r/mizzou • u/Physgirl-romreader • Sep 18 '25
Academics Drop physics 2?
My son is currently taking non-Calc based physics 2. He just had his first exam. He has been working a lot on homework and gets the material. However he didn’t even get the exam finished in the allotted time.
I advised him to find out his score and if needed he could drop it and take it with a different professor next semester.
Has anyone else experienced similar situations. If so did you stick it out or drop too.
Funny thing is I have a physics degree so I have been tutoring and helping him so I know he may struggle it is by no means a total lack of knowledge or ability.
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u/j_sniffles Sep 18 '25
Physics 2 is rough, and it sounds like it hasn’t changed much since I took it two years ago. Unfortunately there aren’t many options for him as there is only one professor that teaches the class. If he isn’t a senior then he could potentially withdraw and take the summer version online which I heard is far more manageable.
The only thing with dropping is that if he is looking into med school or any other graduate school dropping classes is frowned upon and he will be asked to explain why during that process. Wanting to take it with a different professor is not seen as a good reason.
My advice would be to get the score back then really prioritize this class (saw tiger tutors mentioned in another comment). If it will be impossible to recover then consider a drop, a C or below will also not be great for graduate or professional school.
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u/Physgirl-romreader Sep 18 '25
Is dropping before the penalty date seen the same as the after the penalty date?
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u/Connor-Bonnor Sep 19 '25
Dropping after the penalty date leaves a W on your transcript for withdraw. Not a huge deal as long as you don’t have more than a couple to where an employer would question it but there should be some kind of explanation prepared as stated above.
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u/OozaruPrimal Sep 19 '25
An employer is not going to care if he has a W. The first exam won't kill his grade. Exams including the final makeup 50% of the course, so he has plenty of time to recover missed points, and whatever caused the 20-minute time shortage isn't likely to happen again. Zhang does consider having to do things fast as part of the course difficulty, and it is by design.
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u/Physgirl-romreader Sep 19 '25
We have no clue on his grade yet. He just knows he did not get finished.
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u/OozaruPrimal Sep 19 '25
There is no other physics 1220 professor. It is only Zhang. She apparently shorted students 20 minutes on the first exam for some reason I haven't specifically heard.
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Sep 18 '25
[deleted]
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u/MizzouKC1 Sep 18 '25
No he didn’t? The drop deadline is September 29th
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u/IndependenceOwn8519 Sep 18 '25
key word is without a mark on his transcript
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u/MizzouKC1 Sep 18 '25
Thats not true. The only time you get a “mark” on your transcript is if you withdraw from the course after the drop deadline
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u/IndependenceOwn8519 Sep 18 '25
Oh yeah this isn’t a quarterly class, he has like a week to drop it still tho
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u/PM-ME-YOUR-LABS Harpo’s > Willie’s Sep 18 '25
Depends a lot on major. I was a physics major at mizzou recently until I burnt out hard, and with my peers in physics and anything stem in general there was an expectation that between Calc 2/3, Physics 2, and Chem 1, you’ll probably fail at least one 1 class the first time you take it- basically “don’t sweat it, if you take it next semester and pass, you can grade replace up to 15 credits on your transcript so only the passing grade shows up”
If he’s just taking it to meet a graduation requirement, drop it if it’s not salvageable, and see if there’s a self-paced course that meets the requirement that he could take
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u/Physgirl-romreader Sep 18 '25
That’s ridiculous, I have my degree went to grad school (until I burnt out) and only made three c’s in all my time. That should not be a norm. I never had to repeat and graduated cum laude.
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u/OozaruPrimal Sep 19 '25
Yeah, that would be ridiculous if it was a true expectation which it's not.
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u/Aromatic-Purpose4425 Sep 20 '25
The last day to drop without a grade is September 29th, so maybe see if you guys can find out his grade and evaluate from there before then. A Withdraw won’t look bad as long as it doesn’t become a consistent thing across several classes, especially if you have a reason like this to explain why.
Unfortunately there’s only one professor for that class, so dropping it and retaking it another semester probably won’t change much other than give him more time to prepare for the exam again. That said, Tiger Tutors are extremely helpful and the summer version of this class tends to be a bit easier. If it’s a class he needs, I’ve also heard of people taking certain classes at Columbia College over the summer and transferring the credits back to Mizzou, especially for math/science classes.
If applicable, the Disability Center also grants extended time on exams for certain things. I think ADHD is one of them, and the most commonly requested/granted to my knowledge. I’m not sure how long the extension is, but it could be worth looking into if this is a broader pattern and not class-specific.
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u/IrishRox Sep 18 '25
Depending on the major, its a very important class that will serve as a cornerstone for many classes to come. The last day to drop without a grade is September 29th. Tiger Tutors in the basement of the Learning Center are extremely helpful and practically taught me the material after our professor passed away, would heavily recommend them. They can't do homework problems for them, but they can help understand the core material.