<p>PASS/FAIL - credit only question. My son is a freshman at NCSU. He has not taken Physics at school. He is taking Org chemistry, Eng and Physics 205. Completed calc III in START program (summer) as he got paid by the college. He is having difficulties with the Physics 205 and want to change it to pass/fail - credit only. How is this going to be looked as he is planning to be premed track.</p>
<p>Pass/fail credit will not be accepted by med schools as meeting admissions requirements. Pre req courses must have a grade on the transcript.</p>
<p>He needs to either withdraw from the class and take a W on his transcript or tough it out. He cannot take intro physics pass/fail and have the course fulfill med school admission requirements.</p>
<p>And taking the course twice–the first time pass/fail and the second time for credit looks bad. (Not sure if the school will even allow that. Most won’t.)</p>
<p>Thanks for the response, WayOutWestMom. How the withdrawal looked at med school admissions?</p>
<p>One taken as freshman really won’t have much, if any, impact so long as it doesn’t drop his enrollment down to less than 12 credits. A lighter than average workload–12 credits-- looks bad also, but better 12 credits than a F or D. Below 12 credits makes him a less-than-full-time student which can jeopardize his standing/FA at the university as well as giving him a ‘ding’ on his record for med school.</p>
<p>If your son thinks he might be able to pull a C or better, it’s probably better to tough it out.</p>
<p>One thing to remind your son before he withdraws is that physics (like many science and math classes) often has a significant curve to renormalize the grade distribution at the end of the term. He may think he’s doing badly, but his final grade might be better than he expects.</p>
<p>You might also suggest he seek out tutoring and take advantage of his prof’s and TA’s office hours before deciding to drop the class.</p>
<p>BTW, it seems strange that a strong math student is having problems with freshman physics since intro physics is mostly just algebra and occasionally some lower level calc. Both my Ds were/are math majors; both thought intro physics was mostly learning to apply math skills to word problems and the kids who were having problems were the ones who didn’t have the math.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the explanation and what he can do. He is attending the tutorial and might work out a schedule with his profs. Appreciate your help, WayOutWestMom.</p>
<p>I would tell him not to do it. He needs to get help ASAP. Help is available for free and he can also hire paid tutor. Physics is part of MCAT in addition to being Med. Schools’ requirment. They do not like it even when requirments are taking in a summer. He needs to pull it and get a good grade in this one. If he has good math background, there is no reason for not understanding Physics. Calc. is not needed for that, non-calc based physics is fine even with top Med. Schools. There are might be exceptions, but D. was advised to take non-calc based physics and it was fine. BTW, she took Physics in HS, got an A, but she was in prof. office almost every offcie hour to make sure that she understood every physics concept corrctly, he knew her by name and she got an A and scored well in PS section of MCAT.
Your S. needs to do whatever it takes. There is no way Orgo is easier than Physics. If he can do Orgo, he can do Physics also.</p>
<p>If it were my kid, I’d recommend a W over a C. GPA is just too important – at least in California – and it takes a bunch of A’s to get the science average up to a 3.7 after just one C.</p>
<p>OK, if I were in this situation, here’s how I’d triage it:</p>
<p>1) What is my grade really? Am I being a little melodramatic and really, my “failing grade” is a B-? If that’s the case, I’d get my act together and prioritize raising my grade in this class over other non-academic pursuits (I only specify non-academic because it’s important to keep the rest of his grades up too). </p>
<p>2) If I’m really seriously failing, I’d go talk with the professor and the TA ASAP. First of all, talking with professors shows dedication on the student’s part–always a good idea. Things to talk about here would be whether it’s realistic to expect his grade to improve, if there are any opportunities for extra credit, and if the professor can recommend additional practice sets etc to work on. Practice often makes perfect in physics, especially algebra-based physics. I’d talk over the same things with the TA (and probably will have the same results). If the semester seems rectifiable, then I’d work through it, and continue checking in with the prof throughout the rest of the semester. It’s always in his best interest to show the prof he’s dedicated to the course and a diligent student–he will almost certainly get the benefit of the grade doubt in the end if he’s proven himself to the prof.</p>
<p>3) If it seems like I’m seriously facing the issue of W vs C (as in, I’m currently failing and could only pull it up to a C), I’d probably base my decision on the rest of my classes. Am I having a great semester, and would have 12h of As and 3h of C (3.6)? If that’s the case, I’d keep the class and take the C. Am I having a rough semester, and would have a smattering of Bs, B-s, a C, and maybe an A or two? If that’s the case, I’d take the W and the change in classes, with the idea that the additional time I’ll pick up from dropping physics will allow me to probably bring up some of those other grades. </p>
<p>I’ve used this strategy myself and have recommended it to countless young students I’ve mentored and tutored over the years. The trick is for him to be honest with himself about his progress and expectations, for him to own up to his performance at the beginning of the semester (and critically important NOT to blame the prof or the course when talking to the prof and TA!), and for him to really commit to changing his strategies if he decides to stick with it. </p>
<p>Dropping a class doesn’t mean he’s a bad student or can’t be a good premed or whatever. All it means is that he might have gotten in a little over his head this semester, which happens to just about every student at some point. Happened to me fall of sophomore year–I dropped the class before it showed up on my transcript (so, no W) and took a lighter load, which was definitely the right choice for me at that time. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for all your input. I will update it the status.</p>