Some students believe that taking a withdrawal is better than receiving a fail but that is not always the case when trying to perfect your transcripts for transfer.
Although there is a strong difference between an earned F and an unearned F. Receiving an F may be easier to remove than a W.
An earned F means that you have failed to meet requirements to pass the course although in various cases students receive an unearned F by failing to drop the course by the specified date.
In this case students have a few options to choose from in order to clear their record and have a properly weighted GPA.
In the event that a student receives an unearned F they have the option to retake the class and replace it with a higher grade.
This is a great option because it not only gives the student a second chance but gives them the option to petition their old grade, have it unaccounted for in their GPA calculations and removed from their transcripts.
When a student receives a W it appears as though they gave up more than halfway through the semester.
The admissions and records office gives all students the opportunity to petition almost anything especially their grades.
Students can fill out a request for review petition. This is a chance for students who have received a fail to repeat the course within LACCD and replace it with the higher grade received on their next attempt and the fail unaccounted for in your GPA.
Students can also file for academic renewal, which gives them the options to remove the fail completely out of your GPA once two years have passed and the rules for academic renewal are changing with the hopes that it will soon only require one year to pass instead of two.
If a student receives an F they can have it removed with either petition and uncalculated in your GPA which seems like a better fit than to have a W on transcripts which can only be removed after you have re-taken the course.
This is a better option for a student to receive an unearned F and use a petition to have it removed from their transcripts and GPA rather than taking a W.
