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[J. Kelm]

I'm currently enrolled in a masters program in Electrical Engineering.
The school I'm attending doesn't have a Ph.D. program, so I'd like to
apply to other schools for that once I'm finished with the masters. I
have a B.S. in Computer Science and a B.E. in Electrical Engineering,
and graduated "Summa cum Laude" with both. I've gotten A's in all of
the graduate classes I've taken so far.

Anyway, the point of this post is this: I'm considering withdrawing
from one of the three courses I'm taking this semester, which will
result in a grade of 'W' showing up on my transcript. It won't affect
my GPA, but I'm concerned about what admissions committees might
think when they see it. Will it really matter if my other application
materials are strong? Would it be better to stick out the class and
maybe get a lower grade, than withdraw and get the 'W'?

FWIW, the reason that I'm considering withdrawing is that I'm taking
two other classes, working full time (40 hrs/week), and trying to study
for the FE exam. Compared to the other classes I'm taking/have taken,
this one is very unorganized, and I'm not learning anything from it.
So I'd really like to eliminate it from my schedule, but I don't want
to damage my ability to get in to a good Ph.D. program in a year or so.

Am I just being paranoid?

Thanks for your advice.

Jon