<p>you have to make a concerted effort to fail a course...</p>
<p>assuming you actually go and take your tests!</p>
<p>certain programs have a minimum gpa (like the lovely vag), but the majority of us are just fine without a threat of being kicked out of whatever</p>
<p>I believe most majors have a minimum gpa for acceptance into the major. I know econ. is 3.0 and math is 3.5.</p>
<p>54% of the grades in CAS are A's or A-, but one needs to consider...</p>
<p>1.) Writing and Freshman Seminars. Who doesn't get at least an A- in those. I wish I took one.</p>
<p>2.) The English Department. They offer so many easy courses.</p>
<p>3.) Senior Seminars. You have to be an idiot to mess up a seminar in your major.</p>
<p>4.) Sociology 137. The easiest class at Penn. I didn't read a single page and got my little A-.</p>
<p>5.) CGS. I bet this gets factored in as well. When someone talks about boosting their gpa to get into law school I direct them to this.</p>
<p>6.) Language classes. I don't think it's hard to get an A- in a language class at all. But most of my experience is in the Italian department, where a pizza party at the end of the semester is practically required.</p>
<p>7.) Rocks for Jocks. I decided to take Astronomy instead... d'oh!</p>
<p>8.) Does Study Abroad count? I have tons of friends who are taking home 5 A's from their study abroad, in addition to whatever venerial disease they got.</p>
<p>And does that include graduate classes? Those are easy to get A's in, too (if you do the work).</p>
<p>Either way, that might seem like a lot, but that leaves Math, Physics, Bio, Chem, Econ, Poli Sci and History - some of the most popular majors and courses at Penn - all departments where an A is earned and not given out like candy.</p>
<p>But yeah, CAS isn't so bad. I picked up a C in econ and still have a very good gpa.</p>
<p>EDIT: International Relations has a GPA requirement, too. You have to take 4 pre requisite courses in Econ, Polisci and History and earn a 3.1.</p>
<p>I got a C+ in econ. I still haev to take Econ-050 for my IR major and I am absolutely petrified.</p>
<p>I hear you. I'm thinking about switching to IR but I got a D in Econ 1 so I need A's in the other 3 requirements.</p>
<p>like a virgin, the IR dep't can be accomodating. If you tell them that youre really passionate about the subject and already have ideas for your senior thesis (and name them), they'll make exceptions. Especially if you apply early.</p>
<p>Plus, IR is awesome. Much more so than PSCI with an IR concentration. Don't forget that ;)</p>
<p>3.5 in math seems really high, are you sure that's not for honors?</p>
<p>I think most every major has a minimum GPA requirement; I know Bio is a 3.0 (3.25 for honors), but I also get the impression that most departments are pretty flexible with this</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure....I might be wrong though</p>
<p>i take that back, it´´s 3.0. my bad</p>
<p>What's CGS?
And does anyone want to elaborate/explain IR prereqs and difficulty?</p>
<p>CGS is Penn's night school for adults/ precocious highschoolers. Anyone can take classes if they have the money.</p>
<p>The IR pre-reqs are...</p>
<p>Econ 1: Microeconomics. Tough Class, curved to a C+/B-</p>
<p>Econ 2: Macroeconomics. Some say easier than Econ 1, I disagree - I did a lot worse.</p>
<p>Political Science 110: Comparative Politics. Good class. Really helps develop your mind more academically. Not hard.</p>
<p>Hist 2: Europe in the Wider World: Generic European History since the 17th century stuff. OR Hist 4: Asia in the Wider World - much more interesting.</p>
<p>You have to have them done by your sophomore year so you can apply for the major. There's an interview to get in that's pretty informal. You don't have to have them finished when you apply/interview, you just need to be enrolled in them and then when you get your final grades in you are accepted to the major, provided that you earned a 3.1 in the 4 courses above.</p>
<p>CGS = College of General Studies, which is basically Penn's school for "nontraditional" students (older people, working people, etc). They offer classes that meet fewer times a week (but for a longer time) and in the evening, and allegedly grade more easily. see the website: University</a> of Pennsylvania's College of General Studies</p>
<p>Chocoman, good info on IR. Can you explain why you think the IR major is better than PoliSci with IR concentration?</p>
