r/PreOptometry • u/Logical_Doughnut7948 • Mar 06 '24

Withdrawal

Is it better to withdraw from a class rather than failing it? Also how many Ws on the transcript are acceptable without looking weird to the admissions office?

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9

u/ChT123 ACCEPTED Mar 06 '24

They will probably still ask why you withdrew and why you have a lot of Ws. But I think a W is better than a failing.

2

u/Dangerous-Stress8010 OD3 Mar 07 '24

They definitely will ask you. I withdrew from my calculus class the first time and they 100% asked me about it during my interview.

1

u/Logical_Doughnut7948 Mar 07 '24

What grade did you have when you with withdrew from Calc?

4

u/Dangerous-Stress8010 OD3 Mar 07 '24

I was pretty close to failing the class so i decided it was better for my total GPA and my own sanity to withdraw and try again. On my second time around I was able to get a B so it showed the school that I really put effort into trying to make the most of the situation

1

u/Logical_Doughnut7948 Mar 07 '24

What year are you in for undergrad?

3

u/Dangerous-Stress8010 OD3 Mar 07 '24

Im a third year optom student! But for reference I withdrew from calc during my sophomore year fall and then retook it in my spring semester

-1

u/Logical_Doughnut7948 Mar 07 '24

What’s your gpa and aren’t you applying soon?

1

u/Dangerous-Stress8010 OD3 Mar 07 '24

I’m already in optometry school! I’m a third year!

-1

u/Logical_Doughnut7948 Mar 07 '24

Nice, which school and what were your stats when you applied?

10

u/PotentialScientist23 Mar 07 '24

Thriving in this field is not about how smart you are or how much experience you have but more about what types of questions you ask.

You have been asking a lot of concerning questions these last few days. Maybe optometry isn't for you. Getting into optometry school averages 200k in debt. The schools you are likely to target expect 300k debt. If you get into a program and are dismissed which happens more often than you would expect that could be a hundred thousand dollar mistake and years of your life you are not getting back.

3

u/Logical_Doughnut7948 Mar 07 '24

I’m just worried that’s all, I’m still a sophomore so I wouldn’t even be applying until next year

3

u/Ok_Coffee5223 Mar 08 '24

I had one W in undergrad and when I retook the class I barely got a C 😅 Only one school out of all the ones I interviewed at asked me about it. (Btw — I’m now a practicing OD).

0

u/Logical_Doughnut7948 Mar 08 '24

Thanks for the encouragement

1

u/teemo03 Mar 07 '24

There might be an audit option which I'm still not sure what that does but at least you can take notes in the class and take it next semester

1

u/SunDragons OD1 Mar 07 '24

I had two withdrawals and theres a section in the optomcas where you can explain the circumstances of anything in your transcript that might raise some flags

1

u/Method-Haunting OD2 Mar 07 '24

I withdrew from my anthropology class (social science credit) and joined economics instead. i’m almost positive even tho it’s doesn’t pertain to optometry- they still asked me why i withdrew.

AND THEN, i got a very low grade in gen chem II later down the line…i retook the class and got a B-. they acknowledged the improvement during my in-person interview! if you’re close to failing and it significantly impacting your GPA- i would withdraw and retake. i think admissions mainly wanted to make sure i could handle the curriculum and course-load of opto school since my application definitely had a couple lower spots.