Which semester grades would you rather have: A, A, A, A- or A, A, A, P?

[shindotp]

I'd personally choose the A, A, A, A- just because 3 graded classes in one semester is pretty pansy.

However, I am doing pass/fail for one of my 4 classes this semester because I'm afraid of getting a C in it hahaha.

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[GoSpursGo]

This question is simply about mathematics. If your GPA<3.7, you want the A-; if your GPA>3.7, you want the P. Anything more is getting too detailed, as it is pretty rare that a school will go through your transcript and pick apart every A- or P.

 

[Evergrey]

Ps don't count for much. Basically a 'p' is saying "I did the bare amount of work required to pass this class" and accordingly implies a C-level performance. I would stay away from the P regardless -- either of the other options are preferable to me.

 

[AdmiralChz]

Ps don't count for much. Basically a 'p' is saying "I did the bare amount of work required to pass this class" and accordingly implies a C-level performance. I would stay away from the P regardless -- either of the other options are preferable to me.

True - someone asked this during one of my interview days directly and the dean of admissions of that school said that taking classes P/F invites the question of why you didn't take it for a grade. An answer of "I didn't think I would do well" is most common, and is assumed true in most of P/F cases and this would hurt you in a close situation (compared with someone with your same stats who worked to get a B+ for example)

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Depends on what the rest of your semesters look like...I would vote for either option 2 or option 3...

If its your senior year and youve already taken 3 years worth of 15+ semester hours than I vote 3 because medical schools know senioritis exist and I doubt they will dock you for it, but if you are just starting out as a freshman I vote 2, because a 3.93 is damn good.

 

[BlueElmo]

If a class is offered only P/NP, then it's okay right? How do medical schools know that a class is only offered P/NP?

 

[AdmiralChz]

Depends on what the rest of your semesters look like...I would vote for either option 2 or option 3...

If its your senior year and youve already taken 3 years worth of 15+ semester hours than I vote 3 because medical schools know senioritis exist and I doubt they will dock you for it, but if you are just starting out as a freshman I vote 2, because a 3.93 is damn good.

Agreed. A 3.93 with a full close load (15+ credits) is much, MUCH more impressive than a 4.00 with a lesser load (9-12 credits, if your school even allows for that.....). It comes across just as it looks - higher grades because you had less work to do.

 

[AdmiralChz]

If a class is offered only P/NP, then it's okay right? How do medical schools know that a class is only offered P/NP?

Good point. That's a great exception, but those classes are few and far between in my mind (they are mostly Phys Ed or research credits in my experience). That wouldn't matter at all in that case (nothing you could have done to change it!)

 

[shindotp]

Yeah I agree with AdmiralChz that it is more impressive to get a 3.93 with a full course load, but I'm not sure if admissions officers would really care about the course load as much as the overall GPA.

Btw, my reason for doing the class pass/fail is that I didn't take the prerequisite, the course's material was very disorganized, and I decided to change majors so the class was useless for me. On top of that, I am taking 3 lab courses and an EMT class, so it shouldn't be a big deal that I made one of my classes pass/fail.

Question to AdmiralChz:
Which would you rather have for applying to med school: A, A, A, A, P (5 classes) for every semester you're in college or A, A, A, A, A- for every semester you're in college? First one is a 4.0 GPA, the second is a 3.94 GPA. I would definitely take the 4.0 (and be Valedictorian, Summa Cum Laude, etc.), even though the A, A, A, A, A- is more difficult to do in real life.

 

[pianola]

No one cares if you have one P. I had tons of them. Only one was in a class that I voluntarily PFed. I doubt that the admissions office went through my record in detail to figure out which of my PF grades were voluntary and which were just the way the class was graded.

My school does mark the transcript in such a way as to make it clear which PFs were voluntary and which weren't, but unless you were extremely familiar with my school's notation for doing so, you'd never be able to guess on the AMCAS app...

 

[AdmiralChz]

Question to AdmiralChz:
Which would you rather have for applying to med school: A, A, A, A, P (5 classes) for every semester you're in college or A, A, A, A, A- for every semester you're in college? First one is a 4.0 GPA, the second is a 3.94 GPA. I would definitely take the 4.0 (and be Valedictorian, Summa Cum Laude, etc.), even though the A, A, A, A, A- is more difficult to do in real life.

I'm going to cheat and say it's a tossup here. My school doesn't give out cum laude or graduation awards like that - any academic awards won with a 4.0 would also be won with a 3.94 (at least at my school - definitely isn't true across the board!). I think taking classes P/F really depends on what type of class it is - if you're a Bio major interested in post-civil war history, then taking a history class in that area P/F would not be bad at all. On the other hand, taking an extra upper level bio P/F (when it's your major) might be suspect. Just my thoughts though - hope this helps!

EDIT: Props on the EMT class

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Good point. That's a great exception, but those classes are few and far between in my mind (they are mostly Phys Ed or research credits in my experience). That wouldn't matter at all in that case (nothing you could have done to change it!)

TA credit also often comes in the P/F only variety. My school also requires an internship which is graded P/F. Combined with my research credits, I'll end up with about 5 P/F courses on my transcript, and I'm not worried about it.

 

[majahops]

A- is a solid grade dude. Come on. Sheesh. If you had an A- average through undergrad, you'd be a solid med school applicant.

 

[shindotp]

This question is simply about mathematics. If your GPA<3.7, you want the A-; if your GPA>3.7, you want the P. Anything more is getting too detailed, as it is pretty rare that a school will go through your transcript and pick apart every A- or P.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that this is correct.

Perhaps maybe we should assume that the GPA is equal to a 3.7.