Taking a Math Class Pass/D/Fail

[hopefulfall12gradstudent]

I'm planning on taking a mid-level statistics class in the math department at my school next semester. The main reasons I am taking it are a.) to learn how to use R and b.)part of the class is an open ended, independent project that could yield a good writing sample. However, a lot of the class really will have little to do with the social sciences. The math department is also notorious for being very difficult to get As and A-s in unless you are very good at math. I view myself as good at math (high gre, good grades in HS) but by no means a genius. I was wondering how app committees would view it if I took the class Pass/D/Fail, an option at my school. ( as opposed to say getting a B+ or B if I took it for a letter grade) For reference, so far I have about a 3.8.overall So far I have taken an intro stats/methods course in the poli sci department. Any advice would be appreciated!

[emmm]

I did something similar this term -- I took Calculus 3 P/F. I have not had a calculus class in over 2 decades, so I thought going right into Calc 3 for a grade would be pushing my luck. I doubt adcoms will care much one way or the other, considering I have a lot of grades for them to look at. Including other Ps. If anything, I'm hoping they'll be happy I have some more recent experience with math. I'm kind of anti-grades anyway, though.

[RWBG]

I'm planning on taking a mid-level statistics class in the math department at my school next semester. The main reasons I am taking it are a.) to learn how to use R and b.)part of the class is an open ended, independent project that could yield a good writing sample. However, a lot of the class really will have little to do with the social sciences. The math department is also notorious for being very difficult to get As and A-s in unless you are very good at math. I view myself as good at math (high gre, good grades in HS) but by no means a genius. I was wondering how app committees would view it if I took the class Pass/D/Fail, an option at my school. ( as opposed to say getting a B+ or B if I took it for a letter grade) For reference, so far I have about a 3.8.overall So far I have taken an intro stats/methods course in the poli sci department. Any advice would be appreciated!

I think it partly depends on what programs you're applying for. If you're applying for quant heavy programs, taking a math course Pass/Fail will probably count marginally in your favor (assuming you pass), but I imagine it would likely have little effect on the admissions process.

Also, keep in mind that math department courses tend to be much more theoretical than methods courses in social science departments like polisci. It might be safer to take it Pass/Fail if this is your first foray into university-level math courses, as it can sometimes entail a bit of an adjustment.

[Charlie2010]

Every committee knows grades are lower in math/stats classes than in social sciences. A B in a serious (calculus-based) stats course is better than two A's in undergrad Methods courses in political science.

[RWBG]

Every committee knows grades are lower in math/stats classes than in social sciences. A B in a serious (calculus-based) stats course is better than two A's in undergrad Methods courses in political science.

One thing I've been wondering about; when transcripts are sent out (at least from my school) they don't include any information about the course besides the course title and course code. I'm wondering how adcomms try to evaluate the relative difficulty/rigor of courses. Like, for stats courses, at my school there are a couple distributed amongst the stats and econ departments, with one basic, non-calc stats course in each department, and one math-stats (calc and proof-based) course in each department. The math-stats courses in each department use the same textbook, but I guess the stats department courses (even the non-calc one) would be assumed to be more rigorous? The course titles provide very little information about their content.

[Charlie2010]

Because I care, I google the syllabus. It takes 3 minutes and is very informative. Also, many schools now provide information on the curve (average grade, or % A's) in a course. More should do this so that smart students aren't penalized for taking challenging classes.

[RWBG]

Because I care, I google the syllabus. It takes 3 minutes and is very informative. Also, many schools now provide information on the curve (average grade, or % A's) in a course. More should do this so that smart students aren't penalized for taking challenging classes.

Interesting! Although curve information doesn't help deal with selection bias; at my school, there are specialist and non-specialist econ courses, and they tend to have the same averages, but the specialist courses are much more math intensive/difficult, and tend to attract the more committed students. I always wondered whether members of adcoms would bother looking for that kind of information.

On a somewhat related but different note, do you ever find yourself googling referees? Two of my referees are non-polisci (one econ, one law & econ) and I've wondered whether their reference letters will be taken as seriously by committees that may not be immediately familiar with them, even if they're quite renowned in their fields.

Edited February 10, 2011 by RWBG