Today is the last day for students to drop a class with a ‘withdrawal’ mark on their transcripts after Boston University administrators announced changes to the school’s add/drop policy last semester.
The policy change moved the last day students can drop a class without receiving an ‘F’ on their transcripts up to eight weeks after the beginning of the semester, from two weeks before the end of the semester.
Administrators said the change was made in an effort to prevent students from artificially improving their GPAs and keep teachers from wasting their time on students who would eventually not be completing courses.
Students said they have mixed feelings on the dreaded ‘W’ that will show up on their transcripts.
Most students interviewed yesterday agreed that a ‘W’ on a transcript is frowned upon, though they are unsure of exactly why.
Allison Zimmerman, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, dropped a calculus class because she felt that the nature of the class was inappropriate for her major of biology.
‘I found I wasn’t learning what I needed [in calculus],’ se said. ‘The professor was focused on engineering students only.’
Zimmerman dropped the course early in the semester, but she said she would have stayed with the class if dropping meant receiving a ‘W.’
‘I’m not sure why there’s such a stigma attached to the ‘W,’ but all the advisors always say it won’t look as good,’ she said.
Some students say the benefits of dropping a class outweigh the repercussions of a withdrawal.
Andrew Goldberg, a sophomore in the College of General Studies, dropped Psychology 101 for his grades.
‘I need a better GPA,’ he said. As for the ‘W,’ he said, ‘hopefully no one will care.’
CAS freshman Micol Sirkin also believes the sacrifice of having a ‘W’ can be worthwhile. Although she did not receive a ‘W’ for dropping her General and Quantitative Analytical Chemistry class, she said she would have regardless.
‘If I was a bio major, I would have stuck with it,’ she said. ‘But since I’m undecided now, it was pointless to stay in the class.’
The class consisted of lecture, discussion and lab which totaled 13 hours a week.
‘I was getting four credits for a class that is equivalent to four classes, which doesn’t sound reasonable to me,’ she said. ‘It was too much a commitment considering I’m undecided.’
Alex Ankrom, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, received a ‘W’ for dropping Intermediate Latin. Still, he thought receiving a ‘W’ was better than receiving an ‘F.’
‘I still would have dropped it because if I didn’t, I would have failed that class,’ he said.
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