<p>1.) Background in Economics. This is a capitalist world that runs on money. Without background in Econ you can't understand it. IR also makes you take International Economics and a class on the International Political Economy, so that's at least 4 of your 16 classes.</p>
<p>2.) The Senior Thesis. Sure, you can write a Polisci Thesis, but few do. IR makes students take two seminar courses where you find a problem and analyze it using IR theory. And it's not where students just turn out crap either. Teachers help you find and refine the topics that you are interested in.</p>
<p>3.) The Department offers fun events like Ice Cream socials. I went with them this semester on a trip to New York - we visited an NGO, an IR grad school, the UN and had dinner with some Penn IR alums.</p>
<p>4.) Penn's History Department. My Diplomatic History teacher won the Pulitzer Prize, for example. IR spans three of Penn's best departments.</p>
<p>5.) Flexibility. There's SO many courses to take - check the website for the list. You can take Wharton courses for IR credit, for example. The PoliSci department can get pretty limited after only a few semesters. You can easily create an IR concentration on some specific topic - like Human Rights in Africa, the politics of oil, or global warming - that of course you cap off with your senior thesis.</p>
<p>6.) Recruiting. IR graduates jump into I-banking and Consulting every year. The dual degree Wharton/IR students do even better. Not everyone does it - many others opt for law school, academia or TFA/Peace Corps.</p>
<p>Can you take any of the Econ. class pass/fail for the IR requirements? I'm thinking not... Would it be wise to take the Econ classes sophomore year, rather than freshman year? </p>
<p>Are there any Study Abroad destinations that are particularly suited for the IR major?</p>
<p>No you can't P/F requirements. I would recommend at least taking the Econ requirements Spring Freshman/ Fall Sophomore year. Even though I became an excellent student eventually, I got the **** beat out of me my freshman year. I had spent the previous 13 years of school on cruise control and Penn required a whole new level of dedication and planning. </p>
<p>Unless you're a superperson I would say do this route. If you take Econ 1 sophomore year you'll do well as the freshman are lost and confused.</p>
<p>It seems to me that the most popular destination for Penn students is London (Kings College and University College). But if you were to pull a 3.8 or better your freshman year though I say totally go to Oxford; you need AT LEAST that GPA to even APPLY to go there. Spend your Junior year of College at Oxford and take some of their politics courses. Watch your marketability skyrocket (even if your GPA fell). </p>
<p>But if you have a specific regional interest go there - Penn is very flexible with credits. I met an IR major who studied Japanese - she spent the fall in Japan and the spring in Korea. She's now a senior consultant at a major consulting agency. I know another who spent the Fall in Argentina and the Spring in Penn's Washington Semester Program - she's going places. I have an IR friend who went to Ghana and it changed her entire perspective on everything - she wants to do Peace Corps in West Africa now.</p>
<p>Myself I spent a summer in Italy, got drunk 4 nights a week, ate amazing food, and brought home two A's and actual spoken fluency :)</p>
<p>I'd also recommend throwing out any more questions you have, because come Wednesday classes start and most of the Penn students on this forum like myself will crawl into their caverns. I already have 40 pages of reading for Wednesday.</p>
<p>So helpful! Thanks so much. Will frantically try to think of all questions before Wed.
Good luck on the rest of the year!</p>
<p>the cool thing about penn for an ir major like me, who has overlooked study abroad for a variety of reasons, is that the world sort of comes to you (although thats no substitute for studying at oxford..)</p>
<p>i decided against going to korea(and most other places in Asia) for a semester because i would be trading lingual skills(and humanities instructors whos prose is worse than mine) for the excellent poly sci and history departments at penn</p>
<p>so anyways, my point is that penn's large international presence compensated fro that when my korean class set me up with a native korean student language partner, ontop of my other international friends who give you a great sense of what the rest of the world is thinking and doing..
and ofcourse i plan to do alot of traveling and languaging after graduation for job...</p>
<p>the world has (basically) come to Penn</p>