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acrossthelake wrote:Does anyone have any idea how much one's GPA matters if one applies in early fall if one thinks one might be "held"(told in Jan. to wait till April)? I ask because my GPA is slightly below the soft wall/floor @ HLS(below 3., but if I 4.0 four courses my fall semester, I'll yank myself right to an exact 3.8. However, in course selection, I'm contemplating which courses to take, including some forced pass/fail courses(no choice, no grades given out at all), and if I take those that won't be possible. Will it matter? Should I try to make sure all 4 are courses that give out grades so that I can try to pull it up or will it be too late or too small a change to make a difference either way?

ETA: Will it matter for waitlists, either?

acrossthelake wrote:Does anyone have any idea how much one's GPA matters if one applies in early fall if one thinks one might be "held"(told in Jan. to wait till April)? I ask because my GPA is slightly below the soft wall/floor @ HLS(below 3., but if I 4.0 four courses my fall semester, I'll yank myself right to an exact 3.8. However, in course selection, I'm contemplating which courses to take, including some forced pass/fail courses(no choice, no grades given out at all), and if I take those that won't be possible. Will it matter? Should I try to make sure all 4 are courses that give out grades so that I can try to pull it up or will it be too late or too small a change to make a difference either way?

ETA: Will it matter for waitlists, either?

Cilent21 wrote:

acrossthelake wrote:Does anyone have any idea how much one's GPA matters if one applies in early fall if one thinks one might be "held"(told in Jan. to wait till April)? I ask because my GPA is slightly below the soft wall/floor @ HLS(below 3., but if I 4.0 four courses my fall semester, I'll yank myself right to an exact 3.8. However, in course selection, I'm contemplating which courses to take, including some forced pass/fail courses(no choice, no grades given out at all), and if I take those that won't be possible. Will it matter? Should I try to make sure all 4 are courses that give out grades so that I can try to pull it up or will it be too late or too small a change to make a difference either way?

ETA: Will it matter for waitlists, either?

You def need to try and get four graded classes for the fall. If you 4.0 and bring it up to a 3.8, updating transcripts for Harvard will be huge. Also, don't forget that you don't need to submit your Yale app until after fall grades.

Knockglock wrote:

Cilent21 wrote:

acrossthelake wrote:Does anyone have any idea how much one's GPA matters if one applies in early fall if one thinks one might be "held"(told in Jan. to wait till April)? I ask because my GPA is slightly below the soft wall/floor @ HLS(below 3., but if I 4.0 four courses my fall semester, I'll yank myself right to an exact 3.8. However, in course selection, I'm contemplating which courses to take, including some forced pass/fail courses(no choice, no grades given out at all), and if I take those that won't be possible. Will it matter? Should I try to make sure all 4 are courses that give out grades so that I can try to pull it up or will it be too late or too small a change to make a difference either way?

ETA: Will it matter for waitlists, either?

You def need to try and get four graded classes for the fall. If you 4.0 and bring it up to a 3.8, updating transcripts for Harvard will be huge. Also, don't forget that you don't need to submit your Yale app until after fall grades.

I agree completely. Also, good point about Yale.

Cilent21 wrote:

Knockglock wrote:

Cilent21 wrote:

acrossthelake wrote:Does anyone have any idea how much one's GPA matters if one applies in early fall if one thinks one might be "held"(told in Jan. to wait till April)? I ask because my GPA is slightly below the soft wall/floor @ HLS(below 3., but if I 4.0 four courses my fall semester, I'll yank myself right to an exact 3.8. However, in course selection, I'm contemplating which courses to take, including some forced pass/fail courses(no choice, no grades given out at all), and if I take those that won't be possible. Will it matter? Should I try to make sure all 4 are courses that give out grades so that I can try to pull it up or will it be too late or too small a change to make a difference either way?

ETA: Will it matter for waitlists, either?

You def need to try and get four graded classes for the fall. If you 4.0 and bring it up to a 3.8, updating transcripts for Harvard will be huge. Also, don't forget that you don't need to submit your Yale app until after fall grades.

I agree completely. Also, good point about Yale.

We agree in this thread.. Yay!!

acrossthelake wrote:Thanks for the response guys!

Cilent21 wrote:If you can take those P/F classes next semester, there really is no question at hand here. You should be trying to ace the four classes anyway, considering you want to update transcripts and have a shot at Yale.

The only real question is can you graduate on time with taking four graded courses this fall.

I only need to take 6 more courses over the next year to graduate on time and two will be independent study credits for my senior thesis. So technically I only need to take 2 additional courses, though I plan to take 3 instead(and having to restrain myself from taking another 4 to bring my total to 5, even though I kind of love courses because I'm a nerd). Normal workload each semester is 4, lighter but acceptable workload is 3, and harder, but do-able workload is 5, which I've done twice successfully(including this past semester). I guess I'll try to take 3 graded courses.

I'm pretty busy as is. My thesis will take a lot of time---my advisor expects publishable level work from me, because he wants to publish it. I work 20-25hrs part time a week and I'm the president for one of my clubs this year and have that added responsibility. Also, it's my senior year of undergrad--kind of want to actually enjoy some of it, not just socializing, but also finding the time to go when we have important speakers on campus, etc. I didn't do this as much my first 3 years, and I regret it, and want to find time for that this year.

mallard wrote:Going to disagree with the majority here. The slight GPA boost isn't as important if you're coming from a prestigious undergrad and I don't think the added chance, even if it's substantial, will make up for the stress of having to ace all four classes and taking classes outside of what you think is best for you academically and intellectually. But I understand that I'll be in the minority and I understand why.

True, although I still might do well academically and intellectually.
I'm debating between taking
--A CS class p/f---taking it for a grade will result in a ridiculous amount of stress. I hear from others who have taken the course and who love and recommend it that even ppl with some CS background who love it spend ~10-15hrs/week on that course. Though, they also note that you really either ace or fail the course, since you either complete the assignment and get an A, or don't, and fail. I took a lower level intro CS course my sophomore year and loved it. Doing homework for that class was like...fun....so I really want to take more(and this is the only course that's a possibility), but, again, afraid that this will overload my schedule.
--A politics & education class for a grade--outside of my normal range, but it interests me, and I think I can swing an A if I put the effort in
--A forced P/F course in public speaking/communications by a prof who is legendary for being really good at it and helping even ppl good at it really finesse it.

Alternatively, I could also just take another course inside my normal range of courses that I'll be certain to get an A in, but that seems so intellectually lazy.

acrossthelake wrote:

Cilent21 wrote:
lol You're funny

I am???

acrossthelake wrote:

Cilent21 wrote:

acrossthelake wrote:

Cilent21 wrote:
lol You're funny

I am???

A littleee bit lol

Huh. I think I'm just super nerdy. I listen to White&Nerdy by White Al and blush with shame.

acrossthelake wrote:

Cilent21 wrote:
lol That video is hysterical "I'm a wiz at minesweeper; I can play for days"

In high school, I got pulled over while blasting that song. I got out of a ticket, but it made me feel semi-legit for just a moment. And yeah, I guess in consideration of the fact that the 3.8 seems to help for Yale & Harvard, I'll take the education class for a grade...nice compromise...I do 4 courses for an A for law school, but satisfy my conscience.

acrossthelake wrote:

Cilent21 wrote: Win-win for you.

So now after the fall, we'll pretty much have the same gpa, but you have me dominated on the lsat and will take my spot at Harvard -_-

Or we both get in and can compete for the curve be friends! Also, 4.0 isn't guaranteed yet. And you can pull yours up as well.