Should I drop my math stats course?

[Steel Sun]

Hi everyone

I'm an Econ and Math major looking for some advice. This semester I am enrolled in an undergrad Math Stats course. I screwed up an important exam, and I am considering whether to drop the course. If I drop it before a cut-off date then it won't appear on my transcript. I'm considering the following points:

• I think I'll end up with a B or possibly even a C in this course. My other grades are very good.
• If I drop the course I will only be taking 3 subjects this semester, which could look a bit weird.
• I have no more chances to take Math Stats in my degree, but I already have a fair bit of good econometrics on my transcript.

Would dropping the course improve my chances of getting into a top 10 econ PhD program? And is that difference big enough to justify the time, effort and fees required to take a subject over the break?
Thanks!

[unfallible]

A C would be really bad, but if you can pull off a B+, that may be better than just not having it. It will be a toss up, I think. But if you think a C is likely, definitely drop it (unless you need it to graduate or something, I guess)

For many of these math-intensive courses, it may be that everyone does poorly on the exams and there's a final grade curve of some kind, so talk with your professor to see if he can give you a realistic idea of what kind of grade range you're still in the running for.

[greatexpect]

if you can drop it before it shows up on your transcript...drop it. I've been told by people on admissions that they're told to look at grades first

[Steel Sun]

Thanks for the advice so far. I have learnt that I will get my midterm result this week, and I will try to find out how the mark will be scaled. I will then have a few days in which I can drop the course with no record on my transcript at all. I will post again once I know how I've done.