how bad will taking an 8th or 10th W on transcript hurt me? Forum

[nicole1994]

-in my last semester of senior year and am enrolled in a biology course to fulfill a science graduation requirement
- currently the course is causing me some great difficulty, due to various factors
-If I drop the course by the end of the week, it won't appear as a W. dropping it after Wednesday will show up as a W.

question: Will taking a possible 10th W on my transcript harm me? I'm thinking of dropping the class after the end of the week (thereby getting a W) just to ride the course out and see if i can manage at least a b minus.

*note: I don't want this message to be very wordy, so I'll be quick and say that all my other 9 W's so far over the course of my college career (which spans over 7-8 years) were the result of being forced to attend school by my parents when I was younger during an illness.

[cavalier1138]

Based on your explanation, you're probably going to want to include an addendum about the high number of Ws anyway, so it's unlikely to make much of a difference.

On the other hand, you're less than halfway through the semester. Have you really gotten so far behind in the course that you can't pull your grade up to better than a B-?

[nicole1994]

Based on your explanation, you're probably going to want to include an addendum about the high number of Ws anyway, so it's unlikely to make much of a difference.

On the other hand, you're less than halfway through the semester. Have you really gotten so far behind in the course that you can't pull your grade up to better than a B-?

yeah, in terms of the course , the thing is I have no idea how I'm going to do, I just feel as if there is a possibility that I could do really bad in it. So I feel that I might be able to do fine, but I'm overwhelmed by it in the process.

I'd like to ride the course out, but if doing so would hurt me in the end then I can just drop it now. I know that you can only say so much, but if you just think there is any chance that taking one more W would hurt me (my previous 7 -8 W's were 5 years ago), feel free to let me know if you are able to. Also going to see if I can ask people from spivey about this.

[logan3000]

if your narrative for the addendum is going to be that you had an issue from 5 years ago that is no longer an issue, I think it’d be wise to avoid adding a piece of evidence that would make it seem that it still might be an issue.

[nicole1994]

if your narrative for the addendum is going to be that you had an issue from 5 years ago that is no longer an issue, I think it’d be wise to avoid adding a piece of evidence that would make it seem that it still might be an issue.

ya exactly that's what i was thinking and that's what I wanted to say.
anyway, i've figured everything out with the courses this morning, so thanks so much to everyone and sorry if the question seemed to pertain to such convoluted issues!

[nicole1994]

if your narrative for the addendum is going to be that you had an issue from 5 years ago that is no longer an issue, I think it’d be wise to avoid adding a piece of evidence that would make it seem that it still might be an issue.

another thing i can't help but be curious about though is whether having only one W after 5 years would be viewed the same way in the eyes of admission officers as having had like 7 W's in one academic year, or whether it would matter much after those several W's.

^probably a good question for spivey i suppose^

[QContinuum]

You'll definitely want to write a GPA addendum regardless, because the unusual length of your college career alone will require a convincing explanation (8 years?! I loved being a student and miss being an undergrad, and even so I don't think I would've had the fortitude for 8 years of college...). Law school adcoms will naturally be concerned about your ability to graduate from law school in a timely manner.

Your application will be viewed much more favorably if you write a compelling addendum about your illness, and your Ws were all accrued while you were ill, while you've earned consistently strong grades during your later years. But even so, you will have to address why you've been in college for 8 years. If you're still ill, and thus have been forced to complete college slowly, that may give law school adcoms pause as to whether you're up to tackling law school.