Effect of taking a class pass/fail on MBA admissions?
I'm a senior right now, planning out my courses for my final semester, and am considering taking my philosophy class pass/fail, so I can concentrate on my other courses. I'll be taking two MBA courses and am doing work as a TA/Independent Study for a professor, all of which are more relevant than the philosophy class and therefore I would like to dedicate more time to them.
My question, as the topic indicates though, is what effect, if any, does taking a class pass/fail have on MBA admissions? Specifically, I aspire to go to a top-10 B school and currently have the GPA (~3.92) and wouldn't want something dumb like this to derail my chances. I realize there are more components than undergrad GPA that come into play, namely GMATS, work experience, leadership experience, etc etc, but I figured I'd ask.
Any input would be appreciated.
From what my advisers told me at school, some schools will give you a C for any class you take pass/fail although I believe this depends on the nature of the course? Honestly I think your safest bet would be to dig for some info at the schools you are planning on applying to and see if they give any guidance as to how they treat them. I've also heard that MBA programs don't mind the pass/fail option as long as it isn't in a business related class (econ, finance, math etc). All depends on the school I suppose, but taking something pass/fail will definitely make your schedule look less challenging than other piers, so even if it doesn't affect your GPA it might make you a less attractive candidate.
If you're just getting a P/F on your transcript and it's not affecting your actual numerical GPA, it shouldn't have a huge impact. Be prepared to address it if the topic comes up (say, in alumni interviews), but I highly doubt that will happen.
With undergrad grades being the least important factor to admission, I don't think they would give a shit at all. Think of all the other things that will take place between graduation and B-school applications. They aren't going to home in on 1 class that you took pass/fail. I wouldn't be suprised if they only asked 1 total question about your undergrad studies. Don't stress about it.
taking a class pass-fail (Originally Posted: 02/21/2011)
Hi All,
Right now I am taking a financial class. I just fucked up a midterm, really badly. But I could take it pass-fail. Would it be bad for job applications (both banking or consulting) and business school apps? Would they care? Would they look at my transcript so carefully?
If I take it for grade, it's definitely going to pull my GPA down. And it'll probably look even worse on my transcript than a pass-fail.
I doubt anybody would look at a transcript that closely. Everyone pretty much just looks at your GPA, so just worry about that. And by the 1% chance it did come up, just have a legit excuse ready.
Yeah I agree with Makers here, they aren't going to look that closely. I always thought if they looked at transcripts it was mostly to validate the GPA you reported/have on ur ressume
Always better to take PF than a bad grade. Trust me on this one.
Pass-Fail rocks, do it
That's actually pretty sweet that they offer that option for your major, assuming that is your major.
Pass/fail on a non-major class: MBA admissions? (Originally Posted: 10/14/2011)
Will MBA admissions care if I pass/fail a non-major class (anthropology) that is unrelated to my majors (math, econ, finance)? I have a 3.98 but have a B- in anthropology so I'd like to pass/fail, but worried they might consider it a C, etc. What should I do?
MBA Admissions are alot less about whether you have a 3.98 or a 3.94 than what you do in the 2-5 years after you graduate. You must know that your marks are more than sufficient for HWS MBA programs, assuming you don't go to community college; you have a solid job lined up and your GMAT ends up strong.
how did u have a 3.98 if u are asking such dumbass questions?
Because he has ASSBURGERS
You have a 3.98, get over it. A "C" or Pass/Fail class will not kill. Not asking intelligent questions, will.
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/texas-chris…
Haha well thanks for trashing my school guys...sorry you all don't have much better to do lol. I do like the vid though :)
How does pass/fail look to bschools? (Originally Posted: 03/20/2007)
Hi. I've never gotten a B yet on my transcript, and I think I'm getting one in a stats class (not directly related to my econ/math major). I'm debating whether to pass/fail it, or just leave it on my transcript (I have ~A gpa now). Does the pass/fail matter that much? WIll they think I did even worse? Granted, I have never pass/failed a course before...
