<p>Does anyone know if it's possible to waive the rights to first semester grades and have them shown? I know it's possible to uncover them if you are attempting to transfer first semester, but are you otherwise forced to have them covered? Wouldn't this hurt those whom do very well first semester and want it counted?</p>
<p>As far as I know, the only way to uncover grades is if you're going to transfer. I've also heard (through the grapevine.. may not be correct?) that they'll uncover grades for one particular medical school or something if they refuse to consider you with the grade covered. But we've had the covered grade policy for a while, so most grad/med/law schools as well as scholarship programs are familiar with it and don't have a problem.</p>
<p>This is the official covered grade policy as stated in all Academic Advising materials:
Academic</a> Regulations</p>
<p>Freshman First-Semester Grading Policy
Covered Grades
The letter grades earned by students in their first semester at the university are not reported on the transcript. Each course that was passed with a grade of C- or above is assigned the letter S (for Satisfactory) in place of a grade. These courses can be used to satisfy requirements for the major, for distribution, and for the writing requirement. Letter grades below C- are assigned the letter U (for Unsatisfactory). First semester courses that receive U grades and credits may be used to meet distribution requirements if credits are awarded. </p>
<p>Transcript of First Semester Grades
All courses appear on the student’s permanent academic records. First-year students are assigned letter grades (A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-,D+, D, or F) in each course taken. Courses completed in the first semester with a grade of C- or better are recorded as S (Satisfactory). Courses with grades below C- are recorded as U (Unsatisfactory). The actual grades are said to be “covered” by the S/U grades. </p>
<p>In the first semester of a student’s freshman year, credit is awarded for S grades. For the first semester freshman year only, credits are also awarded for U grades if the actual grade is D or D+. </p>
<p>No first-semester grades are included in a student’s cumulative grade-point average. However, an internal GPA is used by the advising offices and faculty advisors to determine that a student has made academic progress during the first semester. </p>
<p>**A transcript of first semester grades is neither given to the student nor mailed to the parents, and is not released outside the university. Faculty members may not release a student’s first semester grades. If a first-year student applies to transfer from the university in the spring term, before spring grades have been recorded, the student’s advising office can approve release of the actual first semester grades directly to the transfer institution. Once grades from the spring term or additional semesters have been added to the record, the covered grades will not be released. </p>
<p>Students who are applying for or renewing a scholarship may request a letter from their academic advising office stating whether the first semester grades meet the requirements for the scholarship. Students who can demonstrate that failure to release covered grades will prevent them from applying for scholarships or verifying eligibility for scholarships may request that their advising office approve release of the grades. A letter from the scholarship granting institution must state that the application cannot be considered without the actual grades.**</p>
<p>i heard that covered grades might not be in effect in later years. Have you heard anything about the class of 2012?</p>
<p>They prevent the uncovering of 1st semester grades so that the policy applies equally to everyone. Don't think of it as "hurting those who do well", think of it as "giving everyone a fair chance to adjust to Hopkins". If they let those who did well uncover their grades, it would look suspicious if a student DIDN'T uncover their grades.</p>
<p>fastfingers:
There was a discussion about this a couple of months ago:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/johns-hopkins-university/403904-cover-grading-gone.html?highlight=covered%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/johns-hopkins-university/403904-cover-grading-gone.html?highlight=covered</a></p>
<p>I have heard nothing new, so what I wrote on that thread still relates today.</p>