When to take credit instead of grade? Forum

[Anonymous User]

This year, CLS is allowing students to convert 1 grade per semester into credit/fail. We can choose after we've seen all our grades. It doesn't affect honors calculations. The career counselors from the various offices are generally saying to only do so if we've gotten lower than a B. What are people's thoughts for this in the firm hiring context? I think that while some people would assume Credit means you got a B or lower (or assume we had to pick before seeing our grades), a lot of people just scan transcripts for Bs vs. As, and so seeing fewer Bs is good. I think for a B it's a wash or a good idea, especially for less important classes. Would it ever be advisable to do with a B+?

[feminist.supporter]

If you get a B or B+ and you have secured employment, leave it as it is, no need to convert it. Listen to your career office.

[Anonymous User]

If you get a B or B+ and you have secured employment, leave it as it is, no need to convert it. Listen to your career office.

I believe this is mostly a question for 1Ls who haven't yet gone through OCI though

[Anonymous User]

IMO, this is an intractable problem since it depends so heavily on (a) how employers perceive a CR and (b) how other students choose to use CR, and there are many different dynamic equilibria that could emerge out of those two sides. Also, there's likely to be enough variation (firm to firm, interviewer to interviewer) that the question you pose is incapable of a general answer.

This is a bit speculative, but I'd expect any given employer's perception of CR to vary depending on your other grades. Consider two scenarios:

• High grades. Most of your grades are A/A-, but you end up with one B, which you convert to CR. The employer probably guesses (correctly) that your CR corresponds to a B/B+. In this scenario, you haven't done yourself any harm by converting to a CR (unless the firm penalizes your choice to convert itself, which ... I dunno, maybe??).

• Low grades. Most of your grades are B/B+, and you choose one of those Bs to convert to CR, perhaps at random or perhaps with some rationale. The employer might guess (based on their perception of you as a meh student) that your CR corresponds to a C/C+/B-. In this scenario, your choice to convert inflicted some harm since the employer is now assuming you've received a worse grade than you actually did.

There's a scenario between these two poles where the student receives a mix of B+ and A- grades; given typical 1L medians, this might actually be the most common scenario. The CR perception in this in-between scenario is harder for me to predict.

[BrainsyK]

P/F the lowest grade of every semester. It could backfire (both perceptually and numerically), but it's probably overall the best approach. I wouldn't speculate as to how employers perceive it for now. This is a classic race to the bottom situation where eventually every student will use it optimally to their advantage. Just skip all that and get the highest GPA possible.

[Anonymous User]

P/F the lowest grade of every semester. It could backfire (both perceptually and numerically), but it's probably overall the best approach. I wouldn't speculate as to how employers perceive it for now. This is a classic race to the bottom situation where eventually every student will use it optimally to their advantage. Just skip all that and get the highest GPA possible.

Not to be pedantic but CLS transcripts don't have GPAs and employers definitely don't waste precious time calculating your GPA when it's not reported.

That said, OP, I think there's probably something to your theory about interviewers quickly "scanning" your grades, rather than carefully parsing what each grade or "CR" actually signifies. And you just want to minimize the number of B-family grades which appear during that scan. Thus: CR/F your lowest grade each semester, unless you receive all A or A-.

[Anonymous User]

P/F the lowest grade of every semester. It could backfire (both perceptually and numerically), but it's probably overall the best approach. I wouldn't speculate as to how employers perceive it for now. This is a classic race to the bottom situation where eventually every student will use it optimally to their advantage. Just skip all that and get the highest GPA possible.

It doesn't affect honors calculations

[Anonymous User]

Also, I believe there won't be any explanation of when/how we were allowed to choose credit on our transcripts, just a note somewhere in CLS's academic rules online.