galoisien

I haven't lost all chances for an A yet, but I probably have to hit very high on my final exam (97-100, where my professor makes 85 an A) to clinch my A for a linear algebra course I am taking at a local university ... I am contemplating withdrawal because it would be a bad omen and quite inauspicious to start out my freshman year in college with a B on my transcript before I had even taken any real classes yet! It wouldn't be a total waste -- I learnt a lot of things, and I could probably retake it this fall (at my real school) and ensure my A. On the other hand, there's a chance I could still get my A and then I would have withdrawn for nothing. Any advice here?

My grade before my most recent exam (which I took today) is an 87.3 ... but this is a first time where I left a question incomplete, two where I pretty much BS'ed my way through the question, and I might get anywhere from a 60 (a C!) to a 92 (which seems unlikely). There's one last chance for withdrawal. I probably will have a very tight margin for my final exam to get an A. Should I withdraw before it's too late, do you think, or should I risk it? I'm afraid it would look kind of pathetic to my new school if I was unable to even clinch an A from a course at a third-tier school...

b@r!um

Does the college you will be attending next fall count transfer grades into your GPA? My college only transfers credits, not grades, but I don't know if that is the norm or an exception.

AUlostchick

b@r!um, my school is like yours. galoisien, I'd look into seeing if your school does this or not, because if they just transfer the credits, then your B will be fine (they will probably credit you for anything C or higher). Even if they do figure it into your GPA, a B IS NOT BAD. People on this forum seem to think that anything less than an A is horrible, but really, it's not. One B, or even a C, on your transcript is not going to hurt you unless you do it all the time. I *failed* a class in college, and have gotten 2 C's, but I have also gotten mostly A's and a few B's on everything else so my GPA is fine.

blahfishcakes

Depends on what college you're going to. You have to bear in mind that having taken a course before does NOT guarantee you will get an A at another college.

student14x

I get how you feel. My first B in math was in Linear Algebra. The class was too theoretical. And not going the homework and taking it for honors didn't help either. Oh well "sigh"..

If you can drop without a W, I would highly recommend it. Otherwise, just strive for an A( make sure that you can remember the 100 something+ theorems lol). Oh, make sure you know your proofs cold. The whole course is just proofs.