letter grades or to receive NCR/CR ?

[Precursors]

Hi,

I just completed a graduate course in which I got a C. Would I hurt my chances of getting into medical school by keeping the grade or opting for a CR grade.

Any advice is appreciated!

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[Goro]

You could get an F and still get into med school.

Take the C and do better in other courses.

Please spread the word that one doesn't need a 4.0 GPA to get into med school.

 

[efle]

I'd take a Pass over the 2.0 entry on your gradebook for sure. Tons of places are offering or requiring P/F during remote learning so I don't think an adcom will even think twice about it being Credit/Pass

 

[eigen]

I'd take a Pass over the 2.0 entry on your gradebook for sure. Tons of places are offering or requiring P/F during remote learning so I don't think an adcom will even think twice about it being Credit/Pass

I would say the caveat here is if you go all P/F or just swap one class. If you leave grades for your "high" grade courses and do CR/NCR for others, anyone looking at the transcript will assume they're low or you would have a grade.

If the entire semester is CR/NCR, then the assumption is it was not a decision based on hiding individual grades.

 

[Precursors]

You could get an F and still get into med school.

Take the C and do better in other courses.

Please spread the word that one doesn't need a 4.0 GPA to get into med school.

Thank you for your feedback! I was only taking 1 course while working 2 jobs and taking care of my elderly mother, it was more difficult due to covid-19 (I reside in NY), I worked my butt off to try and get a B-, but it wasn't possible. I am worried since my undergraduate gpa was 3.3 and graduate is 3.6 with the CR and w/o it I end up w/ 3.4. Would you stil suggest keeping the grade based on my GPA?

 

[Precursors]

I would say the caveat here is if you go all P/F or just swap one class. If you leave grades for your "high" grade courses and do CR/NCR for others, anyone looking at the transcript will assume they're low or you would have a grade.

If the entire semester is CR/NCR, then the assumption is it was not a decision based on hiding individual grades.

Thank you for your response!

I was only taking 1 course and I am worried since my undergraduate gpa was 3.3 and graduate is 3.6 with the CR and w/o it I end up at 3.4. Would you stil suggest keeping the grade based on my GPA?

 

[Precursors]

I'd take a Pass over the 2.0 entry on your gradebook for sure. Tons of places are offering or requiring P/F during remote learning so I don't think an adcom will even think twice about it being Credit/Pass

Thank you for your feedback!

I was only taking 1 course and I am worried that with a undergraduate gpa of 3.3 and graduate of 3.6 with the CR would be good enough but w/o CR I would have 3.4. Would you stil suggest CR based on my GPA? I asked my program advisor and he basically just told me the policy for the university and how it won't impact me in any way but he was not sure about medical school.

 

[Goro]

Thank you for your feedback! I was only taking 1 course while working 2 jobs and taking care of my elderly mother, it was more difficult due to covid-19 (I reside in NY), I worked my butt off to try and get a B-, but it wasn't possible. I am worried since my undergraduate gpa was 3.3 and graduate is 3.6 with the CR and w/o it I end up w/ 3.4. Would you stil suggest keeping the grade based on my GPA?

I suggest that you take a W and work on your time mgt abilities. Med school will be harder and you need to learn now how to not get over-extended.

 

[Precursors]

I suggest that you take a W and work on your time mgt abilities. Med school will be harder and you need to learn now how to not get over-extended.

It's too late to get a W, but yes I do have to work on my time management. Thank you for your input.

 

[KnightDoc]

It's too late to get a W, but yes I do have to work on my time management. Thank you for your input.

Bottom line -- this question has come up a crazy number of times since April. It just doesn't matter what you do here. Adcoms are not stupid. If you are in a program where all grades are P/F due to the pandemic, adcoms will understand you had no choice. If you elect to mask a few select grades, adcoms will understand the motivation behind that as well.

Everyone thinks they are getting away with something. They are not. Everyone thinks they are gaming a few points on their GPA. They are not. As others have said, a C will not destroy you. Neither will a P. Take whichever one makes you happier. They will be treated the same.

 

[JustTooLit]

I got a C+ in a 4.5 credit Physics 2 but opted for a CR. I think it honestly depends on where you stand. If your GPA is good enough to take the hit, you'll be good. If its not I think you should take the CR. This semester would give you the best reason to take a CR due to COVID-19.

 

[eigen]

I still suggest looking at individual schools before making the decision. Statements have been changing, but there are still schools saying the case depends on whether the P/F was optional or not for pre-req classes.

Given the movement on this stance from March/April to now, it's possible they will change, but see for example:

Georgetown:

• Grading system changes: Due to the decision of many institutions to move to an online and/or Pass/Fail format for the COVID-19 crisis, GUSOM will consider Pass/Fail and Credit/No Credit courses, as well as prerequisites completed online, holistically in the context of the full application. At institutions where moving to Pass/Fail was optional, course grades on a scale of A-F are highly preferable, especially for pre-requisite and BCPM courses.

Or Iowa State:

• We recommend and prefer that prerequisite courses are taken as graded courses because grades give the admissions committee a better idea of mastery of the subject matter and comparative performance. Applicants should contact us if they do not receive letter grades for prerequisite courses, and we can review these on a case-by-case basis.

Brown has a good summary of school specific stances with the most recent updates: COVID-19 Pre-Health/Pre-Medical FAQ | Health Careers Advising

 

[Precursors]

I still suggest looking at individual schools before making the decision. Statements have been changing, but there are still schools saying the case depends on whether the P/F was optional or not for pre-req classes.

Given the movement on this stance from March/April to now, it's possible they will change, but see for example:

Georgetown:



Or Iowa State:



Brown has a good summary of school specific stances with the most recent updates: COVID-19 Pre-Health/Pre-Medical FAQ | Health Careers Advising

Thank you, this is very helpful!