<p>If I realize that I want to take the class for Pass/No Pass, can I still make it as Pass/No Pass basis after school starts? (after 8/23)</p>
<p>I don’t know, but realize that that would look pretty bad on your transcript.</p>
<p>I believe you can change a class to credit/no credit up until add/drop period ends (which I believe is 3 weeks after classes start).</p>
<p>And I don’t really know why justadream92 thinks it’ll look on your transcript. For the most part, you can generally only take GEs and electives credit/no credit. So if you want to do a class that interests you, but might be a little more difficult, then why not just do it for credit/no credit rather than getting a low grade that’ll hurt your GPA?</p>
<p>I just figured that grad schools/internships/jobs won’t look favorably upon a p/f class because it may show academic incompetence on your part. When my cousin was being interviewed for Rhodes, they questioned him on why he took a p/f class instead of for credit and that ultimately cost him the scholarship.</p>
<p>You have until September 10th to change your grading option to Pass/No Pass (or to change it back to letter grade if you are doing really well in the class). [Schedule</a> of Classes: Fall 2010: Registration Calendar](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/academics/classes/term_20103/calendar.html]Schedule”>http://www.usc.edu/academics/classes/term_20103/calendar.html)</p>
<p>I don’t think Pass/No Pass looks bad on a transcript at all. Particularily for classes you are taking outside your major to broaden your education for your own benefit. In a particularily challenging semester, it can be very sensible to take one class Pass/No Pass to lighten the load a tiny bit. justadream92 may still be operating with a high-school mindset that how something “looks” is the most important thing.</p>
<p>There are limits to the Pass/No Pass option:</p>
<p>-A maximum of 24 units taken Pass/No Pass may be used toward an undergraduate degree, and no more than 4 of those can be used for General Education requirements.</p>
<p>-Use of Pass/No Pass work to fulfill MAJOR requirements must be approved in writing by the academic department.</p>
<p>-Pass/No Pass may NOT be used for course work required for a MINOR.</p>
<p>Consult your advisor and the USC Catalogue for details.</p>
<p>Pass/No Pass can be very useful for the “fun” classes you might take with your extra 2 units, for PE classes and for courses outside your major that interest you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the personal blow.</p>
<p>I am sorry if you take it as a personal blow - it isn’t meant that way. Worrying how something might “look” on your transcript will keep you from taking advantage of all the opportunities available in college - it is time to drop that mindset.</p>
<p>If asked in an interview why you took a course Pass/No Pass, an excellent answer is, “I wanted to take advantage of all the opportunities available to me by going outside my comfort zone…” which theoretically is why you would do it. Answering, “because I am obsessed about my GPA and don’t want to take any risks” probably wouldn’t be quite as good an answer :)</p>
<p>Good point, but are you absolutely positively sure that that answer would fly for a lot of places? I mean, I don’t think I’ll be obsessed with my GPA when I head off to school, but I personally want to make sure that I’m as strong as possible when I graduate, even if I’m venturing outside of my comfort zone. Wouldn’t it be better to have something tangible to show my talent of handling the unknown or the challenging instead of something as vague as a “pass” next to the course?</p>
<p>haha! Yes, you are right - venturing out of your comfort zone and taking the risk of actually getting a less-than-stellar grade would be even better. </p>
<p>I myself employed the Pass/No Pass option for a class in a semester when I had 22 units because some classes were only offered every other Fall and I needed them - it looked nearly impossible! Had I been asked in my interview for grad school about that I probably would have laughed and answered, “Are you kidding me??? I had TWENTY-TWO units!” As the interviewer had been through college himself he would have completely understood. (The frustrating part was I got an “A” in the course anyway and there is no way to change back to letter grade after the deadline…)</p>
<p>For those applying to grad school where numbers are very important - like medical school - Pass/No Pass actually becomes a very useful tool because having that high GPA is essential. Using Pass/No Pass for a your Arts gen ed requirement might free you up to concentrate on Chem, for example.</p>
<p>Your plan to do GREAT in all classes is the BEST plan of course - and I get the feeling you will be able to accomplish it!</p>
<p>Gotcha. Okay, thanks for the insight!</p>
<p>I am taking my fun 2 credit & PE course pass/no pass because neither of them counts towards a degree anyway. Everything else is being taken for credit. I can’t imagine why anyone would ever question why I took a 1 credit soccer class as P/NP :)</p>
<p>Is it a bad idea if I take a GE class for Pass/No Pass?</p>
<p>^ Just remember that you can only take ONE GE course Pass/No Pass (see post #5) in your entire undergraduate career at USC. If you think this will be your toughest semester, then this would be a good time to use that option. Honestly though, the intro courses you are likely to have as a first-semester freshman are probably going to be among your less-challenging courses. You might want to save that one GE course P/NP option for a tougher semester.</p>
<p>P/NP is more typically used as Kulakai is using it.</p>
<p>the majority of people at usc take advantage of the pass fail ge option. ge’s suck anyway so why not make it easier on yourself. You’re thinking too much if you think an employers gonna actually inspect your transcript like that. gpa is most important. if you’re taking east asian societies ge 2 and its of 0 interest to you and you think you might do bad cause you hate the topic, use the option…like everyone else goodie goodie. just tryin to save you a hassle.</p>