<p>If you’re referring to my post, I merely expressed mild disbelief at some of mifune’s conclusions, which are at odds with my personal experience, and sought a plausible explanation for them–like the brevity of his/her visit.</p>
<p>Anyway. The worry that the registrar will fail to notify you of your failing grade and let you fail without any warning is actually not one worth dwelling on; even if the people in charge of preparing transcripts don’t notice that the system has flagged one of your grades as too low, or forget to put it on your transcript–which is extremely unlikely–your professor will certainly know you’re failing, and it is part of his or her job to let you and your academic adviser know that your grades are too low, and to discuss the matter with you. That usually happens way before quarter/semester transcripts become available.</p>
<p>What you should be worried about is overestimating your academic performance in the absence of harsh critique, and assuming your GPA is, say, in the 3.4-3.6 range when it’s actually 3.0. Some people do that, and reality hits them hard at the end of senior year/when they apply for internships/research positions; others are very good at evaluating their performance accurately, and are never surprised if they request to see their grades. Others still simply don’t care.</p>
<p>If the idea of gauging your improvement in class without the aid of letter grades perturbs you, going to Reed might be very frustrating for you. That’s how self-selection works.</p>