DIY Postbacc: W's on record, but not on official transcript?

[choctruffle]

thank you

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[KnightDoc]

Hi everyone! I've been enrolled in UCLA Extension as a DIY postbacc since Fall 2019. According to the school's policy, there's usually a 1-2 week refund/transfer period where you can add/drop classes and still get a full refund (it's a school with no admission application and you pay per unit). After that, you can still withdraw classes (usually up until the day before finals) without a refund, and the "W" notation will appear on your record, but not on your unofficial and official transcript. I believe UCSD Extension is also similar in this policy. Here's what the school website states:

"If after the final refund date, you decide to discontinue participating in your course, you have the option to withdraw up until the end of day (11:59pm PT) on the final withdrawal date. A grade of “W” will be placed on your record, but the course will not appear on your transcript. No refunds are available for course withdrawal."

Course Drops, Transfers, and Withdrawals | UCLA Extension

www.uclaextension.edu

I've since withdrawn 4 classes (in 3 separate quarters) after the refund/transfer deadline because my dumb self thought that since these withdrawals were not on my official transcript, they were the same as adds/drops within the normal add/drop period, just without a refund, and thus won't affect my apps. 2 W's were because I had poor study skills and time management and wanted to focus on the MCAT, and the other 2 W's were due to family issues. I will have taken 6 quarters of postbacc classes by the time I apply, with 3 being part-time. Now that the 2021-2022 application season is coming, will I need to include these W classes (they're not on my unofficial and official transcript, but they're on my enrollment history and the grades are W's) on the AMCAS? I called AMCAS and they said no because they only check official transcripts, not the school's website, but I'm still not sure. If I do list them, how severely will it hurt my application chances - especially in a DIY post-bacc designed to repair my GPA? I was hoping I wouldn't have to list them bc I think it'll hurt my apps so much, but if I need to include them, then I definitely will.

Here's what 2021 AMCAS manual said about withdrawals:
"A Withdrawal includes any course you officially withdrew from, regardless of whether you were passing or failing at the time. Such courses usually appear on the transcript as a “W” or equivalent symbol. No credit hours or AMCAS grade will be assigned for Withdrawals, except in cases where the school includes the Withdrawal failing grade in the GPA as an “F.”
A course entry should not be made if the course was dropped within the normal drop/add period and does not appear on your transcript. The courses from which you made unofficial or administrative withdrawals will be included in your AMCAS GPAs if your school included them in its GPA.
If you withdrew entirely from a school before completing courses for a specific term, you must still list each course for which you were registered that term, with Withdrawal as the Special Course Type. If the school does not issue transcripts for students who withdraw entirely, you must ask the registrar’s office to forward an official letter (with an AMCAS Transcript Request Form attached) indicating that no transcript is available because of institutional policies."

**My other stats are cGPA = 3.61, sGPA = 3.5 (both w/ postbacc GPA added), and MCAT = 519. Fluctulating trends in UG grades, all A's and 1 A- in postbacc classes. Decent EC's in underserved communities, clinical experience and research (no pubs). My apologies that I won't get into more detail here.

Why are you going out of your way to create problems for yourself? You called AMCAS and they gave you the answer. What more do you want? Y

ou will actually create issues for yourself by reporting the Ws, since they don't appear on the official transcript, which is what is used to verify your primary! Since UCLA Extension is not reporting the classes on your transcript, maybe it helps to look at it like this -- although they are keeping your money, their drop/add period actually runs right up until the day before finals, just like it says on their website.

AMCAS has made its position clear -- they don't care about any classes that don't appear on your official transcript. You're fine!!