What to Do if You’re Failing a College Class

While not as ideal as taking and passing a course, dropping a course has the fewest negative repercussions of the options included here. “A drop from the course is usually done early in the semester and has no impact on the student’s grade, GPA or transcript,” Croskey says. However, students should be very aware of deadlines, financial aid requirements and course timelines before dropping a class.

Each college has a different deadline after which students cannot drop a course. It’s typically a fairly short period of time (a few weeks or less), so students who find themselves struggling later in the semester will not be able to drop a class.

Although it won’t impact a student’s GPA, some scholarship and financial aid packages require a minimum number of credits (often 12 – or full-time status, according to Croskey), and dropping below that may result in revocation of financial aid. Students should keep this in mind when considering dropping a course.

Lastly, students should consider the timeline of the course offerings for their major’s prerequisites. Frequently, courses are offered in succession and can’t be taken out of order. For instance, if a student has to take Math 112 for their major, and it’s only offered in the spring, he likely doesn’t want to drop Math 111 this fall – otherwise he’d have to wait a full year to retake Math 111 and then eventually Math 112 (and then Math 211 and 212, sequentially).

According to Croskey, a withdrawal should be seen as a last-resort option. “A student knows [it’s time to withdraw] when they have met with their professor and determined that there is no possible way to earn enough points to pass the course,” Croskey says.

If students plan to withdraw from a course, they will likely need to get approval for their plans before they can officially withdraw. “Typically students have to have approval from the professor or adviser to withdraw from the course,” says Crosky. Some schools also require a student to have at least a passing grade for the course at the time of the withdrawal.

There are a few additional factors students should keep in mind before choosing to withdraw from a class. “Some courses are required by major and will have to be retaken,” says Crosky. A withdrawal might “put the student out of sequence to progress in their chosen major, resulting in them having to stay an additional semester.”

Most schools also limit the number of withdrawals a student can take. “A student is only allowed a certain number of withdrawals on their transcript,” says Crosky, noting the number for Clarion University is five. Some schools also have a “double repeat policy”. UC Santa Cruz, for instance, only allows students to repeat a course twice, and a withdraw counts as an attempt. While a “W” on a transcript is better than a failing grade, it might negatively impact future opportunities for graduate school.

Students who rely on financial aid to pay for school will also need to keep in mind that withdrawing from a class may drop the number of enrolled credits below the minimum needed for financial aid. Students should carefully review their financial aid requirements with their adviser before withdrawing.

Special circumstances are necessary for a student to take an Incomplete. “I would suggest taking an incomplete grade when a student has complications with a course due to unforeseen circumstances,” Croskey says. Health complications, an unexpected death or other personal circumstances may be valid reasons to take an incomplete.

However, a student’s current coursework may need to meet certain criteria to take an “I” grade. UC Berkeley instructs their faculty to assign “a grade of Incomplete (I) if your student’s work in a course has been of passing quality but is incomplete due to circumstances beyond the student’s control.”

The “I” on the transcript is temporary until the student completes the work after semester’s end. At that time, the grade on the transcript will be adjusted to match the work that they submitted. Proactive communication between student and teacher is critical in this instance.

There are also deadlines to completing the work that students should be aware of. Students should check with their specific college, but as an example, UC Berkeley’s deadlines for undergraduates dictate that the work for an Incomplete given for a fall semester course must be completed by the first day of instruction of the following fall semester. Similarly, an “I” received for a spring or summer session course must be completed by the first day of instruction of the following spring semester.

Failing a course should not be considered an option. While the alternatives above aren’t ideal, they’re all better than a failing grade on the transcript. Croskey notes that dropping a class is better than withdrawing, but withdrawing is better than failing.

“A failing grade will lower the student’s GPA, which may prevent a student from participating in a particular major that has a GPA requirement,” Croskey says. “A lower GPA can also prevent someone from graduating and can lessen opportunities for graduate school or certain professional positions.”

Kathleen Elwood notes too that “if a student doesn’t retake the class they will always have the failing grade negatively impacting their GPA and it will always stay on their transcript.”

While classes can be retaken to replace the failing grade, there are sometimes limits to how often. For instance, some institutions don’t allow a student to retake a class more than twice. The grade a student gets after the course is retaken will replace the grade on the transcript; like everything else though, this should be confirmed with an academic adviser in advance.

Dropping and withdrawing from a course are similar; however, there is one important distinction. “A drop will not be seen on transcripts, and does not affect GPA,” Croskey says. “A withdrawal will be on the transcripts but does not affect GPA.”

Croskey also noted that there aren’t any limits to how many classes one can drop because they don’t go on the transcript. Withdrawals though are limited and can look bad if there are too many on a student’s transcript.

Withdrawals are limited to five at Clarion University, according to Croskey. Each student should check with their specific adviser for the number at their institution as it may be more or less for each. If a student reaches the maximum number of withdrawals, and is past the drop-by date, they’ll be forced to take a failing grade (assuming circumstances are normal and they can’t work out an Incomplete).

According to Croskey, it is usually better to withdraw from a class. Exceptions may result for students with many withdrawals already if they can create a productive plan to retake the course after failing.

A withdrawal doesn’t affect the GPA.

Yes. Students must meet with a financial aid adviser (in addition to their professor and academic adviser) before dropping or withdrawing from a class if they’re on financial aid. They must continue to meet the minimum number of credits and they should understand that, while they may get money back if they drop early enough, they will not get a refund from a class from which they withdraw.

Dropped classes do not, withdrawn classes do. Students should note that potential grad programs or employers may see too many withdrawals as a lack of commitment or a pattern of quitting too early.

“Unlimited drops are allowed,” Croskey says. They aren’t tracked because they don’t show up on transcripts and don’t affect your GPA.

“Speak with your adviser or department chair,” Croskey says. “It may impact your timeline to graduate. There may be another course that can be taken instead, but that is not the usual case.”