Obligatory Pass or Fail (Not due to Covid)

[Premed202489]

Hi, I have several classes in my transcript which are labeled as Pass instead of having a grade. This classes are obligatory pass or fail in my institution but there is no way for adcoms to know this. I know that pass is seen by adcoms as a C. Should I mention this anywhere in my app, secondaries,etc or am I just overthinking it. Thanks.

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[squids82]

Hi, I have several classes in my transcript which are labeled as Pass instead of having a grade. This classes are obligatory pass or fail in my institution but there is no way for adcoms to know this. I know that pass is seen by adcoms as a C. Should I mention this anywhere in my app, secondaries,etc or am I just overthinking it. Thanks.

I have a one credit class like this as well, but I don't think it will be a problem as, even if they do not know the individual practices of your school, it will be viewed in the context of your academic record.

 

[Premed202489]

And you think you know this because?

It's basically what I've read here in SDN in multiple other posts, although I don't know if its merely other's opinions or a fact.

 

[Isoval]

Generally not going to be a problem for you.

In my experience, these classes are usually things like "Student Leadership" or some such class and, additionally, tend to be low- or no-credit classes.

The problems come when "BIO 331 BIOCHEM - P" pops up on your transcript, not "UNI 400 STUDENT LEAD - P".

 

[Goro]

Hi, I have several classes in my transcript which are labeled as Pass instead of having a grade. This classes are obligatory pass or fail in my institution but there is no way for adcoms to know this. I know that pass is seen by adcoms as a C. Should I mention this anywhere in my app, secondaries,etc or am I just overthinking it. Thanks.

It seems like P grades are now the new W anxiety mania.

You'll be fine. For crying out loud, even if you a few Fs on your transcripts it wouldn't necessarily be lethal for getting into medical school.

 

[Premed202489]

Thank you all for clarifying, pardon this neurotic premed

 

[KnightDoc]

Thank you all for clarifying, pardon this neurotic premed

Yes!!! What you are seeing in other threads are opinions (including mine), not fact (since no one knows for sure how a particular adcom is going to view a particular transcript), but the context for that opinion is UGs giving students the option to choose P/F grading class by class due to the pandemic. There is nothing you can do about mandatory P/F grading, and that should never be held against you.

On the other hand, if you are choosing to mask a letter grade with a P, common wisdom is that no one in their right mind would do that with an A or a B, so it will be looked at as a C, and this will be to the detriment of the typical neurotic premed who might take a P (which might be viewed as a C) in order to boost a GPA by 0.01 points by removing a B from the calculation.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

Generally not going to be a problem for you.

In my experience, these classes are usually things like "Student Leadership" or some such class and, additionally, tend to be low- or no-credit classes.

The problems come when "BIO 331 BIOCHEM - P" pops up on your transcript, not "UNI 400 STUDENT LEAD - P".

This. Those little school-specific classes usually stick out like a sore thumb and have almost no credits to their name.

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors