<p>As I await an admissions decision from Brown, I was going over the option of whether to opt for grades at Brown (assuming I get in), or to just take the Pass/Fail grading system.
I have a question for anyone who may know…
I want to go on to law school or graduate school after completing my degree at Brown (once again, assuming I get in). How do law/graduate schools weigh your LSAT/GMAT/GRE scores when you don’t have a GPA at Brown? Usually, law/graduate schools work on a sliding scale by weighing your test scores with you undergraduate GPA. How does this work if there is no GPA? Is it really a good idea to take the Pass/Fail option?
Any and all advice and/or suggestions are welcome…</p>
<p>I plan on using the Pass/Fail option sparingly. I recommend you do the same.</p>
<p>I think you're supposed to opt for letter grades for all classes related to your major. Pass/Fail is more for classes you're totally unsure of (for example, if history is the bane of your existence, buy you decide to take a course on the french revolution. wow. sorry for the bad grammar :)). But you can request a professor evaluation for any class, a great option for a class you're taking Pass/Fail. That way, you have some record of how you did in that class. Okay. I hope that made sense!! And please correct me if I was discombobled and screwed up all the information!!</p>
<p>The average Brown student takes ~1 class S/NC (satisfoctory/no credit) per semester. I have taken 1 class S/NC every semester. If you do that, then you still have grades in 24 of your 32 classes.</p>
<p>Yeah... for me, I would choose pass/fail for classes that I normally wouldn't take, but interest me just the same.</p>
<p>For example, I hate sciences, however if a particular science class interested me, then I would probably choose to take that class pass/fail. </p>
<p>In my opinion, it's a way to be more adventurous and to try new things without the risk of not doing well.</p>
<p>I definitely agree, calidan. With the S/NC option, you can concentrate on learning and loving the material without any ominous thoughts of a grade looming in the background.</p>
<p>Definitely a great option. How long do you have to decide if you're going to take a class S/NC? A couple weeks?</p>
<p>During my interview, my interview-er actually talked about this in length. It turned out that her roomate took almost all of her classes pass/fail (with teacher evals) and eventually went on to graduate #1 in her class from Harvard Law Scool. </p>
<p>Of course when you get to Brown your faculty adviser will, well, advise you, but from what I've gathered, the choice is ultimately yours.</p>
<p>Yay Freedom!</p>
<p>I think it's about a month, RaboKarabekian.</p>