I've been in this situation before. In fact, I'm in the middle of a 19 credit-hour semester between two colleges
, and I'm acing every single class except Calculus II. The reasons for that are numerous, but mostly because the professor is German, and his thick accent you can almost cut with a knife. I love calculus, and math in general for that matter, but this guy is a complete 'tard when it comes to explaining things to an American (in English, that is). Basically, he just whizzed through the first 2 chapters we were supposed to understand, so everything is "kind of" understood...in a fuzzy kind of way. By that point, I absolutely knew I couldn't pass with the kind of grade that I need to keep my GPA where I need it. I plan on getting an IW, which is an instructor withdrawl. The way I look at it, at least I took good notes, and when I retake the class (with an American professor), I KNOW I will ace it.
You have to look at what options you have available. Is there any way (really) you can do these reports, and have them done on time? Is it within your budget to drop this class? Do you have financial aid that doesn't allow you to drop? If you KNOW you can't possibly do all the work required, honestly
have a talk with the prof and see if A) he can cut you a deal, or B) ask him if he recommends that you withdraw. You should absolutely talk with him first though, and IN PERSON.
THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO IS NOTHING. Take this from someone who knows. Dropping a class really isn't THAT big of a deal, but it's not something you want to do on a regular basis, either. If you just figure, "oh well, just an E on a report card," you're dead wrong. Having an E means a ZERO is entered into your GPA, and that is harder than anything to get cleaned away. I'm working right now on that, too. It's difficult, but I have to start somewhere. Hopefully a year from now, I'll be transferring into the University of Michigan and start classes to get my BSEE. That's totally dependent on if I can keep the GPA up. If not, I'll be asking if you want fries with your McNuggets.
