Graham Clark

Build your plan around the longest sequence (often math or a lab science) and prioritize starting that even if it means withdrawing from a low‑impact class before the W deadline to free up bandwidth. Ask which prerequisites are strictly enforced versus recommended or waivable with instructor consent; a single exception can pull your whole timeline forward. If you use pass/fail, reserve it for true electives, and avoid pairing a compressed minimester with another heavy lab or writing course so you keep one GPA anchor each term.

Piggybacking on this: build a backward plan to graduation and note when each prereq is offered; some are fall-only and missing one can add a full year. If the current load is too heavy use the withdraw deadline or switch a nonessential elective to pass/fail to triage your GPA, and ask about placement or challenge exams to skip a level. For speed-ups like summer or 8-week terms and block off work time in advance or negotiate a temporary hour cut so the compression doesn’t tank your grades.

Run the numbers on what you need on remaining exams and assignments to reach your target; if it takes near-perfects a W usually protects both GPA and your bandwidth for the other classes and... also verify Satisfactory Academic Progress and your scholarship’s completed-credits rule - Ws can count against pace even if you stay full-time. If you keep it, stack low-friction support now (other-section office hours, a small study pod, old practice materials) and set a firm cutoff date to bail if you’re not on track.

Quick note - One tweak that helps is a two-pass system: in class write the theorem, the goal, and a numbered spine of steps with brief justifications, leaving wide gaps. Right after class, spend 10 minutes expanding those gaps while it’s fresh, using the book to fill any holes. If you make a tiny personal shorthand list (⇒, ∴, WLOG, IH, def exp.), you’ll keep up without trying to copy every symbol.

Start by reading the syllabus grading scheme and compute the minimum path to the target grade. Confirm with the registrar how a W affects standing and scholarship rules. Email the professor with a concise plan and ask for one short meeting to verify priorities. Block two focused sessions for the highest weight items and stop low-value busywork. Sleep and a clean schedule beat cramming when time is thin.

Switched junior spring and advisor mapped overlaps, summer finished prerequisites.

Put the phone in another room and kill Wi-Fi. Work in 25 minute chunks with a kitchen timer, and keep a scrap paper to dump stray thoughts so they stop looping. Back when I studied, one CD start to finish was one session. Print the chapter and stick with the paper until the album ends, then take your snack.