<p>Today I dropped Calculus 1 w/ Pre-calculus (pretty much calculus 1 with a week of pre-calculus). I was almost in tears when I turned in the drop slip to academic services. We have something called a “gateway exam” in math where we are ‘tested’ on skills that should be ‘basic’ for us. There are a total of fifteen questions. You have to get a total of 13/15 correct to pass. There is no partial credit. If you get below 13/15 points, no matter how well you are doing in the class, even if you have an A (like I did), you will get an automatic F in the course.</p>
<p>Anyways, we have two attempts. The first attempt was yesterday and I failed it by one question (because of a simple sign). Only about 1/10th of the class passed (and at least 2/3 of the class has dropped since the first day). The next attempt is next week (which is of course to my luck, after the freshman drop deadline). Being pre-med, I simply did not want to take the risk of failing that gateway exam. Think about it. If I fail that exam, I might as well give up my dreams of getting into medical school. I just didn’t want to take the risk of having my future in the hands of one stupid exam that proved nothing, quite frankly. If I have an A in the class, why does my background knowledge in algebra/pre-calculus not suffice? The precalculus on the gateway exam is nothing similar to what we were doing in the class.</p>
<p>Anyways, how bad will this look? If I pull off a 3.8-3.9 this semester with only 12 credit hours, will that still look good? 
I’m taking business calculus next semester with the same professor. He thinks I’ll do well in the class. Would an A in business calculus help diminish the negative effect of a W in Calc 1 w/ precal?</p>