Should I purposely fail my class?

ANMpreN · Jul 9, 2015

Yes, nursing programs are soo competitive these days that some even requires no "W" (my school is like that). I also heard that some nursing programs have certain tier groups where they place students into "tier 1" if they repeated no classes, and the "tier 2" students are the ones who repeated a class (though I'm not entirely sure how this would affect the chances of being accepted and I doubt it pertains to you). So I would just look into your schools first and see what their requirements are before you make any final decision and mess yourself up entirely from getting into even 4 of those 7 schools.

If most of the schools have conflicting requirements then I would just pick your top 3 schools and go by their rules first (a safe school should be in that top 3).

jojo489 · Jul 9, 2015

I'm currently an LPN going back to become an RN and I had the same problem. I signed up for a college algebra class for the summer, so it was a shortened session and I was just lost. I knew I wasn't going to do well.

I talked to my mom, who has been a nurse for 20+ years, and I told her my fear was that with two withdraws on my record (this class being the second) that I wouldn't get accepted into my schools program. She told me that she knows several nurses who attained their BSN or higher who had to withdraw from a few classes. She basically said that when you withdraw and retake and do well, your initiative shows. She said friends of hers in my spot had no problems getting into programs.

That's what I ended up doing. We'll see how it goes. Personally, I would rather withdraw and then go back and rock it then have a C or a D that sticks around too.

ANMpreN · Jul 9, 2015

Personally, I would rather withdraw and then go back and rock it then have a C or a D that sticks around too.

I second this. If you are receiving a really low grade in the class and the school you're applying to is looking for "stellar" then by all means drop the class then prove yourself to be more than capable.

Rilesss · Jul 9, 2015

It wouldn't look bad to get two W's in the same course?

MsCupcakes · Jul 9, 2015

I would check with the school to see exactly what criteria they are looking for in a student. For instance, one of the colleges I applied to looked only at pre-requisite GPA, while another looked at cumulative for all classes, with an emphasis in sciences. Also, check with the specific campus you are applying to to see if the ones you are applying to honor grade forgiveness from other schools. Some schools average out the two grades when repeating classes, so you may be stuck with the same GPA hit you were trying to avoid.

It does look like each CSU campus has different transfer criteria for grade forgiveness, so check individually with them.

ANMpreN · Jul 9, 2015

It wouldn't look bad to get two W's in the same course?

If you actually end up unintentionally failing the course then retaking it will be the only option you'll most likely have. Also I'm sure no one really has a definite answer for you since it's your future and it should be your own decision if you want to drop the course or not...but MsCupcakes has given some good advice on first checking with all 7 of your schools lol. They can give you a true definite answer.

LJR89 · Jul 9, 2015

A 'W' looks better than a bad grade. Take the 'W'. I repeat... Take the 'W'. None of your options are super great it sounds like, but withdrawing doesn't technically hurt your gpa.

Take the 'W'.

elkpark · Jul 9, 2015

(Error)

elkpark · Jul 9, 2015

It wouldn't look bad to get two W's in the same course?

Not as bad as having a "W" and then failing the course when you repeated it ...

There is no way that intentionally getting a D or F in any class is going to help you.

Miss.LeoRN · Jul 9, 2015

You've considered what a C will do to your grade but not a D or an F? I'm sure those would hurt your GPA far worse. Withdraw. Check some of the programs you applied to. What, exactly, do they look at? My program didn't even blind at algebra, they only cared about our science classes. Under no circumstance is a fail better than a withdraw.

pixiestudent2 · Jul 9, 2015

Basically, I made a huge mistake by taking a 5 unit summer class, meanwhile working full time. I'm currently in a college algebra course, which is a prereq for stats. The semester before this, I had withdrawn from the same class and got a W. I'm currently on the fence. Should I tough the course out and get a C, or should I get a D or F in the class so I can retake it and get a better grade? At my school, you can only get "grade forgiveness" if you receive a grade of a D or F. It replaces the D or F in your GPA but the previous grade remains on your transcript. Would this make me less competitive when applying to CSU nursing programs? I don't think I want to withdraw from the class and get another W. I currently have a GPA of 3.84 and a C would greatly decrease my GPA. I will be applying to several CSU BSN programs. CSUB is my top choice. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Should I purposely fail or should I tough it out and get a C? Does CSUB care about my college algebra class or are they more concerned with stats? Would another W in the same course look bad? Any responses would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Would the D or the F show up on your transcript?

If so... Absolutely do not intentionally fail your class.

But if it would only show your first withdraw, and your 3rd attempt grade I would do it.