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i believe cumulative GPA is more important than whether or not your transcript has a W.

go for the withdrawal. that cumulative UG GPA is definitely seen by ALL law schools that you apply to. whether or not any look through the actual transcript and notice and care that you have a W is a lesser question. it's possible none look through.

As long as you won't drop below full-time, drop it. I had a W every semester. I don't think it made a difference.

I don't think it matters even if it drops you below full-time, unless your numbers are very borderline or you're applying to Yale.

plenipotentiary wrote:I don't think it matters even if it drops you below full-time, unless your numbers are very borderline or you're applying to Yale.

If the student drops below full-time, they may have to pay back financial aid and will have to explain to the LS why they were not full time.

eandy wrote:

plenipotentiary wrote:I don't think it matters even if it drops you below full-time, unless your numbers are very borderline or you're applying to Yale.

If the student drops below full-time, they may have to pay back financial aid and will have to explain to the LS why they were not full time.

The OP wasn't asking us about financial aid.

For the purposes of law school admissions, the W is mostly irrelevant. A lower GPA will have a greater impact on the OP's cycle than one W.

And they will not "have to explain to the LS," even if they drop below full-time. I dropped one of four classes last spring (leaving me with 9 credits), because I hated the professor and I had too much going on between work and studying for the LSAT. I did not write an addendum. I got into a pretty good law school.

plenipotentiary wrote:

eandy wrote:

plenipotentiary wrote:I don't think it matters even if it drops you below full-time, unless your numbers are very borderline or you're applying to Yale.

If the student drops below full-time, they may have to pay back financial aid and will have to explain to the LS why they were not full time.

And they will not "have to explain to the LS," even if they drop below full-time. I dropped one of four classes last spring (leaving me with 9 credits), because I hated the professor and I had too much going on between work and studying for the LSAT. I did not write an addendum. I got into a pretty good law school.

Most applications have a section where they ask you to explain any period of time in which you were not enrolled in school or employed full-time. If you dropped after submitting, you are generally supposed to tell them(as you are supposed to tell them when anything else changes).

eandy wrote:

plenipotentiary wrote:

eandy wrote:

plenipotentiary wrote:I don't think it matters even if it drops you below full-time, unless your numbers are very borderline or you're applying to Yale.

If the student drops below full-time, they may have to pay back financial aid and will have to explain to the LS why they were not full time.

And they will not "have to explain to the LS," even if they drop below full-time. I dropped one of four classes last spring (leaving me with 9 credits), because I hated the professor and I had too much going on between work and studying for the LSAT. I did not write an addendum. I got into a pretty good law school.

Most applications have a section where they ask you to explain any period of time in which you were not enrolled in school or employed full-time. If you dropped after submitting, you are generally supposed to tell them(as you are supposed to tell them when anything else changes).

Why would I have submitted an application while studying for the LSAT? Especially if it was during the spring semester? Use your noggin.

That question is asking you to explain what you were doing if you took a semester (or more) off from school. Or if you were only taking one or two classes for several semesters running. If there is one semester where you have three classes and one W, I think the intelligent people in the law school admissions office will be able to figure out what happened for themselves. There's no need to draw attention to it with an addendum. It's totally inconsequential.

Anyway, the UVA app does not include a question like that.

Thanks for all the replies! I also made sure that I would still be full-time even in such a situation (not sure if this matters, but I'm full-time so I don't have to worry about it anyway now), so I'll go ahead and take the W. Thank you again!

plenipotentiary wrote:

eandy wrote:

plenipotentiary wrote: And they will not "have to explain to the LS," even if they drop below full-time. I dropped one of four classes last spring (leaving me with 9 credits), because I hated the professor and I had too much going on between work and studying for the LSAT. I did not write an addendum. I got into a pretty good law school.

Most applications have a section where they ask you to explain any period of time in which you were not enrolled in school or employed full-time. If you dropped after submitting, you are generally supposed to tell them(as you are supposed to tell them when anything else changes).

Why would I have submitted an application while studying for the LSAT? Especially if it was during the spring semester? Use your noggin.

That question is asking you to explain what you were doing if you took a semester (or more) off from school. Or if you were only taking one or two classes for several semesters running. If there is one semester where you have three classes and one W, I think the intelligent people in the law school admissions office will be able to figure out what happened for themselves. There's no need to draw attention to it with an addendum. It's totally inconsequential.

Anyway, the UVA app does not include a question like that.

lol@"use your noggin"
My post was targeted at the OP/people in general, not you in particular. I could really care less about your LS/Academic timeline. I just want the OP (or someone using the search function) to know that some applications will require an explanation if at any time during UG, even after the application is submitted, you drop below full time enrollment. Not that it may make any difference, but it is information to consider before dropping the course.