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 clerkship 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+?

[Anonymous User]

I think it depends on your other grades. If you have all A's except a "credit received" in a seminar (in which you got a B), and you are a Kent scholar that year, that seems preferable to me to seeing a B on the transcript. Whereas if you have 2 A-'s, 3 B+'s, and 3 B's, using CR for two of the B's seems a little riskier.

The reason I am not particularly sure about their advice (former CLS student here who clerked), is that B-'s and below are super low.

I'm also curious as to how the language looks on the transcript. Does it say "AFTER seeing grades, students were allowed due to COVID to change a grade to CR" or does it just list CR with nothing else?

[Anonymous User]

I imagine the admin is saying that because Bs are fairly common at CLS in general (like 40% of the 1L curve), so students generally shouldn't worry about Bs. But I'm not sure that Bs are common among CLS clerks, so I would take the "general" advice with a grain of salt. I do agree with the admin that you shouldnt CR a black-letter law course like Fed Courts or Evidence. A B isn't great, but at least I know you actually took the course.

But really, it's hard to say and I honestly have no idea how our chambers is going to review CLS transcripts if students can mask bad grades. It's weird enough when CLS applicants inflate their transcripts with "As" for things like being a research assistant or writing a student note.

[Anonymous User]

I imagine the admin is saying that because Bs are fairly common at CLS in general (like 40% of the 1L curve), so students generally shouldn't worry about Bs. But I'm not sure that Bs are common among CLS clerks, so I would take the "general" advice with a grain of salt. I do agree with the admin that you shouldnt CR a black-letter law course like Fed Courts or Evidence. A B isn't great, but at least I know you actually took the course.

But really, it's hard to say and I honestly have no idea how our chambers is going to review CLS transcripts if students can mask bad grades. It's weird enough when CLS applicants inflate their transcripts with "As" for things like being a research assistant or writing a student note.

Columbia transcripts are going to need to come with a key to decode them soon enough. As a CLS student I have become quite frustrated with how muddled our transcripts are.

[Anonymous User]

I imagine the admin is saying that because Bs are fairly common at CLS in general (like 40% of the 1L curve), so students generally shouldn't worry about Bs. But I'm not sure that Bs are common among CLS clerks, so I would take the "general" advice with a grain of salt. I do agree with the admin that you shouldnt CR a black-letter law course like Fed Courts or Evidence. A B isn't great, but at least I know you actually took the course.

But really, it's hard to say and I honestly have no idea how our chambers is going to review CLS transcripts if students can mask bad grades. It's weird enough when CLS applicants inflate their transcripts with "As" for things like being a research assistant or writing a student note.

The solution would seem to be discounting grades in anything other than black letter classes, which is more or less what my chambers does right now. I don't see masking being a real problem - it's not too difficult to tell who is inflating their GPA with loads of seminars and RA positions. Bs are not common in my chambers, but we would likely take note of a CR grade in Fed Courts and other important classes and assume it was a B.

[Anonymous User]

I'm also curious as to how the language looks on the transcript. Does it say "AFTER seeing grades, students were allowed due to COVID to change a grade to CR" or does it just list CR with nothing else?

I believe there will be no explanatory language on the transcript, although it will technically be explained on a CLS website.

[Anonymous User]

I'm also curious as to how the language looks on the transcript. Does it say "AFTER seeing grades, students were allowed due to COVID to change a grade to CR" or does it just list CR with nothing else?

I believe there will be no explanatory language on the transcript, although it will technically be explained on a CLS website.

I wrote above, former CLS student who clerked. If I was a Kent scholar, I'd hide any B's, and B+'s if in a random seminar.

[Anonymous User]

I'm also curious as to how the language looks on the transcript. Does it say "AFTER seeing grades, students were allowed due to COVID to change a grade to CR" or does it just list CR with nothing else?

I believe there will be no explanatory language on the transcript, although it will technically be explained on a CLS website.

I wrote above, former CLS student who clerked. If I was a Kent scholar, I'd hide any B's, and B+'s if in a random seminar.

Current CLS student. I agree. Especially as reading groups look like seminars on the transcript and are already graded P/F

[Anonymous User]

This is more of a general question about P/F vs graded. Is it looked upon negatively by Judges if you take classes P/F as a 3L?