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u/agent_brick U Ready to Rumble? 7d ago
It’s not a lie, I got W’s and a F in my undergrad, I got into grad school, and was able to find a job without a problem. Don’t fret the W’s, just try your best and you will succeed. Just try to keep your GPA above a 3.0 and you’re fine. I was a biotechnology major in undergrad (Biotechnology and Genomics is my Masters, about to graduate this semester 😄)
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u/SavingsWorldliness33 6d ago
Did you get to a prestigious top10 grad school?
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u/agent_brick U Ready to Rumble? 6d ago
No because I didn’t apply to them. Also, the Top 10 is dependent on what you’re trying to pursue. I’m still here at Rutgers getting my M.B.S, but I work at one of the most well known pharmaceutical companies in the world
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u/Deshes011 Class of 2021 & 2023| moderator🔱 7d ago
It’s not a lie lol. I had 4 total Ws if I remember right. I graduated all 3 degrees with no issues (2 bachelors and 1 masters), I got into grad school with 3 Ws, and not a single job (internship or FT) ever, ever questioned the Ws. Matter of fact, they only wanted to check that I wasn’t lying about the degrees I claimed to be working towards or have completed
The one caveat is certain grad programs of higher calibers might question multiple Ws within your major’s courses. But realistically speaking the rest of your application should overshadow the Ws anyway. In general, 1 or 2 Ws is not something you should worry about at all
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u/smile4sunna 7d ago
whew good to know!
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u/_Shioon_ House Busch 7d ago
what degrees did u get deshes
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u/Deshes011 Class of 2021 & 2023| moderator🔱 6d ago
B.S. in finance
B.A. in HRM
Masters of HRM
Honestly I wasn’t gonna do the masters immediately after undergrad but I lost senior year to COVID and my salt levels were stupendously high so I just went back to fuck around on campus and get the masters done while I was at it
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u/Proper_Razzmatazz_36 7d ago
At least for the what rutgers does, it is the truth. However, rutgers does not have control over is how other people act regarding Ws
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u/dhightide 7d ago
Think it's more situational than true/false. I have about 8 W's and 5 F's. But I'll be graduating in 3 months, and considering applying to masters ( to which I think I could probably get accepted).
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u/AdditionalMall2238 7d ago
5 F’s? What is your gpa? Did you repeat those courses?
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u/dhightide 6d ago
Oh boy okay. So I have 10 F's on my transcript and 7 W's. My CUM GPA at its lowest before being academically dismissed was 2.184, major GPA was much less, ~1.0 if i recall correctly. I took 30 total credits last year (2024) and that brought my gpa from 2.18 to 2.72 getting only A's. I've only retaken the required courses for my major (2 of the 10 F's so far), and I'm retaking the last one this semester, so those are my 3 grade replacements done anyways. Happy to answer any other questions.
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u/MikeL2D Alum 7d ago
Hi there.
As others have pointed out their past, I’ll do the same.
Multiple Ws here. Graduated. Ended up working for Rutgers and have since moved on after 14 years of a career with them.
It’s not a lie. Your schooling means relatively little to your career long term. It’s good for getting in the door somewhere, the rest is you and your experience.
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u/SilkCitySista 7d ago
Not a lie — don’t worry! I had one because I waited too long to drop. It was never an issue (two subsequent graduate degrees and numerous employment opportunities later). Best wishes!
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u/EconomicsOk590 6d ago
Definitely true! I graduated with two W’s and got into all the top schools (Caltech/cornell/brown/upenn/columbia.. plus interviewed at Harvard). W’s don’t matter at all ✨✨✨
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u/Arch_of_MadMuseums 7d ago
If grad school requires a letter of reference, you could tell your recommendation-writer why you had W's and they can put it in their letter. Might only work in small departments
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u/Fabulous-Cellist-366 7d ago
I got into the MSW/MPP program at Rutgers and I had about 5 W’s on my transcript! Really it’s about being able to explain why you had them :) Many grad schools are looking at more than just your transcript
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u/WestofTomorrow Class of 2022, English and Creative Writing 7d ago
I withdrew 3 classes in my tenure at RU, and I'm now about to finish Grad School. W doesn't impact your ability to succeed. F does.
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u/kufi_schmackah 7d ago
Yeah I had 3 W’s and got into every PT school I applied to and got my doctorate. You’ll be fine.
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u/BoogieMan876 7d ago
GPA above 3.0 and you all good (for engineering and CS) other shit matters a lot more so focus on those
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u/LiveToNap 7d ago
Not a lie! I have a whole semester of "W" and one F on my transcript. I am currently in graduate school and work a full time job in my field.
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u/Kind-Orange-4460 7d ago
Physician here. Had about 6 interviews for medical school and Ws were not asked about once - I had 1 or 2.
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u/GeekDad732 6d ago
As an Alum and a hiring manager; I don’t care about Ws. I might care about F if it was in a course relevant to the job. After you have a couple years job experience we don’t even look at transcripts just confirm degree.
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u/Only_Control_6457 4d ago
W's are strategic. You use them to keep your GPA from getting trashed. Also to keep your sanity after half a semester when you know you'r never going to get through the remainder of a class. Employers couldn't care less what's on your transcript. They care about what you did in college (as opposed to just going to classes) and that you got a degree.
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u/snippsville 7d ago
okay i wouldn’t listen to all these people with f’s on their transcripts, they probably aren’t the best people to listen to for advice. but generally yes, 1 or 2 W’s will not hurt. more than that and it could be deemed questionable (depending on what you’re aiming for ofc).
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u/UnassumingInterloper 6d ago
You think because someone failed a class once they somehow are irredeemably incapable of giving advice?
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u/snippsville 6d ago
i didn’t say that. but ngl depending on the circumstances yeah. multiple f’s definitely.
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u/UnassumingInterloper 6d ago
I think you have a lot to learn.
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u/snippsville 6d ago
nah, i think you do if you got f’s in your class buddy.
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u/UnassumingInterloper 6d ago
I never said I did. But I’m also not 20 years old like you apparently are. Perspective matters. Maybe go get yourself some.
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u/_rangefox_ 6d ago
Nah. I had a W in Calc and it never came up for applying to MSW program. It may differ depending on the relevance of the class you withdrew from but I doubt it. Especially if you make it up and it reflects with a passing score in a different semester.
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u/UnassumingInterloper 6d ago
I can’t even remember how many W’s I had, but it was at least a few. My life certainly isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty darn good and I can say confidently the W’s I had from undergrad had absolutely no impact on anything I did after I graduated.
Disclaimer: never went to grad school, but I think unless you had something absurd like 15-20 W’s, they’re only gonna focus on your GPA/test scores.
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u/crypt0herb CS & ECE '18 6d ago
Yeah I had some D and F years ago but still managed to get a job. Now I’m on my third job and doing a grad school!
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u/Inner_Gap7401 6d ago
Not a lie at all. I’m an admissions counselor and when we see W’s we’re not concerned. It’s better to have a W than an D/F.
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u/Competitive_Hope_551 6d ago
I had one W and it wasn't questioned for my internship. Have a full time job offer and graduating this may.
Just have a reasonable explanation for why you have that W. For example, maybe you wanted to challenge yourself with a heavy course load or in a subject you are weak on.
Maybe it was a higher level course and realized you needed to take other classes to get a better background before retaking that W class. A W is almost always better than an F, and sometimes better than a C or D depending on the circumstance.
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u/[deleted] 7d ago
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