“… One solution to ease the stress and anxiety for many first-years is to make the first semester at the College into a pass/no record – credit/no credit system. Under this system, first-years would be required to take the usual academic course load of four courses, and at the end of the semester, the professors would assign grades (the usual grading rubric, but with the bar for receiving a passing grade being comparatively higher) and provide feedback to students, but the students’ transcripts would only show the courses taken and passed (with courses failed omitted from the transcript). Many top schools such as MIT and Swarthmore have implemented this policy. It is now time for the College to follow their lead.” …