Ask the Adviser

A. This is an important question. For spring semester 1998, the deadline for late dropping a fifteen-week course is Friday, April 10. Before taking this action, you should get all the information you need and weigh the pros and cons.

Baccalaureate degree students are allowed to late drop a maximum of 16 credits while enrolled at Penn State. If you late drop a course, a grade is not recorded and your grade-point average is not affected. However, the course will appear on your transcript with a late drop symbol. (For more details, consult the University Undergraduate Advising Handbook on the World Wide Web at http://www.psu.edu/dus/unadbk/unadbk.html.)

Before you decide, you should carefully assess your chances of earning a satisfactory final grade. Meet with the course instructor to make sure of grading policies, your current grades and how final grades will be determined.

You should also be aware of some of the negative consequences that might result from late dropping the course:

(1) Completing fewer credits could mean taking more time to graduate.
(2) Dropping a critical course could prevent you from entering the major you want.
(3) Dropping below 12 credits can affect financial aid, health insurance coverage, participation in intercollegiate athletics and enrollment in the Schreyer Honors College. Keep in mind that if you remain in the course and receive an F, not only are these same consequences possible, but your grade-point average will be lower.

Provided by the Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS), "Ask the Adviser" appears every other Wednesday on this page. E-mail your questions to DUS@psu.edu and specify that you would like them to be answered in the column. Do not address questions to The Daily Collegian.