It differs between schools. When I wanted to apply to NYU undergrad they said they didn't accept pass/fail b/c the grade required for a pass/fail is a C-. And they do not take C's so even if I got a 99% it'd appear as a "pass" and they'd reject it. Unless of course you have a not saying you got the B officially from the teacher, therefore they'd still know you got that B. So ask the schools, and honestly, ONE B will not hurt your chances.
he's not transfering to nyu though, your post is irrelevant.
BUMP.
Please provide some input regarding this topic.
Pass / Fail Classes during Senior Year? (Originally Posted: 10/07/2013)
I've seen this asked before but I haven't seen anyone reach a consensus conclusion regarding this. If I'm a graduating senior and I'm taking 2/4 classes pass/fail (I have my degree pretty much complete - the classes I'm taking P/F are strictly "fun" classes completely unrelated to my degree - think art history and cognitive psychology), does that impact my chances for admission to top schools (e.g. HSW + rest of M7)? I don't want to screw myself over with something so simple and easily avoidable.
TabascoSalsa -
I generally wouldn't recommend taking the P/F approach or risk the appearance of gliding through your senior year.
When adcoms look at your transcript, of course they're going to focus on your school, major, overall GPA, etc., but they also attend to how you performed over the course of your undergraduate studies. Did you do consistently well throughout college (ideal), start strong then falter, improve over time (also good), have a GPA rollercoaster, etc. They also want to see that you pushed and challenged yourself throughout undergrad. Doing that will help your UG stand out more effectively than the alternative, and taking P/F classes might give an unfavorable impression to the schools that you're considering. I'd make an exception for this if you were taking a super-high/graduate level course in your major. It's not going to be a red flag, but not taking the classes for a letter grade isn't going to help your cause, either.
All that said, I do think it's a decent idea to take some of those "fun" classes as they can also help you to stand out a bit since it'll help make you a little more interesting. Just take them for a letter grade and be sure to do well.
Good luck finishing up your senior year!
Regards, Jon
Pass/Fail Courses in undergrad? (Originally Posted: 01/31/2008)
Hey all, as my name implies I go to Brown, aka the slacker school extraordinaire, and I'm currently only a freshman. My first semestre I took 2/4 classes Credit/No Credit (Engineering was mandatory, and spanish because well, I personally suck at it but aim to become fluent by the end of my time here). The other two classes, Math & a Planetary Geo course I received A's in (I'm majoring in something with Physics/Maths/Planetary Sciences), and I was wondering if I continued a similar trend and had somewhere around half of my courses pass/fail (maybe a little less than half) yet a stellar gpa if potential hires would see this is as exploring new things and utilizing an open curriculum that is Brown, or just slacking off in general. Thanks, Brandon
They won't see it. They'll ask for your transcript once you get the offer, and then if they decide to check out your GPA they'll look straight to the GPA line. Some people on this board seem to fret over HR examining all your classes and individual grades when that simply doesn't happen.
Bottom line - do whatever you have to do to get the highest GPA possible. No one said every class you sat in had to count.
they would see it as slacking off, if they saw your transcript. Most banks only look at your transcript after you have been tendered an offer, if at all (at least for summer offers and i'm pretty sure ft, too), so there's a definite trade-off between getting a job at those banks and getting a job at shops that do look at your transcript. But the bigger question is how can you respect yourself when you're doing that and other people are taking the equivalent of double your course load ;)
I disagree. How can you not take advantage of a university allowing you to take a large amount of your classes pass / fail. Get off the soap box.
it was (half) a joke.
seriously, take all the easy a's and bullshit classes you can. do whatever is necessary to get the highest GPA, the financial world is competitve, and you must do everything you can to remain compeitive, even if it requires taking an uninteresting, invaluable class. ratemyprofessor.com is my fav. site lol
brandon, don't take half s/nc. that's weak. id say shoot for 1 or 2 a year max. i will echo the easy A's comment though. it also rules out stuff like phi beta kappa and other honors that may or may not matter if you want to go to b-school or grad school.
see ya around.
