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I have a few Ws on my transcript and a less than stellar GPA from a very large state university. I did not pursue grad school, but I do not believe my undergraduate grades have had any bearing on my future employment prospects.
I wouldn't be concerned about it.
This is less true than it used to be, I think. With employers using any excuse to weed people out, GPA could matter. A lack of a master's from a "good program," quote unquote, could certainly matter. Work experience can ameliorate poor undergraduate grades to a great extent, from what I understand, but acquiring that experience can be a catch 22.
Forget about the Ws. Seriously, if you have a good GPA and good GRE scores no one cares about the Ws. We all have sat in the first weeks of classes knowing we would not succeed with a certain professor, or we had underestimated the work required for a class. Unless someone is luck enough these days to have an undergraduate program where the departments are really on top of having a degree plan that works and offering the necessary classes when they are needed...most of us have had to pick and choose at one time or another.
Good luck in grad school. I will be graduating with my masters in May '15 and have decided not to go any further at this time. My only advice is not to attend a school that will not fund you. Grad school in most fields really does not help you as much as you think. In my time here I have not learned much that's new, taken a handful of classes (because my advisor said I had to take them) that are irrelevant to my future career, and spent a lot of time in bs classes that teach you how to be a grad student. It's unfortunate that there are a lot of people in grad school that need to be taught to turn things in on time, watch deadlines for class sign ups, meet with your advisor regularly, be prepared for your teaching assignments, etc. You shouldn't be in grad school if you aren't ready and prepared for this in advance. The first two years are a waste of time and a PhD in my field would not advance my career potential outside of academia. The only thing I have to say is that it was funded and it gave me a chance to live far away from home and grow as a person since I finished undergrad very young.
The only time I could imagine it mattering is if you have a failing W or WF, my university has this as an option. It is for taking a W late in the semester from a class you are failing. Otherwise it won't matter one bit.
The only time I could imagine it mattering is if you have a failing W or WF, my university has this as an option. It is for taking a W late in the semester from a class you are failing. Otherwise it won't matter one bit.
I had a wf and went to a good grad school anyway. They didn't even seem to notice it.
I teach part-time at my local community college and talk about "W" grades on the first night when we go over the syllabus. If a student drops before the add/drop deadline, nothing appears on their transcript. If a student stops coming to class after the drop deadline, then they get whatever grade they earn, which is usually a "F", since they haven't takes the quizzes or examinations.
Between those two dates, if a student drops, they get a "W" on their transcript. It is not factored into one's GPA, either positively or negatively. I tell my students that it only says, "Life happened . . . and you couldn't complete the class". That's all. It neither helps or hurts. Too many and they might be questioned, otherwise, they are pretty much ignored.
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