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How bad is it to withdraw from a law school class?

Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2019 10:56 am
by Anonymous User
I'm a 3L and have accepted an offer from a biglaw firm after I graduate.

I've never withdrawn from a class after the drop deadline, not even in undergrad. However, this semester I may have taken on more than I can handle. Basically, the gist is that I have an interest in a STEM field as a hobby and my law school allows us to cross-register in its undergrad courses for law school credit (though it doesn't count towards our GPA/latin honors, the letter grade from the host school shows up on our transcript). I cross-registered in an undergrad course in said field last spring semester and it went great. I really enjoyed it and it was a nice respite from law school classes.

This semester, I decided to cross-register in a slightly more ambitious course in this field and soon realized that I didn't have the rigorous math background necessary to succeed in the course. It's not a matter of not having enough time, but not having had enough preparation. I thought I'd be ok dropping it because I'm within the undergrad's drop deadline, but unfortunately I missed the law school drop deadline. I just discovered that students have to drop by the earlier deadline to avoid a "W" on their transcript.

Basically I'm concerned about how a "W" in a non-law class would look to the firm I've accepted an offer from. I feel like this is a fairly detailed/nuanced question and don't want to bother recruiting with it if it's really not a big deal at all.

Re: How bad is it to withdraw from a law school class?

Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2019 11:36 am
by gregfootball2001
You have a job. I doubt the firm will look at your final transcript for anything other than ensuring that you graduated. Even if they see the "W", I can't imagine anyone will care that you withdrew from biology 301 or advanced calculus or something. Do not bother recruiting about it, do not bring it up. It's not important. Just let it go and enjoy 3L.

Re: How bad is it to withdraw from a law school class?

Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2019 11:39 am
by trebekismyhero
Not important, don't bother recruiting and just enjoy 3L

Re: How bad is it to withdraw from a law school class?

Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2019 11:50 am
by Anonymous User
Thank you both, very reassuring! I put the drop request in.