Thanks for the replies everyone, but in no way am I trying to justify slacking off, it's just that I chose Brown because it would let me explore different areas in ways that I couldn't at other institutions. And I'm still going to take everything in my major (Maths/Physics - which are generally regarded as reasonably difficult) for a grade. It's just I was wondering if exploration with random Visual Arts or Egyptology courses would be frowned upon. But it seems at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is GPA.
Another thing then, Brown doesn't create a formal GPA though, so I would have to make one myself. (Also there are only A's, B's and C's or fail, no +/-). So I really have the control to do with it what I may - ie A's 4.0, etc. Do you think because of this the full transcript will be more important than if not? Thanks again everybody :)
DO whatever the hell you want within reason, screw what people think here.
Live your life, and deal with the cosequences.
I really wouldn't utilize this forum for this purpose, brown2011, because we don't know with any certainty how firms handle the brown system. Since the great majority of us go to schools on an explicit grading system, I would ask alums who have gone through the recruitment process and get their take.
how do MBA admissions view pass/fail courses (Originally Posted: 08/08/2011)
I'm a rising junior at a target. I've never taken a class pass/fail before, but I'm considering taking one this fall because I'm taking a couple other 4000-level courses and I have a large time commitment to my sport. In general, what do MBA admissions (particularly top 10/top 15 schools) think of classes that students take pass/fail? This would be the only class in my career that I would take pass/fail. Thanks in advance for any helpful responses.
If its a class towardss your major or a heavily quantitative class (especially if your major isn't something quant), it will look bad. If not, no big deal.
It won't look bad, period.
How much will these withdraws/pass-fail classes hurt me? (Originally Posted: 04/20/2010)
I know I might be freaking out a bit too much here but I'm wondering how bad 2 withdrawals and taking 2 classes P/F will look to employers/grad schools (not just for banking btw). My other grades have been fine, but I'm wondering how much these four classes will hurt me. If I turn it around completely after this term will schools overlook this or will these classes linger on with me for a while? Am I being too much of a worry wart or is this a legitimate concern?
Thanks and sorry for the potentially stupid question and grammatical errors (I'm on my phone and it's hard to type)
Not any more than your nontarget crap business vocational college
wow - that's harsh
anyone got a serious answer?
Pass/fail class (Originally Posted: 02/20/2010)
I am struggling in a class that is for my second major (stats) which I felt like pursuing because I was really interested in that subject. I am in the B-/C+ range right now and this is not due to slacking off. Normally, I would just try to rock the final, but its a grad-level course (for the masters program) with a tough curve and the material is truly difficult.
How does a pass/fail look vs a low B or high C in terms of recruiting purposes and business school?
I am considering a couple options: 1) Try to end up with a B but with a good possibility it will go in the C range (I am at a target with a 3.9+ so I guess I could just take the GPA hit) 2) Pass/fail it and retake it my senior year to complete the second major (its not a prereq for anything) 3) Pass/fail it and drop the second major since its not like I need it or anything (I could just minor or something)
Thanks!
I don't think there's one best solution to your situation. If it's a grad-level course, it's understandable that you don't have an A in it. Most firms won't check transcripts until they do a background check. Since your GPA is rock solid, your GPA could take the hit and from that standpoint your chances wouldn't really be affected (this may be different for MBA purposes, but I doubt so much).
There are trade offs here. Obviously you can work super hard and try to get a better grade, but if it comes at the cost of less time allotted to your other classes (thus dropping your grades in them) then it's probably not worth it. For the record, I passed/fail a class (it was an art class so not part of my major) and it hasn't affected my recruiting chances at all. For recruiting purposes with banks, I think the main thing is to not get a bad grade in financial accounting and corporate finance.
Have you thought about just dropping the course entirely? I'm assuming you're on the semester system, so you shouldn't be more than 1.5-2 months into the course? If you drop the class, then if you still want to do the stat major, you can retake it senior year.
Overall I think you're not in bad shape at all. It'd be worse if this was a required class for your first/primary major and you were in the D range close to passing.
Thanks, I'm on the quarter system so unfortunately I can't drop the class. I'm leaning towards just taking it pass/fail considering what you said. I can reevaluate whether to take it again once senior year comes around.
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