What is the difference between withdrawal and incomplete?
Asked by: Kayleigh Wolf Sr. | Last update: October 8, 2025Score: 4.7/5 (25 votes)
Depending upon the circumstances and timing, such a student may be allowed to withdraw from the College without academic penalty and with full refund of tuition or the student will receive a grade of incomplete with the option of completing the course(s) at a later date or tuition credit for future enrollment.
Is incomplete the same as withdrawal?
What is the difference between an incomplete and a withdrawal? An incomplete is initiated by the student with the professor to complete missing work beyond the end of the semester, due to an extenuating circumstance.
Is it better to withdraw or incomplete?
An incomplete grade will allow you to make up and submit any missing work once the crisis has passed, and can be an important way to avoid losing credit for the classes you've worked so hard in. It's up to your professor whether they allow you to take an Incomplete grade, and some may be more understanding than others.
Does an incomplete look bad on a transcript?
Ultimately, ``incomplete'' grades normally turn into ``F'' grades if the student and the instructor remain at the institution and no regular grade is ever submitted for them. Once a regular grade is turned in, the transcript will be updated to show that grade.
What does taking an incomplete mean in college?
The mark of "I" (Incomplete) is given when a student has not completed all the work for a class and it is determined by the student and the course instructor that the student will be unable to complete the work prior to the date that semester course grades are due to be submitted to the university.
Fall 2024 Academic Withdrawal and Incomplete
Does an incomplete ruin your GPA?
Keep in mind that if the work isn't completed within the stipulated period, the "Incomplete" grade might automatically become an "F" or another failing grade, directly impacting your GPA in a negative way.
Does incomplete mean fail?
This "I" indicates that the student has not finished all the necessary coursework for the course and has shown insufficient material to assess a grade. If by the final exam, you still have remaining work, you will most likely earn an "I" grade, letting you know to complete your work to receive a final grade.
Is an incomplete worse than an F?
If the Correction of Grade or Removal of Incomplete form is not submitted by the due date, the grade of Incomplete (I) will automatically change to an Incomplete Charged (IC), which is equivalent to an “F.” The “IC” replaces the “I” and is counted as a failing grade for GPA and progress point computation.
Can I graduate with an incomplete?
Can I have an Incomplete in a course and still graduate? No student may graduate with a grade of "I" (Incomplete) on his or her record for that degree program.
Will an incomplete affect my financial aid?
Incomplete courses ("I" grades) are not considered as units completed and can affect your SAP status. For Financial Aid purposes, passing grades are considered to be a grade of A-D and Credit.
Is it worse to fail or withdraw?
Generally, it's better to drop a class than to fail it, as long as you can maintain a full-time course load without it.
How many W are acceptable on a transcript?
To put it simply, it will depend on how many Ws you have. For the most part, one or two withdrawals will not impact your admission decisions. However, more than one or two-course withdrawals are symbolic of a deeper issue.
Is a withdrawal bad on a transcript?
Though many students worry about Ws on their transcript, in truth a W offers very little information. It merely reflects that sometime between the third and eighth week of the quarter you decided not to continue with the class.
Is a withdrawal an incomplete grade?
An "incomplete" and a "withdrawal" are two different notations that can appear on a high school transcript, and they have different implications in terms of college admissions.
What happens after an incomplete?
An Incomplete or I grade is meant to act as a placeholder grade. Once you finish your missing work, the instructor can assign you a final grade, which replaces the I grade in your record. Your grade will match the grading option you chose in the semester you started the course.
Is withdrawal a positive or negative?
This paper suggests that withdrawal is a basic positive and negative form of adaptation by the Adapted Child to parental influences, along with compliance and rebellion. Compliance, rebellion, and withdrawal are related to the three basic negative survival emotions: fear, anger, and sadness, respectively.
Does an incomplete hurt your GPA?
The “I” grade doesn't immediately count against a student's GPA, but it does count against the Satisfactory Academic Progress that a student has to maintain to keep aid eligibility.
What happens if you don't finish an incomplete grade?
It depends. Having Incomplete grades does not automatically stop you from graduating. However, unfinished Incompletes roll over into grades of F or N prior to degree conferral.
Will I still graduate if I fail one class?
Many undergraduates fail a class in college and still go on to graduate. If you're at risk of failing, talk to your professor and meet with an academic advisor. Check your school's policies about retaking courses to remove an F from your transcript. Failing a class is a wake-up call that you may need to make changes.
Do incompletes show up on transcripts?
Transcript Notation
For any newly assigned Incomplete (“I”) grade, the transcript will display the final assigned grade from a resolved “I” grade in the term the course was enrolled. For any unresolved Incompletes, the transcript will display the lapsed “F” grade in the term the course was enrolled.
How bad is one F on your transcript?
A failing grade will likely hurt your GPA (unless you took the course pass/fail), which could jeopardize your financial aid. The failure will end up on your college transcripts and could hurt your chances of getting into graduate school or graduating when you originally planned to.
Can one F ruin your GPA?
To exemplify, an A=4, B=3, C=2, and D=1. This means that receiving a fail (or F) gives you a zero. Yet, the class is still included when you divide by your total number of courses taken. As such, a fail can really cause your GPA to plummet.
What does just incomplete mean?
: not complete : unfinished: such as. a. : lacking a usually necessary part, element, or step.
Does an incomplete assignment affect your grade?
Typically a grading policy will mark missing work as a zero and thus would impact and drag down a student's grade.
What is an incomplete grading?
An Incomplete Grade ("I") is a non punitive grade given only during the last one-fourth of a term/semester and only if a student (1) is passing the course and (2) has a justifiable and documented reason, beyond the control of the student (such as serious illness or military service), for not completing the work on ...