Pass/Fail MPH courses

[karismatic]

I'm finishing up my first year in an MPH program. I am planning on reapplying to med school next summer and I'm trying to do extremely well in all my courses, especially epi and biostats. I decided to take an infectious disease course due to interest as well as an attempt to demonstrate that I can succeed in a graduate level science-based course. Well, I may not receive an A in the course and I am debating if I should make it Pass/ Fail instead in order to protect my 4.0 GPA. (By the way, my undergrad overall GPA was a 3.6). It's not a required course for my concentration. In between undergrad and grad school I took graduate level courses (Immunology, endocrinology) and did exceptionally well. I figured those courses would add to my overall science GPA. I'm unsure if Pass/Fail would appear as a weakness on my application in comparison to a B+. I know that this is getting into the nitty gritty of applying but I would appreciate any comments or thoughts from those who have been in my situation or are in my situation now.

Thanks.

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[thedelicatessen]

Are you looking to coast through the rest of the course? If so, then taking the class P/NP would be the best thing for you. However, you mentioned that you want to prove that you can handle the coursework, and by switching to P/NP, I don't think you would accomplish that. Even if you don't get an A in the course, it would still be worthwhile to persist with your grade option unless you really are near failing. Either way, I don't think it would make a huge difference in your application, but ultimately, I think the journey is more important than its end. Good luck!