grade

[graduate33]

hi all,

 

I've taken a class as a pass/fail this semester because I knew I wouldn't be able to attend each and every sessions, it looks like the registrar didn't make the change so it's graded instead; I'm still trying to sort this out with them but they think that it may be too late to make the change.

For this class, I wrote the 2 most important papers that counted for 55% of the total grade but didn't do some of the other requirements that counted for less according to the syllabus. The instructor gave me a F without notice, as if I did nothing at all, and is not keen on taking into account the grades she gave me for the papers, respectively A- and B (she made quite harsh comments on that one). I think she got vexed because I missed class a lot, but I told her why at the beginning of the semester.

My grades for the other courses are good, so I'm not sure how to deal with that because it can look very bad on my application for a PhD in the fall. I've tried to talk to her, she would only talk via email now but - in the event that it's too late for the registrar to make it a pass/fail - she won't change the grade into a D or a C instead.

Also, a pass/fail is less damageable than a F on a transcript or does it look as bad?

 

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

 

[fuzzylogician]

This is an undergraduate course or a graduate course? Also, if you got an F instead of say a D or a C, what makes you think that you'll get a 'pass' instead of a 'fail' if the grading metric was different? I can tell you that in classes I've taught (and taken) doing only 55% of the work is not enough for a passing grade even if you were perfect (you'd need 60% to get a D), so it sounds like you pretty much got a grade that reflects the effort you put into this class. I can understand the instructor's reaction perfectly well, as I would react the same if someone missed many classes and only did about half of the work, and then wanted me to help them get a grade they don't appear to deserve.

 

Now, obviously getting a 'fail' in a pass/fail course doesn't look good, but the same goes for getting an F in a graded class. This is just a guess, but I imagine that it might look better to get a 'fail' than an F--but this is not based on actual knowledge, just (perhaps incorrect) intuition. The best outcome would be a 'pass' but from your description that doesn't seem like a likely outcome. So I think the bottom line is that you'll end up with this bad grade on your transcript, and of course that's not going to help your admissions chances. However, it also doesn't doom you to eternal failure, it'll just have to be something you have to deal with (e.g. by explaining what happened in your SOP or having a LOR writer address it -- how you handle this will depend on how important this class: is it in your major, or outside, required or elective, etc.). At this point, I'm not sure there's much you can do so I'm not sure what kind of advice you are looking for.

[graduate33]

It's a grad course (2nd year Master student), unrelated to my topic of research but that triggered some interest that I would like to pursue in the future. I do not expect a pass, I know it'd be a fail, I was just wondering if it wouldn't look as bad as an F; this is the advice I was looking for. 

I'm just a bit worried that it could seriously damage my chances of getting into any PhD program knowing how fierce the competition is...but this is my only bad grade: the other ones are A, A-, B+, same for the first semester. 

[fuzzylogician]

It's a grad course (2nd year Master student), unrelated to my topic of research but that triggered some interest that I would like to pursue in the future. I do not expect a pass, I know it'd be a fail, I was just wondering if it wouldn't look as bad as an F; this is the advice I was looking for. 

 

You might want to ask professors who sit on admissions committees about that. I can imagine the 'fail' looking better because it leaves more to the imagination than an F but really it should be exactly the same. The only thing a pass-fail system accomplishes is that if you get a 'pass' it's not clear if you did D-level work or A-level work. But a 'fail' is F-level work, so on the face of it there shouldn't be any difference.

 

Again, if this is the way things are, I understand the concern but I just want to stress that while it makes things more difficult, it doesn't doom your chances altogether. It's important to keep that in mind - one slip-up should not make it impossible for you to get in anywhere. You'll just need to explain what happened and make it clear that is not a reflection of your abilities (instead, all your other grades are!).

[rising_star]

graduate33, I would check with your registrar first to see if there's any difference in the way they mark a Fail and a F. At my current institution, the only difference between the two is that failing a Pass/Fail course doesn't count in your university-calculated GPA.

[process chemist]

In a P/F class at my school, a F counts against your GPA, while a P doesn't. You should talk to your graduate program director, as he/she will have a better hold on your department's/ university's governance policy.  Why did you think you dropped the class when you really didn't. The grad school and the grad program chair probably won't look favorably if it was just pure negligence on your part. Also, in most programs an F in a class brings you gpa so far down that you pretty much would have to withdraw from the program, so you may have a bigger problem on your hands unless you had a 4.0 the previous semester.

[graduate33]

Thank you all for your responses.

I knew I was still enrolled in the class, I just did the minimum because I took on too many courses this semester and it's not in my field of research. I really thought that she would let me know if I was about to fail the class so I could withdraw instead of getting an F or fail, especially because she knew I was an exchange student. She continued grading my papers as if to nothing  instead so I thought that it wasn't that bad...I'm not saying that it's her fault, it's my responsibility to know what's going on but I must admit that I'm still struggling sometimes with the US system--I'm an exchange student from Europe.

[graduate33]

It's sorted. I've got 'unsatisfactory' instead of an F; according to my school's policy this won't count toward my GPA.

[fuzzylogician]

Sounds like the best outcome this situation could have. I hope it removes some of the PhD apps concerns.

[graduate33]

It does!