Freshman Forum: To Drop or Not to Drop?

One thing you’ll probably run into during your college career is the ability to drop a course. It’s not uncommon at all for college students to drop classes for various reasons, but it can get you into real trouble. So should you do it? You should ask yourself a few questions and think about it before you make that decision.

First of all, what are your reasons for dropping the class? If you don’t have a definite reason, then you probably shouldn’t be dropping it. Instead, focus on finding something that motivates you to go to class and work hard on your grades.

Some reasons for dropping classes include:

1)      Scheduling conflicts

2)      Overloading yourself

3)      Becoming sick/ill

4)      Not benefiting from your professor’s teaching style

5)      Taking a class above your academic abilities (i.e. taking a junior class as a freshman)

All of those listed are adequate reasons for dropping a course, and obviously, there are many more than those.

Next, truly ask yourself whether or not you can afford to drop the class. You’ve paid good money to be there; is it worth dropping the course and not getting a refund? Unless you attend a college that has some sort of refund policy (most don’t), you won’t see that money again.

Think about financial aid. Most scholarships put a requirement on you regarding your hours. For example, my academic scholarship requires me to take at least 12 hours to keep receiving the money each year – if I drop below that number, I’ll lose my financial aid. If you have scholarships with requirements like those, you should definitely give some thought as to whether or not you can drop the course.

On top of all of this, remember to go about dropping a course in due time. Most colleges require you to drop a course before a certain date, or you will have an “I” for “incomplete” on your grade sheet rather than a “W” for withdrawn. For example, UNA’s deadline for dropping a course this year was Oct. 22. After that, you get an “incomplete,” which can drastically affect your grade.

One final thing to consider when dropping a course is the amount of courses you’ve dropped in the past. If you’re a freshman, you haven’t had to do this yet, but if you’re a junior or senior, you should know that many universities will start looking at what grade you had in the classes you dropped once you’ve reached a certain number.  If you drop several classes because you’re failing, this can also affect your grade negatively.

So, can you afford to drop that course? Think about it before filling out the form!