<p>What exactly are exploratory classes? </p>
<p>Is there a way to take classes for credit but not the grade outside of first semester?</p>
<p>Yes, there are a couple of different options (though only the first is precisely what you’re asking).</p>
<p>Junior and senior year, two courses total can be designated at the time of registration as “junior/senior P/D/F”, and the student takes the course pass/D/fail for credit.</p>
<p>The sophomore year exploratory option is not exactly the same – instead of preemptively taking the course pass/fail, the course can be removed from the record after the final grade is received. It’s basically a post-course drop option. I don’t find it as useful as pass/no record or junior/senior P/D/F, and I’m not sure how many people actually use it, but it exists. Given how late MIT’s drop date is, most people who aren’t doing well in a course just drop it by drop date, but exploratory could be useful for someone who unexpectedly bombed a final.</p>
<p>It’s also possible to take a course as a listener, but then no credit is awarded.</p>
<p>Thanks Mollie. Am wondering how useful the exploratory option is for a premed worried about GPA.</p>
<p>Pretty darn useful, I’d imagine. If you anticipate struggling in a class and mark it sophomore exploratory at the start of the semester, and then find yourself riding the B/C line toward the end of the semester, you can keep the class, instead of dropping it, and work to bring up your grade without worrying about what a C will do to your GPA.</p>
<p>The purpose of the junior/senior P/F is explicitly to allow upper class students to register for Grad level classes without worrying about what that might do to their GPA’s. Of course you could use it for any class that you are worried about.</p>