ohmygoshness

Hi,

I'm planning on transferring to UCLA or UC Berkeley in Civil Engineering from a California CC.

I received a 3 on the AP Calculus BC exam, but I decided to take the calculus course again. I've been having a hard time in the class, though, and I have begun to think of withdrawing from the course and to receive of "W" on my transcript. I plan to retake this class next quarter and work for an A to "replace" my withdrawal.

This is my first quarter attending college and this would be my first (and hopefully only) W. I'm taking three other classes and I expect an As in those classes this quarter.

Will this hurt my chances of being accepted to UCLA or UC Berkeley in Civil Engineering, as they will be able to see the W in my transcript?

peterr86

W is much better than a C from a CC in my opinion you could just claim "Work" or etc and if it's only 1 W it's not a big deal.

If your an A student then go ahead and do it. But realize this you need Calc 3 for that major iirc. and BC only counts as Calculus 1 so you still need to do 2 and 3 as well

That major also has a .... ton of Pre-req courses so get started on those and your G.E classes right away it's pretty hard to transfer in 2 years without overloading your coursework

Koreo

From what I've read on these forums, W's have no impact whatsoever.

UChopeful2010

Multiple W's just show that you have a lack of dedication and an unwillingness to take your education seriously. If you struggle with Calculus do you really think you are going to make it through the first of the classes necessary to be an Engineer?

My Calc teacher said many people retake Calc 1. He said it is the most difficult class to grasp the first time around. I personally thought Trig was just as difficult (easy). So you will not be alone in having to retake it. If you really want to get into Berkeley, you should probably take important pre-reqs seriously from the very beginning. You need to put the time in.

iambeowulf710

w's dont hurt when you're applying to uc's, but they don't look good at all when you're applying to grad schools.

estrellatuya

psst.. beowulf.. where did you hear that?? do you have a source?

AngryStudent13

omg i am in the same situation as you. im getting a b- average in my calc class so far and i think im gonna drop it now, and its been like halfway through the semester already
=(

searching around the forum it seems the general consensus on w's is they don't hurt you if you don't have too much.

peterr86

take the B rather than a W only drop if your at a C a B in a diffcult class isn't death for LA or Berk but having to retake it is horrible =/

iambeowulf710

i heard it from a ucla admissions rep.

rafiz101

That's honestly BS. Just because you struggle with a calculus class doesn't mean you don't have what it takes to eventually master the series of calculus and become a great civil engineer. So many other skills involved, struggling in a math class doesn't necessarily mean that much.

iambeowulf710

^^^ don't believe me then?

girlyshout

"That's honestly BS. Just because you struggle with a calculus class doesn't mean you don't have what it takes to eventually master the series of calculus and become a great civil engineer. So many other skills involved, struggling in a math class doesn't necessarily mean that much. "

That's kind of like saying, you don't need to know how to walk to know how to run.

Fact is, no matter how you want rephrase it, math is the language engineering.

ohmygoshness

I understand the concepts now. I was not struggling in the beginning of the course because of an inability to understand mathematical concepts, but because I was busy with other time-consuming classes and work. If you are going to leave a reply, please answer the question and not rant on about my choice of major. An advice or suggestion will help me and others in my situation; undermining me and my intelligence will do nothing but make you look like a fool.