Should I withdraw from a class?

[PeterDonis]

If I do it and take this class next semester, it will show in my transcript a W in this class for this semester and an A in this class the next semester.

Hm, ok. I'm not savvy enough about current grad school admissions (my experience there is decades old) to know whether the "W" would be a significant issue or not. My personal guess would be to lean towards "not" since it looks like the "W" would be in Mathematical Physics B, and you are taking Mathematical Physics A in this same semester, so you could plausibly explain it as you not realizing that it would be too much to handle both of those classes at the same time. (Note that in this explanation you are not saying anything about your opinion of the respective professors.) And the "A" next semester would show that you can handle the material. But that's just my personal guess.

 

[symbolipoint]

If the W which you'd be given for dropping NOW, does not render as having any grade points or credit and therefore not affect grade average, then drop the course NOW. Before too late.

 

[gwnorth]

I can work with the definitions and I can understand the proofs for the propositions. But I don't feel like I am learning anything from it. It doesn't feel like I am really understanding the subject, I am just learning to use it. For me, this is not learning and doesn't hold much value, especially because I can properly learn this in another opportunity.

And dedicating for this class (in this situation), it kind of feels like I am wasting time I could use to properly learn and focus on other activities (research, classes, extracurricular). In my research, for example, I am in the second-half half of it and with an opportunity to even publish a paper depending on my work in these next 4 months.

To be bluntly honest these sound like excuses you're using to justify doing what you want to do which is to drop the class because you don't like this professor's lecturing style. You're simply seeking external validation for your decision. Let's not kid ourselves by pretending otherwise.

The reality is that you have no way of knowing that if you take the course with the other professor you will better "understand" the subject. If you currently find that you're not really understanding the fundamentals and are just learning to "plug and chug", then you should be seeking additional learning resources. This is what it means to be an independent learner.

If you want to drop the class then drop it but you should do so with the understanding that a) yes having a W on your transcript for an upper division course in your major may affect your competitiveness for grad school, and b) that it really has absolutely nothing to do with your ability to excel in this class but rather the fact that you just don't like it.

 

[jv07cs]

To be bluntly honest these sound like excuses you're using to justify doing what you want to do which is to drop the class because you don't like this professor's lecturing style. You're simply seeking external validation for your decision. Let's not kid ourselves by pretending otherwise.

The reality is that you have no way of knowing that if you take the course with the other professor you will better "understand" the subject. If you currently find that you're not really understanding the fundamentals and are just learning to "plug and chug", then you should be seeking additional learning resources. This is what it means to be an independent learner.

If you want to drop the class then drop it but you should do so with the understanding that a) yes having a W on your transcript for an upper division course in your major may affect your competitiveness for grad school, and b) that it really has absolutely nothing to do with your ability to excel in this class but rather the fact that you just don't like it.

Thanks for your honesty. You're right, I guess I am giving excuses. There are many factors to consider for this decision, but the reason why this question even arose is because I don't like this class.

I will take into consideration all the replies in this thread, weigh the pros and cons, and then make a decision. I still have a couple a weeks to decide.

 

[vela]

Maybe a dumb question, but if you complete the course this semester and retake it next semester and do better, how does that show up on your transcript?

Most likely, the school won't allow a student to retake a course for which they have already received a passing grade.

 

[PeterDonis]

Most likely, the school won't allow a student to retake a course for which they have already received a passing grade.

The OP already confirmed that this is the case in post #18.