Will taking a class Pass/Fail for my major hurt my chances of graduate admissions?

<p>I am an economics major in my senior year with a 4.0 in both my major and overall, something I take pride in. I am taking a class on the history of economic thought, which is taught by a professor whom makes it impossible to get an A. Based on the exams so far, the class average is probably a 40/100. The professor scales, but I do not want to rely on a scale to receive an A. I want to take the class pass/fail so that I do not have to worry about it lowering my GPA, but it is an elective for my major (though it is not a core requirement for my major) and I do not want this to look bad on my transcript for graduate school.</p>

<p>I want to go to school for a master's of science in finance. I do not want to get into a tier 1 school like MIT. I was thinking of something like Bentley or Brandeis. I have been speaking with folks at Brandeis about their admissions into the program, and it is relatively new (2006) and has a 60% acceptance rate with an average GPA of 3.6 for admitted students. I also have a letter of recommendation for admissions from a current Brandeis professor with whom I made good friends after helping him find a home (I have been a Realtor for three years now while I go to school full time).</p>

<p>I feel like I am qualified for the programs in which I have taken interest, but I do not want a 'P' on my transcript to make an admissions board push my file to the 'DECLINE' pile.</p>

<p>Please give me your advice!</p>

<p>No, do not take it pass fail. This one course will not affect your admission chances, however taking the pass can. An A- or B is better than a pass. Don’t be a GPA protector- it won’t get you anywhere.</p>

<p>I have a bit of a different thought process. I think it is absolutely acceptable to take a class pass/fail but only if the class is in an area that is outside one’s major. This positions yourself as being willing to expand your horizons, try new things. There are many colleges that allow students to take a limited number of classes pass/fail precisely to encourage students to try new things. When I was at a New England LAC (decades ago), I was allowed to take Italian pass/fail. It was awesome because I otherwise would have been too afraid to try due to the risk of my GPA senior year since I wanted to apply to graduate school. But your class sounds like it might be within your major?? If that is true, take the class for a grade, even if you get a B…</p>

<p>It is related to my major, but it is not a core requirement. My thought process is that it is a class about the history of economic thought. It is not a math-intensive course like micro/macroeconomic analysis, calculus or statistics (all of which I earned A’s in) and it has almost nothing to do with finance, which is why I do not think it would look terrible. It is pass/failed something like international finance or econometrics, I think that would look bad, but not the history of economic thought. Additionally, I am only required to take 11 courses for the major, but the time I graduate, I will have 14-15 economics courses on my transcript. I feel that the P would probably look like nothing when evaluating my 4-year transcript which has nothing else but A’s.</p>

<p>My fear is not necessarily getting a B, but a C. Since most people say grad schools look at a P as a C anyway, the fact that taking it pass/fail will not hurt my GPA makes it worth it if I do end up getting a C. </p>

<p>I don’t think it matters. One course pass/fail isn’t a reason for an automatic decline. However, even if you take it or a grade and get a C, it’s unlikely to damage your GPA enough to matter. If you want to take it pass fail, and it reduces your stress level, then do it.</p>