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OK I'm in my last semester of undergrad and have already been accepted into a couple law schools that are two of my top choices (NYU and Penn). I'm considering withdrawing from a class, but that will lead to me getting a "W" on my transcript. Will this hurt me? I have a very good GPA from my undergrad and as far as I understand, getting a "W" will make my transcript look less clean, but it won't actually affect my GPA. I don't want to finish the class with a poor grade to mess up my 4.0, but I also don't want to take a "W" if that looks too bad.

1. Will the "W" hurt me in the short or long run?
2. If I needed the class to stay in my schools "honors program" and I put that I was in the "honors program" on my resume when I applied to law school, could that affect me?
3. What would you guys do?

A W hurts less than a grade that brings your GPA down. Drop if you won't get a 4.0 equivalent or better in the class. Update your resume if that changes your honors status.

No school cares about "honors programs."

Take the W. A low grade would be worse. Also, if you need to withdraw for your sanity, do it.

Before you do this, make absolutely sure that your school doesn't issues W's that are equivalent to failing grades. LSAC treat W-fails as if you took the class and got an F -- not something you want.

Otherwise, Ws that don't factor into your GPA don't matter to law schools.

Just called my undergrad, the W doesn't count toward my GPA. Will it still look bad to future schools or employers?

Jpreece59 wrote:Just called my undergrad, the W doesn't count toward my GPA. Will it still look bad to future schools or employers?

Not nearly as bad as a low grade. Lots of people drop a class or two for legitimate reasons.

As long as your school does not consider a "W" to be the equivalent of a failing grade, it won't really hurt you. I would rather have a "W" than a "F."

Redbandit wrote:As long as your school does not consider a "W" to be the equivalent of a failing grade, it won't really hurt you. I would rather have a "W" than a "F."

can you define "won't really?"

Jpreece59 wrote:

Redbandit wrote:As long as your school does not consider a "W" to be the equivalent of a failing grade, it won't really hurt you. I would rather have a "W" than a "F."

can you define "won't really?"

A withdrawal is a soft factor

A → B ⊨ ¬B → ¬A wrote:

Jpreece59 wrote:

Redbandit wrote:As long as your school does not consider a "W" to be the equivalent of a failing grade, it won't really hurt you. I would rather have a "W" than a "F."

can you define "won't really?"

A withdrawal is a soft factor

I'm hoping it's a relatively small soft factor.

Jpreece59 wrote:

A → B ⊨ ¬B → ¬A wrote:

Jpreece59 wrote:

Redbandit wrote:As long as your school does not consider a "W" to be the equivalent of a failing grade, it won't really hurt you. I would rather have a "W" than a "F."

can you define "won't really?"

A withdrawal is a soft factor

I'm hoping it's a relatively small soft factor.

If you have a 4.0 with a W, I seriously doubt they'll even notice

No one will care. IMO, one of the most important parts of UG is knowing when to drop a class.