What should I do if my midterm grades aren’t great?

I’ve been there. It’s the middle of the semester, I’m feeling extremely burnt out, midterm grades post, and I feel defeated. One or some of my classes don’t look good, and at this point, I don’t know what to do. When I was an undergrad, I just suffered and accepted the grade. I didn’t know what my options were, but now that I work for a university, I realize there were so many other things I could have done to save my GPA from tanking. Let’s take a look at what options you have.

  1. Meet with your professors during office hours. This is the most important thing you can do. Before you make any decisions about what to do in the class, you need to have a conversation with the professor to get a strong grasp of where you stand. Explain to the professor your situation and the grade you’re hoping to achieve in the class. Ask what opportunities are left in the semester and if they’re willing to offer extra credit, late work, make-up assignments, etc. Then calculate your predicted grade – this part is important! With all the remaining assignments, what grade could you possibly receive in the course? Is the amount of work reasonable and achievable? If you choose to stay in the class, you need to make sure that you can follow through with the work outlined by you and your professor.
  2. Consider a course withdrawal. WSU allows you to withdraw from four courses over the duration of your degree. This option is great If you’re struggling in only one or two classes, but you’re doing well in others. It’s also great if one of your classes is too much work and is causing you to do poorly in your other classes. Withdrawals show as a W grade on your transcript instead of a letter grade, so you don’t have to take the F or D grade. Before deciding to withdraw from a course, check with your advisor and the financial aid office to determine how the withdrawal will impact your degree trajectory, overall GPA, and financial aid status. More info: https://registrar.wsu.edu/deadlines-drop-withdrawal/
  3. Consider a term withdrawal. This option is great if you’re struggling in several classes. You can choose to take the rest of the semester off and come back in summer or fall with a clean slate. Many students use term withdrawals when they’re struggling with extenuating circumstances such as health concerns or family challenges. The classes will show as a W grade on your transcript, but they don’t count toward the four course withdrawals mentioned above. As with the course withdrawal, check with your advisor and the financial aid office to determine how the withdrawal will impact your degree trajectory, overall GPA, and financial aid status. More info: https://registrar.wsu.edu/term-withdrawal#:~:text=You%20will%20be%20charged%20a,according%20to%20the%20schedule%20below.
  4. Take an Incomplete. This option is definitely a bit trickier, and I often don’t recommend it to students. An Incomplete grade basically gives you extended time to complete a course, BUT the professor of the course must agree to do it for you. Sometimes students have to miss several weeks of class due to illness or other extenuating circumstances, which causes them to fall behind. An incomplete allows a student to finish the course after the semester ends, so theoretically, you could complete your work over the summer. I often don’t recommend this to students because you need a flexible professor who is willing and has time to work with you – an incomplete puts more work on the professor since they must find alternate assignments, alternate deadlines, etc. An I grade is placed on your transcript until the course is finished. At that point, the I is replaced with whatever letter grade you earn in the class. If you and your professor would like to consider this option, talk to your advisor for next steps. More info (look at rule 90H): https://catalog.wsu.edu/general/academicregulations/listby/90
By Kiersten Guetlein
Kiersten Guetlein