teenyfish Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 To make a long story short, I received an incomplete in a research for credit class last year because my project wasn't turning out the way it was supposed to. Everyone was fine with that, my professor just said I'd retake the course this semester and get the same grade for both. After going on a 6 month internship I come back to the class, and my project isn't working again so I stop putting as much effort into it, I wasn't around the lab as much and I wasn't doing the work I was supposed to. None of it was malicious, just realizing that things were stalled and not putting in any extra effort to fix it. Now, I have no excuses, and this is 100% my fault. After getting a warning and working again and making some progress, I have messed up again and want to withdraw from the course. In 2 months of the semester nothing has gotten done on my project and I am way too stressed about it to want to continue. I have wasted both my professors time and resources and I don't want to continue to do so. How will an incomplete and then a W look on my transcript for a research course. I know it will be bad, but will it severely affect my chances of getting in? I have a good GPA, a 3.7 and have never had anything like this happen to me before, and I plan on having this as an isolated incident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyM2 Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Take the W. If you get a lousy grade, CASPA requires you to report it and average it with the new grade when you retake it, so it hurts your GPA. It's easier to explain that in an interview, as long as you don't have a bunch of them. Sent from my Kindle Fire HDX using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Life is not a succession of "match points": a point that, if you don't win it, you lose everything. Do your best and play your cards. Don't expect to have a perfect application or a perfect everything. You went away for 6 months to learn something and, when you came back, you thought it best to drop out and regroup later. Sounds like a plan to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lme0709 Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Unfortunately, I had several withdrawals within two semesters because my mother became very ill. So I definitely have similar concerns. I can only try my best and hope officials will understand the circumstances or at least hear me out. But don't get discouraged. I think if you put everything you got into getting in and you really, truly want this, you'll get it! I agree with UGoLong. It sounds like you made a smart decision for yourself and for your education at that time -good plan indeed. I'm definitely interested in this topic and would like to hear others' opinions or experiences with this as well. Good luck! Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenyfish Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Thanks everyone, glad to know this isn't the end of the world as I had imagined it would be. The only thing is that I was registered for this class twice, and the first time I got an incomplete, and the second I will now get a W. So there will be two troublesome grades on my transcript in the same "class", and I and a W. I fear that this will be a cause for concern in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyM2 Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Thanks everyone, glad to know this isn't the end of the world as I had imagined it would be. The only thing is that I was registered for this class twice, and the first time I got an incomplete, and the second I will now get a W. So there will be two troublesome grades on my transcript in the same "class", and I and a W. I fear that this will be a cause for concern in the future. This is now sounding worse than in the OP. Suggest you cover these difficulties in your personal statement or you may never get a chance to explain it in an interview. Sent from my Kindle Fire HDX using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Can you even graduate with an incomplete on your transcript? Maybe trying to get both as Ws is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PACdan Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Can you even graduate with an incomplete on your transcript? Maybe trying to get both as Ws is the way to go. This. At my school and "Incomplete" must eventually be assigned a grade...if you never finish the work, the professor grades you accordingly. Sent from the Satellite of Love using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taotaox1 Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Gonna disagree with the posters here. Time to get it together and do WHATEVER it takes to get this project done and get a decent grade. Spend every night in the lab until the semester ends if you have to. If you are giving up just because it is stressful and has gotten hard, your going to have a hell of a time getting through PA school. It is like living in finals weeks every day for a year straight. You will have month after month of overwhelming workload. If I was an ADcom and got your story about why you withdrew twice I would not give you a second thought. /dadrant off. That said, a couple of mediocre grades in a research class is not going to kill your chance to get in. I had 20+ F's on my transcripts because I was incapable of following my above advice when I first tried college. I still got into a good PA school. I had to explain it in my PS, (easy...I was immature.) , but I had the proof in my subsequent grades and test scores that I was no longer the immature person I was when I was younger. I personally would be a lot more impressed by a C grade + story about having trouble with a research project/class but sticking it out and coming back to finish, rather than a story about how you got lazy with the class and then being behind was stressful so you quit... 2 semesters in a row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenyfish Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 So I talked to my PI today, and she said that she was okay with my withdrawing even though she was upset that I wanted to do it, but she said that if I thought it would be better than a C then I should do it. For my incomplete, I'm still going to do an alternative assignment to make it up, and she said she would grade based upon my performance the previous semester rather than this semester - which was pretty good. I only got an incomplete last semester because my project had some hang ups and I couldn't complete it in the time allowed, not because I was super lazy. So I will have only one W, and even though it's not ideal, I think that this is the best choice I can make for me right now as I was (and still am) unbelievably stressed and worrying about every little thing that is going wrong with my project. Gonna disagree with the posters here. Time to get it together and do WHATEVER it takes to get this project done and get a decent grade. Spend every night in the lab until the semester ends if you have to. If you are giving up just because it is stressful and has gotten hard, your going to have a hell of a time getting through PA school. It is like living in finals weeks every day for a year straight. You will have month after month of overwhelming workload. If I was an ADcom and got your story about why you withdrew twice I would not give you a second thought. /dadrant off. That said, a couple of mediocre grades in a research class is not going to kill your chance to get in. I had 20+ F's on my transcripts because I was incapable of following my above advice when I first tried college. I still got into a good PA school. I had to explain it in my PS, (easy...I was immature.) , but I had the proof in my subsequent grades and test scores that I was no longer the immature person I was when I was younger. I personally would be a lot more impressed by a C grade + story about having trouble with a research project/class but sticking it out and coming back to finish, rather than a story about how you got lazy with the class and then being behind was stressful so you quit... 2 semesters in a row. I totally get what you're saying, and funny enough that's exactly what my dad said. A C would just bring down my GPA a lot, and I am miserable every time I do the project. I don't think that sticking it out in something I'm miserable in is worth it to me right now. Maybe a couple years down the line I'll regret this choice and think differently, but no one can know that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taotaox1 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Good luck! Either way it likely won't sink you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lme0709 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I'm not sure if you can graduate with an incomplete. Like wutthechris and PACdan mentioned, schools usually don't let you graduate with an incomplete. I know my school would not allow you to, you have to finish the course work and if you do not, it becomes an F. Also, in my school the professors had until the end of the next semester to change your grade whether that be a D or an I or anything. Hope everthing works out! Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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