<p>Has anyone ever gotten out of the pass/no pass policy and gotten plain grades? Is that even legal? lol.</p>
<p>Some med schools (two that I know of) require first semester freshman grades, in which case you can go sign some forms and MIT will release them. Otherwise, those grades remain hidden. Why would you want to get out of it, though?? P/NR is awesome :)</p>
<p>You do get grades during P/NR, they just don’t go on your official transcript and aren’t factored into your GPA.</p>
<p>Even if you need the grades to be released for some reason, they will not be on your official transcript or factored into your GPA; it’s the individual departments that actually release grades, not the registrar’s office.</p>
<p>…and I’ll add that I think it’s criminal that those med schools require hidden grades to be reported.</p>
<p>I understand the reasons for P/NR, but why wouldn’t someone who was concerned about their GPA want to get out of it? Wouldn’t it be nicer to have the grades from your easiest semester factored in to make up for the harder classes later on? I can see the benefit if you need time to get acclimated to MIT, but wouldn’t someone with adequate preparation do much better with normal grading?</p>
<p>Just a thought. Personally, I couldn’t care less about how MIT decides to calculate my GPA and have every intention of destroying it by taking too many classes, but from a pure numbers perspective P/NR doesn’t seem particularly appealing.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, first semester is probably NOT your easiest semester at MIT. MIT comes as a big shock, so to speak, to most of the people here. They were all used to being at the top of the class and now they are surrounded by people who are just as smart, if not smarter than them. Also, the difficulty of the work increases TREMENDOUSLY from high school. </p>
<p>I definitely had harder classes second semester than first semester, but I got a higher GPA (by .5) second semester because I was more well adjusted to the workload and figured out a study schedule. </p>
<p>So Pass/NR is a GOOD thing. It will save your butt!</p>
<p>Star* - which schools, out of curiosity?</p>
<p>I’d wager that very few people who come to MIT are adequately prepared.</p>
<p>I know Hopkins requires hidden grades, and I’ve heard that there’s some other random school (maybe in Wisconsin…) that does, although I’m not 100% sure about that. I’m not actually premed myself, sorry.</p>
<p>Harvard is the other one. Though I don’t think they ask for it unless they have reason based on your other semester grades. Hopkins does for sure.</p>
<p>Yeah, Harvard doesn’t actually require them anymore (although, I guess they can ask for them), it definitely wasn’t the other school I was thinking of.</p>
<p>
Here’s an idea: You already KNOW beforehand you’ll be under P/NR no matter what, so why don’t you take THE HARDEST CLASSES (within the limits of what you’re capable of) your first semester, so everything later on seems easier? (I’m only half-kidding.)</p>
<p>I’m sick and tired of people who complain about how the 5.0 they got first semester doesn’t contribute to their GPA. None of these individuals even attempted to REALLY get out of their comfort zones, despite knowing about the P/NR safeguard beforehand, so one wonders why they didn’t enter a situation where they would see P/NR as a boon rather than bane (i.e. by taking more advanced classes and thereby getting a lower hidden GPA).</p>
<p>^Agreed.</p>
<p>My first semester GPA was the lowest semester GPA I got at MIT by a significant margin.</p>
<p>kryptonsa36: I think that’s an excellent idea, actually. I don’t really know how much of a hierarchy of classes there is within the average major - for one without a strict prerequisite chain, that could work nicely. </p>
<p>The credit limit is another factor, though - you can’t take lots of classes and have a super-challenging course load even if you wanted to. </p>
<p>I admit that I may be overestimating the preparation of the average incoming MIT student; I’ve been living in a bit of a bubble as far as that goes.</p>
<p>You don’t have to overload on units to have a challenging semester, and prereqs aren’t really anything but a suggestion.</p>
<p>The son of one of the former posters here took a grad-level math class his first semester. I think it’s possible to really challenge yourself first semester, no matter what your major. At the very least, it’s possible to take the most advanced versions of the GIRs.</p>
<p>Yeah definitely challenge yourself first semester. Instead of 8.01, try 8.012; instead of 18.02, try 18.022; instead of 3.091 or 5.111, try 5.112, depending on which subject interests you. </p>
<p>I took 5.112 and definitely learned a lot more than had I taken 3.091 or 5.111. I didn’t get an A but I don’t regret my decision either.</p>