<p>My freshman is struggling in chemistry. Has 50’s on both tests so far. She does all HW, all labs, gone for some tutoring. Last day to withdraw with A “W” is friday. Now I know nothing about withdrawing from a class, my other kids never did so. So should she? And after withdrawing from the class with the lab it may bring her to under 12 credits. I think she only has 13… or does the lab count for credits also? I cant get a hold of her till 11 tonight, so I dont know exactly what her credit load is now.I know she has four 3 credit classes plus one 1 credit class. I dont know is lab has its own credits or linked with chem class. And after talking to my other D she suggested this may be thing to do. My freshman is struggling and overwhelmed so Im trying to look into this for her, she doesnt even know it! TIA</p>
<p>My son is struggling with chemistry as well. I have been on him to go to office hours and find out if there is any way he will still pass, but to no avail. I NEVER told him to withdraw, just to check. He’s not having it. His lab counts for one credit, I think. My D was in the same spot as a freshman, found out what she needed to do, and did it. Her advisor had told her maybe it wasn’t the right class for her, and to drop it, and …well she doesn’t respond “well” to being told what she can’t do. </p>
<p>Not helpful, I know, but I guess they have to figure some of this out for themselves.</p>
<p>I am so tired of hearing “I know” and “I will”! She has had a tough adjustment, but likes the school and friends. She just does not have the push in her, not enough anyway. She struggled in chem in HS, and now in college and its a pre req for her major. I just dont know if its giving her “an out” kind of thing, but if its going to completley screw up her GPA maybe she should if its a possibility.</p>
<p>I just went through this with my D and her sophomore Organic Chemistry class. She flunked the first test and wanted to withdraw. Her advisor told her to wait until the second test and see how she does. Then withdraw if it’s hopeless. I was also concerned that dropping it with the lab would bring her down below the required credits for full time status but her advisor said that status is based on attempted credits in the semester.</p>
<p>As my daughter puts it, a “C” is better than a “W” but a “W” is better than an “F”.</p>
<p>I don’t know what she has decided to do but I think she has to decide this week as well.</p>
<p>Before making the decision about whether to withdraw, it would be good to speak to the professor and explain that she is thinking about this choice.</p>
<p>As someone else said, a W is better than an F, but a C is better than a W.</p>
<p>Those 50s might very well be a C if the course is graded on a curve. Sometimes, the curve isn’t established until the very end of the course, when all the grades are in, but even at this interim point, the professor should be able to estimate what your daughter’s likely grade would be if her performance continues at the same level. She might be pleasantly surprised to discover that she is passing.</p>
<p>You may also want to check the college’s Web site to find out the consequences of going under 12 credits. It used to be that this was a disaster because young people could only stay on their parents’ health insurance if they were full-time students, but the rules have changed. Unless your daughter is 26 or older, she can stay on your health insurance regardless of her status at college. However, going under 12 credits might have consequences for her at the college itself. If you can’t find them out, then she should speak to someone in the academic advising office.</p>
<p>If she’s receiving any financial aid, or merit aid, it might be good to see if less-than-full-time status has any impact, just so you know.</p>
<p>^ I agree about checking on the impact of aid. My son is required to take 30 credit hours per year to maintain a state scholarship but classes over the summer count.</p>
<p>Just make sure that if she does want to drop, she gets it done by the official withdrawal date. S had a very young advisor and she told him to “hang in there” and “he could drop it later.” This was a calc class over his head with a prof he found very difficult to understand. H and I thought advisor’s advice sounded fishy, but we were trying to let him be independent. I will always regret not having him check it out with her supervisor/the school. He ended up with the F. W would have been so much better!</p>
<p>Chem is usually 4-5 credits. What does her syllabus say about grading? In my kid’s freshman chem class, a 50+ test average would have been enough for a C in the course. There was only a curve for the first chem class though, as that was the one that could be taken as a gen ed. She definitely needs to talk with the prof and get some input since this is a required course for her major. But, if she can drop it now and take it as a summer class when she won’t have so many other demands on her time, that may be a good option to explore.</p>
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<p>Agreed! You really need to know what the median is for the tests. The professor will be able to tell you what kind of grade 50% correlates to.</p>
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<p>“You” should be the student here. This is not one of the rare situations in which contact between the parent and professor would be appropriate.</p>
<p>AGreed, Marian. You, meaning the student…</p>