P/F semester - which schools want grades?

[Sunflower189]

I'm going to a college which has pass/no record grading for the first semester of freshman year. So I was planning to take a fairly hardcore load (Physics II for physics majors, Biochem for chem majors, etc) on the assumption that I would get smacked around some, but it wouldn't hurt me.

Then I poked around the preprofessional student site, and it says that "some top schools, such as Johns Hopkins" will make you reveal those grades. Eep.

Is this common practice? And if so, where do I find out which schools do this?

I'm not sure I want the world to know how narrowly I'm going to pass "E&M for Masochists"...

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[TheFlash]

Most med schools don't mind so much, especially if it's only one P/F semester. The only undergrad school I know of that does this anyway is MIT (and their reputation for rigor speaks for itself). Each med school is different, though, so I recommend personally contacting each school when it comes time to apply.

By the way, if you're who I think you are, I personally know the guy that recently beat you out for a certain 55K scholarship. Micron is loaded.

 

[Sunflower189]

Yeah, that's me.

If this whole biomedical thing doesn't work out, I think I'm going to become a professional runner-up. I've only won the grand prize on a single scholarship (National Merit, which doesn't count), but I've managed to get a full year of MIT paid for so far

(For the other three years, I figure I can always teach MCAT for a ridiculously inflated price...*eyes rich Boston College premeds*)

 

[notJERRYFALWELL]

I have some friends who were at MIT that applied; I don't remember them saying that the freshman semester was a problem when they applied, and they all got in somewhere, so you should be fine.

Congrats! You made a good decision, MIT kicks arse.

 

[kikkoman]

Hopkins is the only school that will give you grief. Apparently, they won't even consider your application unless you unhide your freshman grades. Which is a shame, because up until now I had no idea what grades I made all freshman year.