Will having five P/F grades on my transcript hurt me?

[Lannister]

It's been a rough semester (full-time student while studying for the MCAT, plus some ongoing medical issues), and I'm currently getting a low C in my introductory statistics class. I'm considering Pass/Failing it. I know a C isn't that bad, but it would really bring down my science GPA, because the only science classes I've taken are the pre-reqs, so even one low grade will really have an effect.
The only thing stopping me from Pass/Failing it is that I already have four "pass" grades on my transcript. These weren't really by choice, though; I studied abroad, and my school only accepts study abroad grades as P/F.
Would Pass/Failing this class be a bad idea?

Also, fulfilling the math requirements shouldn't be an issue. I've taken a year and a half of college math (up through calc 3), and I don't think any of the schools I want to apply to require stats.

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[PlaqueBuster]

You will probably be asked why you have so many and you will have to have honest answers for that. Med school admissions know the secrets of transcripts and will most likely guess that your pass/fail was because of your poor performance in the class. Just don't assume you are avoiding that low grade by opting this route. But will it destroy your application? No not at all. Maybe retake the class depending on your school's retake policy?

 

[Lannister]

You will probably be asked why you have so many and you will have to have honest answers for that. Med school admissions know the secrets of transcripts and will most likely guess that your pass/fail was because of your poor performance in the class. Just don't assume you are avoiding that low grade by opting this route. But will it destroy your application? No not at all. Maybe retake the class depending on your school's retake policy?

Thank you for the response. If part of the reason is a medical issue (missed a week of classes, haven't been hospitalized but have spent a lot of time in the hospital having tests done, and constantly feel too sick to do work), will I need to disclose to them what the actual medical issue is?

 

[Goro]

No.

It's been a rough semester (full-time student while studying for the MCAT, plus some ongoing medical issues), and I'm currently getting a low C in my introductory statistics class. I'm considering Pass/Failing it. I know a C isn't that bad, but it would really bring down my science GPA, because the only science classes I've taken are the pre-reqs, so even one low grade will really have an effect.
The only thing stopping me from Pass/Failing it is that I already have four "pass" grades on my transcript. These weren't really by choice, though; I studied abroad, and my school only accepts study abroad grades as P/F.
Would Pass/Failing this class be a bad idea?

Also, fulfilling the math requirements shouldn't be an issue. I've taken a year and a half of college math (up through calc 3), and I don't think any of the schools I want to apply to require stats.

 

[Lannister]

No.

Thank you

 

[mimelim]

Short answer, in your case as described, no.

Longer answer, a large number of pass/fail classes is a concern when there is suspicion that they were because the student couldn't handle the academics. There are many reasonable explanations for taking classes pass/fail. Any classes taken abroad can be expected to be pass/fail as it is fairly normal for schools to accept the credits, but not grades from other schools, even within the United States. It is also not unusual for people who get sick to have a couple of extra pass/fail classes. If you had other academic red flags, any type of IA, several withdrawn classes or a nebulous LOR that touched on work ethic or lack of reliability or something like that, then yes, this might be brought up.

But, in isolation? No, this will not be a problem.

 

[Lannister]

Short answer, in your case as described, no.

Longer answer, a large number of pass/fail classes is a concern when there is suspicion that they were because the student couldn't handle the academics. There are many reasonable explanations for taking classes pass/fail. Any classes taken abroad can be expected to be pass/fail as it is fairly normal for schools to accept the credits, but not grades from other schools, even within the United States. It is also not unusual for people who get sick to have a couple of extra pass/fail classes. If you had other academic red flags, any type of IA, several withdrawn classes or a nebulous LOR that touched on work ethic or lack of reliability or something like that, then yes, this might be brought up.

But, in isolation? No, this will not be a problem.

Thank you for your reply! I definitely do not have any IAs, and I only withdrew from one class freshman year, and my school has freshman forgiveness so it doesn't show up on my transcript. I hope none of my LORs question my work ethic, because I definitely have good worth ethic lol.

 

[mimelim]

Thank you for your reply! I definitely do not have any IAs, and I only withdrew from one class freshman year, and my school has freshman forgiveness so it doesn't show up on my transcript. I hope none of my LORs question my work ethic, because I definitely have good worth ethic lol.

Then plug on ahead and don't think about it.