College Students! discussion

I'm taking Human Anatomy and Physiology this semester and it's really kicking my ass. I've had 2 quizzes so far and I've failed them both. I have a 3.7 GPA and I really don't want to ruin it but I also don't want to have to deal with Financial Aid either. Should I stick it out and wait to see if my grades improve, take the grades I get, or just drop the class? I'm really conflicted and my confidence just plummets every time I go to the class because I don't know what is going on. I need some advice.

I dropped a class for the first time last semester, I knew I wasn't going to pass it and I wasn't going to let it bring down my GPA. I don't have to deal with financial aid, though.

Will you still be Full-time if you drop? Usually financial aid only cares about full or part time status. As long as you are at 12 credits, you should be fine.

My college has two withdrawal options. One in which you drop, the class is taken off your transcript and it doesn't effect your grade and another in which you can wait several more weeks, drop the class and it stays on your transcript with a W but doesn't affect your GPA. You might want to check into the exact specifications at your university- it might give you a few more weeks to study your butt off and see if you can get the hang of the class.

You might also check into the re-take policies at your school. Perhaps you can try this semester, and even if you get a bad grade, re-take it next semester with easier classes.

Last thing to remember is failing a class can also affect financial aid (depending on your school, the exact aid you have, etc) so you might be better off dropping than losing aid eligibility entirely.

Sorry, kinda gave you more to think about rather than answers. :D

Have you gone in to talk to the professor? It might be a good idea to go voice your concerns about not doing well to them. Maybe they'll be willing to work out a better way for you to approach the class. Maybe there's something that you're somehow missing. I talked to the professor in a literary theory and criticism class I was in and was super worried about. I wound up getting a B. I'm not saying this will happen to you, but professor's have office hours for a reason and it never hurts to show your concern.

You should check and see how your aid works. Withdrawing from a class doesn't necessarily affect your full time status. If you withdraw and take the W, which is NOT bad, as long as you were full time at the beginning of the semester, most of the time that's all that matters.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll let you guys know what I decide in the long run. For now I'm going to wait until March and see how I do on the upcoming tests. I heard there have been some big changes to Financial Aid about how many full term semesters they are willing to pay for so I'll have to talk to my advisor.

I had the same problem with a biology class last semester, and I met with my financial aid adviser and he told me:

As long as you are withdrawing and not dropping, you will still be considered full time, and you won't get a grade that fails you.

I ended up withdrawing from the class, and it really saved my GPA. If you do decided to try and pass the class, and you do fail, you should see if they have a grade replacement program. I failed a class last year, and then I took it again last semester, and when I got the new, and much better grade, the old one disappeared from my GPA.

This post is a little late, but I think you should drop if it ruins the GPA. I would much rather take the W than F. It would sting for awhile because of the money factor, but again I definitely don't want to see an F on that record. lol BTW I have to take Human Anatomy and Physiology :(

I don't think that you should. You will regret leaving. I had the same thoughts at one point in live, but then i was able to buy a research paper that really helped me to study. Think twice. This decision can really affect your life.