W's on transcript (withdrawing)

[cytochrome]

Hi all,

I'll be applying to mechanical engineering graduate school soon and I have 3 W's on my transcript. They were from my first 2 semesters of school to the new school I transferred to and were mainly the result of bad planning and advising (I switched my major from biomedical engineering to mechanical engineering so I dropped these chemical engineering and biomedical engineering classes because I didn't think they would be useful). I had no idea what a W was at the time really, my school just puts it on your transcript for withdrawing a week after the first day of classes.

Other than that, I have a 3.9 GPA, 2 publications, 3+ years of research experience, and coming from a top 3 engineering school. Does anyone see this being an issue when applying to engineering graduate schools? Even top tier schools like MIT?

Thanks for your time

 

[Choppy]

I don't see it being an issue at all. People withdraw from courses for all sorts of reasons. You don't get credit for having taken the class. You don't get penalized for having dropped it.

 

[deluks917]

I do not think this will be an issue.

 

[micromass]

The question is, if we tell you that it'll be an issue, what would you do differently?

 

[cytochrome]

The question is, if we tell you that it'll be an issue, what would you do differently?

I found out I could fill out a petition to the registrar, have a huge meeting with them (kind of like a court meeting), tell them why I don't want W's on my transcript, and then they might take them off.

If anyone said that three W's on a transcript would hinder my chances at going to a top research school and becoming a professor (my dream) then I would definitely go through all that trouble.