GPA Question, NEED FEEDBACK!

[gimmeMD]

Hey guys, 

heres the situation:

 

I am currently enrolled in 5 courses. I am on track to get 4.0's in 4 of my 5 courses. My fifth course is looking like a diaster. Def wont get more than a B at best.

 

My question is, should I drop it? It will show up as a withdraw on my transcript if I drop it before December, after that it would be a fail.

 

Thoughts????

 

[mkd]

If you want to be considered for the wgpa for UofT then you shouldn't drop it....however having one bad mark in many 4.0s wont really harm you I think your gpa should be around 3.8 if you get that B! Other than that just work hard and good luck!!

[gimmeMD]

1 minute ago, mkd said:

If you want to be considered for the wgpa for UofT then you shouldn't drop it....however having one bad mark in many 4.0s wont really harm you I think your gpa should be around 3.8 if you get that B! Other than that just work hard and good luck!!

still so conflicted!!! thank you though 

[Olaf]

It's okay to have a B on your transcript lol,  I've got a C+ and several Bs on mine and it worked out okay for me. 

[rmorelan]

2 hours ago, trj03 said:

It's okay to have a B on your transcript lol,  I've got a C+ and several Bs on mine and it worked out okay for me. 

you are accepted at a school that takes best two years though with a 3.70 GPA cut off and only takes the best 5 courses anyway (you could of course also matched to many other schools) - there is a way out in my point

That could be true in this case as well but it would be good to make sure - I mean TO's drop a course policy would be useful to get rid of it if it applies. 

Bottom line is that I think we need more context - what has already been done, is there a chance to take another course next term to make the yearly total back up to 10, what are the target schools etc.  Is there more information you can give us?

[gimmeMD]

19 minutes ago, rmorelan said:

you are accepted at a school that takes best two years though with a 3.70 GPA cut off and only takes the best 5 courses anyway (you could of course also matched to many other schools) - there is a way out in my point

That could be true in this case as well but it would be good to make sure - I mean TO's drop a course policy would be useful to get rid of it if it applies. 

Bottom line is that I think we need more context - what has already been done, is there a chance to take another course next term to make the yearly total back up to 10, what are the target schools etc.  Is there more information you can give us?

Well, there is no way I can get higher than a B in the course... and that is BEST case. I think I should drop it...

 

Had not considered taking 6 to make up for it next semester. What would the benefit of that be?

[rmorelan]

46 minutes ago, gimmeMD said:

Well, there is no way I can get higher than a B in the course... and that is BEST case. I think I should drop it...

 

Had not considered taking 6 to make up for it next semester. What would the benefit of that be?

Sure - I mean that is a major part of the process you have to consider here. Knowing why there probably is a big key to the entire problem. 

Most med schools won't consider a year you do less than 5.0 credits (ten standard courses) as a valid year. So you won't be able to use the year for Western at all if you drop the course, Ottawa will need you to make up the credit by doing it in the summer, or take 6 somewhere else, and TO will actually won't let you use their drop a course policy EVER if you drop that course (TO will very likely drop the course from consideration as a part of their normal system). If you take an extra one though next year then you are back to base line. 

 all of this may or may not matter depending on where you are at etc Thus details matter (maybe if you have a great MCAT for Western/Queens then not using the year won't matter, if dropped a course already then TO is already not going to use their wGPA policy so you cannot get stung twice but having further bad grades would hurt more so dropping for that school may make sense). 

Devil is in the details! always in the details. 

[Olle]

On 11/8/2017 at 7:52 PM, mkd said:

If you want to be considered for the wgpa for UofT then you shouldn't drop it....however having one bad mark in many 4.0s wont really harm you I think your gpa should be around 3.8 if you get that B! Other than that just work hard and good luck!!

Depends. If OP is in a school that follows a 30 credit system, he/she can drop it without penalty (unless it's a >=4 credit course). Also if OP is in first-year, it could be advantageous to drop it. However, if OP is in 3rd year or greater, I don't recommend dropping the course since that would make OP ineligible or disadvantageous in applying to a few schools other than UT.

[gimmeMD]

19 hours ago, rmorelan said:

Sure - I mean that is a major part of the process you have to consider here. Knowing why there probably is a big key to the entire problem. 

Most med schools won't consider a year you do less than 5.0 credits (ten standard courses) as a valid year. So you won't be able to use the year for Western at all if you drop the course, Ottawa will need you to make up the credit by doing it in the summer, or take 6 somewhere else, and TO will actually won't let you use their drop a course policy EVER if you drop that course (TO will very likely drop the course from consideration as a part of their normal system). If you take an extra one though next year then you are back to base line. 

 all of this may or may not matter depending on where you are at etc Thus details matter (maybe if you have a great MCAT for Western/Queens then not using the year won't matter, if dropped a course already then TO is already not going to use their wGPA policy so you cannot get stung twice but having further bad grades would hurt more so dropping for that school may make sense). 

Devil is in the details! always in the details. 

Thanks so much.. lots to consider.

 

Can you just clear up the whole U of T weighting? i have read up on it but may be missing the point.

 

I get that to be eligible for weighting I need to have 10.0 credits a year, 5 in each term. But lets say in first year I took one semester with 4 courses and then in second third and fourth years I had a full course load. What would happen then? 

 

Thanks again

[rmorelan]

Just now, gimmeMD said:

Thanks so much.. lots to consider.

 

Can you just clear up the whole U of T weighting? i have read up on it but may be missing the point.

 

I get that to be eligible for weighting I need to have 10.0 credits a year, 5 in each term. But lets say in first year I took one semester with 4 courses and then in second third and fourth years I had a full course load. What would happen then? 

 

Thanks again

if you ever have less than 5.0 credits per year then you cannot use the wGPA policy at that particular school. It is one of the reasons dropping a course in general has to be seriously considered (at least the first time you do it). 

The rule is very strict - I cannot say I am a particular fan of it as quite often people have no idea about it prior to relatively late in the game, and UG guidance counselors often don't know it and the consequences.  

[gimmeMD]

38 minutes ago, rmorelan said:

if you ever have less than 5.0 credits per year then you cannot use the wGPA policy at that particular school. It is one of the reasons dropping a course in general has to be seriously considered (at least the first time you do it). 

The rule is very strict - I cannot say I am a particular fan of it as quite often people have no idea about it prior to relatively late in the game, and UG guidance counselors often don't know it and the consequences.  

Wow.. good to know. That sounds pretty severe but oh well.

Are students ever accepted to schools like U of T who aren't eligible for weighting? Is it a disadvantage or just a benign policy?

[rmorelan]

28 minutes ago, gimmeMD said:

Wow.. good to know. That sounds pretty severe but oh well.

Are students ever accepted to schools like U of T who aren't eligible for weighting? Is it a disadvantage or just a benign policy?

oh people do get accepted without the policy applying for sure, but you can see how it can be an edge (in come cases a big edge) as it boosts the average GPA required effectively. You can drop for that school by the time you are done 3rd year 6 standard courses off the transcript- for many dropping that many will have a very positive impact on their GPA (any odd slip ups are completely removed - like the course you are considering dropping right now). There is a lot of pressure for that school if it doesn't apply due to the reduced margin for error. 

That is why knowing the entire situation is so important - if TO isn't a target school for a variety of reasons (low GPA and the policy doesn't apply being the most obvious one) then paying attention to the other schools' policies becomes just that much more critical. 

Ha, the point of the forum in large part is to get this sort of information out there ASAP so everyone is on a level playing field.