physics. Just how are those connected, or are they connected? Is the B supposed to follow the A? Are they co-requisites, or is A a prerequisite for B? My quick guess is that one would enroll in and study part A; and in the next term enroll and study part B. This would seem as you should not be doing both in the same term, and you should have not been enrolled in both at the same time. One might guess that you should drop from Mathematical Physics B as soon as possible, and focus on learning Mathematical Physics A. If this is the right thinking then you should not have enrolled in part B right now!

 

[jv07cs]

You are enrolled in parts A and B of Mathematical Physics. Just how are those connected, or are they connected? Is the B supposed to follow the A? Are they co-requisites, or is A a prerequisite for B? My quick guess is that one would enroll in and study part A; and in the next term enroll and study part B. This would seem as you should not be doing both in the same term, and you should have not been enrolled in both at the same time. One might guess that you should drop from Mathematical Physics B as soon as possible, and focus on learning Mathematical Physics A. If this is the right thinking then you should not have enrolled in part B right now!

Mathematical physics A is not a pre-requisite to B. And they are not co-requisites either. The syllabus for the part A is mainly PDEs, Fourier Analysis, etc. And for part B, it is functional analysis, topology, operators, special functions (the professor has some freedom to decide what the focus will be).

Part B is more of an extra course on mathematical physics, as it is also not a pre-requisite for any other classes.

 

[Choppy]

You might also want to consider not just GPA, but the fact that you are currently only enrolled in four courses. If you drop one, that's down to three. Maybe four is considered a full course load at your university, but in my experience it's usually five. And more to the point people on admission committees do tend to notice when students aren't carrying a full course load.

 

[PeterDonis]

In my university, we can only withdraw from a class (without justification) until 50% of the semester is complete.

Is that the situation you're in now? As in, you can withdraw now without justification? If you do do that, and take it again next semester with the other professor, and get an A, what will your transcript look like?

 

[jv07cs]

Is that the situation you're in now? As in, you can withdraw now without justification? If you do do that, and take it again next semester with the other professor, and get an A, what will your transcript look like?

Yes, I can withdraw without justification. If I do it and take this class next semester, it will show in my transcript a W in this class for this semester and an A in this class the next semester.

 

[PeterDonis]

If I do it and take this class next semester, it will show in my transcript a W in this class for this semester and an A in this class the next semester.

Hm, ok. I'm not savvy enough about current grad school admissions (my experience there is decades old) to know whether the "W" would be a significant issue or not. My personal guess would be to lean towards "not" since it looks like the "W" would be in Mathematical Physics B, and you are taking Mathematical Physics A in this same semester, so you could plausibly explain it as you not realizing that it would be too much to handle both of those classes at the same time. (Note that in this explanation you are not saying anything about your opinion of the respective professors.) And the "A" next semester would show that you can handle the material. But that's just my personal guess.

 

[symbolipoint]

If the W which you'd be given for dropping NOW, does not render as having any grade points or credit and therefore not affect grade average, then drop the course NOW. Before too late.

 

[gwnorth]

I can work with the definitions and I can understand the proofs for the propositions. But I don't feel like I am learning anything from it. It doesn't feel like I am really understanding the subject, I am just learning to use it. For me, this is not learning and doesn't hold much value, especially because I can properly learn this in another opportunity.

And dedicating for this class (in this situation), it kind of feels like I am wasting time I could use to properly learn and focus on other activities (research, classes, extracurricular). In my research, for example, I am in the second-half half of it and with an opportunity to even publish a paper depending on my work in these next 4 months.

To be bluntly honest these sound like excuses you're using to justify doing what you want to do which is to drop the class because you don't like this professor's lecturing style. You're simply seeking external validation for your decision. Let's not kid ourselves by pretending otherwise.

The reality is that you have no way of knowing that if you take the course with the other professor you will better "understand" the subject. If you currently find that you're not really understanding the fundamentals and are just learning to "plug and chug", then you should be seeking additional learning resources. This is what it means to be an independent learner.

If you want to drop the class then drop it but you should do so with the understanding that a) yes having a W on your transcript for an upper division course in your major may affect your competitiveness for grad school, and b) that it really has absolutely nothing to do with your ability to excel in this class but rather the fact that you just don't like it.

 

[jv07cs]

To be bluntly honest these sound like excuses you're using to justify doing what you want to do which is to drop the class because you don't like this professor's lecturing style. You're simply seeking external validation for your decision. Let's not kid ourselves by pretending otherwise.

The reality is that you have no way of knowing that if you take the course with the other professor you will better "understand" the subject. If you currently find that you're not really understanding the fundamentals and are just learning to "plug and chug", then you should be seeking additional learning resources. This is what it means to be an independent learner.

If you want to drop the class then drop it but you should do so with the understanding that a) yes having a W on your transcript for an upper division course in your major may affect your competitiveness for grad school, and b) that it really has absolutely nothing to do with your ability to excel in this class but rather the fact that you just don't like it.

Thanks for your honesty. You're right, I guess I am giving excuses. There are many factors to consider for this decision, but the reason why this question even arose is because I don't like this class.

I will take into consideration all the replies in this thread, weigh the pros and cons, and then make a decision. I still have a couple a weeks to decide.

 

[vela]

Maybe a dumb question, but if you complete the course this semester and retake it next semester and do better, how does that show up on your transcript?

Most likely, the school won't allow a student to retake a course for which they have already received a passing grade.

 

[PeterDonis]

Most likely, the school won't allow a student to retake a course for which they have already received a passing grade.

The OP already confirmed that this is the case in post #18.