Stupid question. Would you still drop a course and have it marked as cancelled if you know you might get a 1?

I'd argue that everybody "knows they might" get a 1 in any/every course they ever take.

If I *knew* for sure that the highest possible grade I could get was a 1, then yes I would probably cancel it, especially since it would be the only cancelled course on my transcript.

its often easier to explain a cancelled course vs a bad mark....
also 1 is pretty close to 0...and thats not something you want.

Edit: then again I know a lot of people who "did terrible" and the bell brought them up to an 8-9 because the class average was about 30%

depends what course it is and if u need it or not+what your standards are

Computer Engineering 2SI4 is what I want to drop. Just to confirm, its okay to drop this right? It won't affect my 3rd years?
I know I'm supposed to talk to an AA first but i would like your views/experiences before I go in.

omg I almost failed physics 1B03 but then like i studied so much for the exam and finished with a 7. You just like need to study super hard lolz

P.S: if i fail i'd just go to the prof's office and see what he can do for me, or what I can do for him

What program are you in? COE 2SI4 is a course available in electrical, biomed and computer. I would imagine that your java algorithms course would be very important for future computer eng courses. Much less so for biomed or electrical (BUT check pre-reqs!!).

I would recommend watching these:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5OD...U-ZMgjYTQ538nT

They are by far the best programming/algorithm/coding resource I have found on the internet.

I'm in pure Electrical. I checked all the courses for future years, none seems to require it. Gracious for the link. What courses did you end up using Computer Engineering 2SI4 for your future courses?

Originally Posted by Kinder

I'm in pure Electrical. I checked all the courses for future years, none seems to require it. Gracious for the link. What courses did you end up using Computer Engineering 2SI4 for your future courses?

I didnt use Si4 at all in future courses...although you might since im in biomed. I used si4 a huge amount in my job though...and in interviews. Java algorithms are one of the most tested things in job interviews with any relation to software. The algorithms dont seem important...but they are getting more and more so. As you can image runtime and efficiency play a big part when sifting through multi-petabyte datasets (common for most "cloud" companies)

Gosh. Thanks so much for that insight. I'm definitely not risking a 1 then if its that important for job interviews.

Originally Posted by Kinder

Gosh. Thanks so much for that insight. I'm definitely not risking a 1 then if its that important for job interviews.

I should mention that the course is not important for interviews at all. The interviewer wont even know what the course is (unless its like google or something...then marks really matter). You just need to understand the material. I used the videos above (and a lot of other research) to do that

So they don't open your transcript and ask you to defend your low marks? At which point do they look at your transcript then? Or do they just care about your average?

Originally Posted by Kinder

So they don't open your transcript and ask you to defend your low marks? At which point do they look at your transcript then? Or do they just care about your average?

if you GET an interview...they already consider your mark high enough most likely (average only...except at places like google). Anything they feel you dont know they will test you on. My intership interviews were usually 30 min HR "handle the situation bullshit" and then 1-1.5 hours of technical questions. For full time (after graduating) my interviews were mostly 3+ hours and involved mostly technical questions.

Always, always, always cancel a course if you know you are going to get a very low mark in it. Most people don't question a cancel. But a low grade shows that you did poorly and even more importantly, for graduate admissions significantly drops your gpa.

Originally Posted by qwerty91

its often easier to explain a cancelled course vs a bad mark....
also 1 is pretty close to 0...and thats not something you want.

Edit: then again I know a lot of people who "did terrible" and the bell brought them up to an 8-9 because the class average was about 30%

1 is close to 0
lol but seriously, I had a couple of 1's throughout my four years. If you arent planning on going further than an undergrad, i dont think it matters that much if your other grades are meeting their course averages. Some people say that a course is easier the second time around, but when it comes to certain profs, *cough* Jamaal Dean, the test material will always leave you stumped to the point where it is extremely difficult to succeed in the course