[vstacey820]

Which is worse on a college transcript? A "W" ? Or "F"?

My friend's boyfriend is having trouble deciding whether to take a "W" or a "F" for his accounting class this semester. He plans to transfer, so that's why he can't decide. He is trying to get into a business school because he wants to major in accounting.

He says that if he withdraws from his introductory level accounting class, his gpa will not be affected. However, he is afraid that if he has a "W" on his transcript, business schools might not accept him at all due to his withdrawal. On the other hand, he is trying to make sure that his gpa does not drop below a 2.5.

Which is worse on a college transcript? A "W"? Or "F"?

[ronmexico]

An F is almost certainly worse, but how can he be sure he'd fail at this point? And out of curiosity, why does he want to major in accounting if he's going to fail an introductory accounting course?

[purityisred]

Uh, an F is worse. I personally don't think a W will really matter.

[LZ1]

F is worse, of course.

W's are pretty much okay, as long as you don't have a million of them.
1~2 W's are perfectly fine as far as I know, 3 might be ok depending on what you're studying.
3+ and it starts to look very very bad.

[tofu plushie]

I would say having an F would be much worse. As long as you don't have more than 2 W's you should be fine.

[AKIRADOWN]

almost the same sicne W ...mostly imply that you probably wont' pass the course anways, but GPA wise, the F is worst it can drop the GPA lots depending, and on the other hand, getting a W won't hurt your gpa at all.

[vstacey820]

According to my friend, she said her boyfriend did very well in his accounting classes as a sophomore and junior in high school. My friend also said that her boyfriend really enjoys the accounting class he is currently taking, but he just was unable to do well on the midterms.

Thanks for all the replies, please keep them coming.

Thank you in advance.

[clazziQue]

I'd say the F is worse. I think having one (or 2) W is okay since sometimes people are forced to withdraw from a course for personal reasons (health/family/etc.), not necessarily because they're failing. As long as you don't have like 5 W's, it should be fine.

[Tamago86]

I'd say F because it actually affects your GPA

[lilkrazeqrl]

Of course F. I've recently dropped a class too and I would rather have a W then a F because it'll affect my GPA a lot.

[HtyPotter]

It looks like it's pretty obvious that the W is better.

[losborrachos]

F is worse because it affects your cumulative gpa. on the other hand, there are legitimate reasons for getting a W where you wouldn't necessarily fail the class even if you didn't drop it.

[Privodevat]

An 'F' is way worse than a 'W'.

[sillymeboy]

If you get an "F" or "W" you would have to retake the subject anyway, but a "W" is better since it doesn't affect your gpa.

-edit- Find out if your school has this or anything similar. In my school, for the first 12 credits that you take if you get an "F" you can retake that course and they give you the higher grade of the two. They won't average it out but they will simply give you the higher grade. If this is the case, he could just take the "F" so he can advanced to his other classes and simply retake that course later to replace the "F"

[Prot]

In the end, you just have to explain this to your first future employer. After that, nobody cares about your transcript. But yeah in your scheme of things, it would be best to take a W than an F if the chance of getting an F is higher than being able to pass.

[kilaalaa]

How can your whoeverheis know that he will get an F?

Sure whoeverheis did badly for midterm, but maybe other people did badly too.

But if he is sure that he will get an F, then a W is definitely better.

[vstacey820]

If you get an "F" or "W" you would have to retake the subject anyway, but a "W" is better since it doesn't affect your gpa.

-edit- Find out if your school has this or anything similar. In my school, for the first 12 credits that you take if you get an "F" you can retake that course and they give you the higher grade of the two. They won't average it out but they will simply give you the higher grade. If this is the case, he could just take the "F" so he can advanced to his other classes and simply retake that course later to replace the "F"

thanks for the advice. he told me that our school takes the average of the two grades.