Sabskis10

I am a Duke freshman who wants to major in political science. This semester, I overloaded my schedule to 5.5 credits. I am having a lot of trouble in Math 103. I am most likely going to get a C in the class. I know this is passing, but the class isn't required for my major, and it will bring my GPA down from a 3.83 to a 3.46. Plus, if I withdraw, I'll still be at 4.5 credits, which is the maximum for freshmen first semester anyway.

My goal is to go to Harvard, Yale, or one of the other top law schools, so I need as high of a GPA as possible. At the same time, a W won't look very good on my transcript. I am also looking to apply for fellowships and merit scholarships, and a W won't look too great for those either.

The withdrawal deadline is this Friday, November 6th. What should I do?

SBR

a W is always better than a C, plus you have the semi-excuse of the fact that you bit off more than you could chew.

Faline2

Withdraw is my advice. My son withdrew his freshman year second term, same class. He had mono plus suffered from not realizing he had to study much harder than in high school, plus probably just some maturity to get nailed down. He made a B in it the next semester. Keep in mind that withdrawals have limits in a four year career at Duke.

if you want to go to law school, protect your GPA. Wish I didn't have to say that...but that is the truth.