Does drop a course affect the GPA Forum

[arain19982008]

Hello everyone,
I want to drop a course because the horrible prof teaching. I am not sure that this will affect my GPA counting or not. I am going to apply law school next year. Thank you for your response.

[cavalier1138]

That's a question for your current institution. If you're past the add/drop deadline, there's a solid chance it will count as a punitive withdrawal and be treated like a failing grade for GPA purposes. If not, then it won't.

So ask your registrar.

[The Lsat Airbender]

That's a question for your current institution. If you're past the add/drop deadline, there's a solid chance it will count as a punitive withdrawal and be treated like a failing grade for GPA purposes. If not, then it won't.

So ask your registrar.

Can even vary by department some places. My undergrad, you could drop with no transcript notation for the first month of the semester and then you'd get a non-punitive withdrawal grade if you withdrew between then and the final exam. But some departments (Mathematics, e.g.) insisted on punitive F-equivalent withdrawals if you bailed after the midterm.

[QContinuum]

That's a question for your current institution. If you're past the add/drop deadline, there's a solid chance it will count as a punitive withdrawal and be treated like a failing grade for GPA purposes. If not, then it won't.

So ask your registrar.

Can even vary by department some places. My undergrad, you could drop with no transcript notation for the first month of the semester and then you'd get a non-punitive withdrawal grade if you withdrew between then and the final exam. But some departments (Mathematics, e.g.) insisted on punitive F-equivalent withdrawals if you bailed after the midterm.

Wanted to highlight the above. The difference between a non-punitive withdrawal (often, though not always, denoted by a "W" on the transcript) and a punitive withdrawal (often, though not always, denoted by a "WF"/"W-F" on the transcript) is the difference between zero impact on LSAC GPA and, thus, zero impact on law school admissions (non-punitive withdrawal) vs. a pretty significant hit to LSAC GPA (and, thus, law school admissions chances).

It all comes down to how the grade is recorded on your transcript. I would also add that whether your school includes a punitive withdrawal in calculating your school or major GPA is irrelevant to LSAC. LSAC only cares about whether the grade itself is punitive or nonpunitive. It doesn't care how your school treats punitive withdrawals (e.g., some schools may have a "grade forgiveness" program that allows one to retake and "erase" a punitive withdrawal; other schools may simply not factor punitive Ws in calculating students' GPAs, or may give punitive Ws reduced weight relative to actual Fs - LSAC doesn't care; LSAC treats all punitive withdrawals the same).

The long and short of it is that if you're facing a choice between staying in a horrible class and taking a punitive W, stay in the class (unless, standard disclaimer, staying in the class would actively harm your health - always put your health first!).