Should You Drop a Class?

In college, you are bound to have at least one class (if not more) that makes you want to pull your hair out. Should you drop that class? In this post, I am going to give you some good and not so good reasons to drop a class in college.

Before You Drop

Before you drop a class, there are a few things you want to consider.

First, are you still able to get a full or partial refund for the class? If not, are you okay with that? Also, along those lines, can you add a different class in its place? You can usually add classes for the first two weeks of the new semester, but check with your school for specifics.

How will dropping the class affect your financial aid status now and in the future? At most colleges, you have to be full time to receive financial aid. That usually means taking 12 credits or about four classes.

Will you need to retake that exact class in the future? If you will have to retake that class as opposed to choosing another one to fill the requirement, it might be worth sticking it out. If you can take it with another professor or take another class altogether, think about that, too.

Are you falling extremely behind? If there is any way you can catch up or petition for an Incomplete, that might be smarter than dropping the class.

Is the class for your major? You want to do well in your major classes, and that means sticking with some classes that you don’t find as interesting. I felt this way about a class last spring, but I was able to power through. Just tell yourself it will be over in four months or less.

Where are you in the semester? If you drop a class, will it show up on your record? Most W grades won’t count towards your GPA, but they will show up as being dropped after a certain point in the semester. Dropping a class at this point is fine once or twice, but it could look bad to graduate programs if you drop too often.

You should also consider if dropping a class will affect your graduation date. Since you will need to take the class again, but will you have toward long before it is offered again? You can’t always take a class the following semester, so think about how dropping a class now will affect your future schedule.

The Reasons

Okay now that I have gone over what you should think about before dropping a class, here are some good reasons to drop.

You are uninterested in the subject.

If you decide to take a theatre appreciation class but would rather take music or art appreciation, you should probably consider dropping. In most cases, your general education requirements will have options.

You already have a full load.

Maybe you decided to try and be superhuman and take 24 credits in one semester. It may seem like a good idea when registering, but in practice, you will face a lot of burn out. Try dropping a class or two. Your brain will thank you.

You are not able to connect with the material or the professor.

Different professors have different teaching styles. If you aren’t used to how a professor teaches, you might want to look into a different professor.

Now for some not so good reasons to drop a class.

The class is a requirement for your major.

Unless you are really struggling to grasp the material, try to stick it out. Contact your professor about working with you during office hours or ask them what you can do to improve. Odds are they were once a student in that same type of class, so they should understand how to learn the material.

You have to wake up early or go in on Friday.

Now, I understand not everyone is a morning person and having three day weekends in college can be great, but you have to be realistic. You might have to take an eight am class. Or you have to take a class that meets on Friday afternoons. I know that it’s hard, but think of it this way: the real world won’t allow for much flexibility. You will probably have a nine to five job five days a week. Choose what you can and be prepared for when you can’t.

You have no friends in a class.

Maybe you and your friend discussed taking the same political science class (hello, study buddy!), but your friend had to switch to a different class because of a conflict. Don’t just drop a class because a friend did or because they never enrolled in it at all. You can make friends or it can be your “dud” class. AKA a class where you just go to learn and don’t really talk to the other students.

 

So, have you ever dropped a class before? What was it like? Do you have any tips for someone considering dropping a class? Drop them in the comments!

Thanks for reading!