Alright, my first serious, thought-out blog entry in quite some time. I'm discovering something about sophomore year, well, a lot of things, but a few key ones.
1) Classes are harder
2) Classes are in your major
3) Nothing is new anymore
During your first semester at MIT you'll be taking a lot of classes over a wide variety of disciplines. These are known as GIRs (pronounce each letter, don't call them grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs). Unless you kicked some serious butt in a crazily academic high school or took a bunch of classes at a local college, you're going to have to get some core classes out of the way, including single and multivariable calculus, physics (mechanics and E&M), chemistry, and biology. No ifs, ands, or buts, you will take these classes (or pass out of them). There are a bunch of different classes, each of varying degrees of difficulty, in each of these topics to choose from, but that's for a later entry.
I came to MIT wanting to be a mechanical engineer. I love building things, piecing things together, and constructing a product. I did not come to MIT to learn math, chemistry, or biology. As such, I struggled/didn't really enjoy these classes. Yes, I know, it's MIT, "we're" good at these classes, and as a whole MIT is very good, but individual students sometimes loathe these subjects.
Over your four years at MIT you'll experience a lot of things that make MIT seem like the big bully at the playground punching you repeatedly in your beautiful face, but one thing MIT really prides itself on is making sure you have an enjoyable and fair first semester here. MIT doesn't want to make you cry (though it happens), so they have this AWESOME system called "Pass/No Record."
Several bloggers, including Yan just a couple of days ago, have mentioned Pass/No Record (P/NR) but nobody has really discussed it. Here's the gist of it. At the end of your first semester here (September through December) you will get a set of grades, just like you normally do. The thing that's different between first semester MIT grades and any other grades is that ALL FIRST SEMESTER MIT GRADES ARE THE SAME. That's right, you heard me, everybody will come out of first semester with the same GPA: 0.
A zero GPA!? OH NOES!
Oh yeses. Pass/No record means that if you pass a class you receive a "P" on your transcript. If you fail a class it shows that you never even took it. That means it's impossible to have an F on your first semester transcript. Let me say that again.
YOU CAN NOT GET AN F ON YOUR FIRST SEMESTER TRANSCRIPT
The other side to that is that you can't get an A on your first semester transcript.
YOU CAN NOT GET AN A ON YOUR FIRST SEMESTER TRANSCRIPT
Which has several additional implications.
YOU CAN NOT GET A B ON YOUR FIRST SEMESTER TRANSCRIPT
and
YOU CAN NOT GET A C ON YOUR FIRST SEMESTER TRANSCRIPT
What you can get is a bunch of P's. At MIT you'll hear some Pass/No Record mentioned a lot. You'll hear sentences like "Dude, just punt it, you're on pass/no record" or "Don't worry about it, you're a freshman" or "No. You didn't get an A. You got a P. Just like _________ over there having fun. You got the same grade only he had more fun."
Upperclassmen are really careful not to let the freshmen tools brag about their straight As. Nobody likes a tool, nobody likes to hear about your "Perfect GPA" when everybody knows full well that the only thing you got was a 0 GPA and less time to meet new people and hang out with friends.
"Taking advantage of Pass/No Record" is something else you'll hear mentioned a lot. This can have several meanings. One is if you "fail" a class. You're taking advantage since you'll have no record. Another way to take advantage is to score the lowest possible passing score on everything and still get the same grade as everybody else. This is what I did. It's really nice to know nothing matters when you get a PSET back and it says this on it:
Don't get me wrong, I learned more than I've probably ever learned during my first semester here. It's not like you can get by without working, I spent many sleepless nights and early mornings fighting my way through problems sets and working harder than I've ever worked before, I just also spent a lot of time doing other things.
I have pretty awesome proof that I took advantage of P/NR, like my first chemistry exam. Check out my score breakdown, per question.
Righteous! Passed it! First two questions, rockin'. Next two questions? ****
Last question, pity points. Or, how about my third chemistry exam?
The first and fifth questions were just so wrong! lol, it's all good though, because it was P/NR and I ended up passing the class. The same with math and with physics (which I accidentally got a B in, go figure). I think I failed at least one test in every class except chemistry and still passed all of my classes. I also did a ton of other awesome fun things that I never got a chance to tell you about since I wasn't an MIT blogger back then. Basically, I loved first semester of freshman year, didn't mind getting C's (and by C's I mean P's) in all of my classes, and I feel that I'm better now for the relationships and other experiences I took advantage of than if I had locked myself in my room trying to get good grades that are invisible.
In summary, here are the important things to take away from this:
1) A's, B's, and C's all show up on your transcript as P's first semester of freshman year
2) D's and F's don't show up at all
3) You have to retake the class you "failed" but it doesn't show up as having taken it before
4) Take advantage of P/NR, it only happens once
Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)
Posted by: 13 Prospective on October 9, 2008
Posted by: Stacy on October 9, 2008
I know a ton of people who got straight A's.
Mind you, I didn't see them very often.
Posted by: Snively on October 9, 2008
For subjects I like, I’d try to do better because... well, because I’d like doing the work anyway. So it wouldn’t really be like work. Fair enough?
That is, in the strange, convoluted fantasy world in which I get accepted to MIT, the only school that straight-off said yes when I asked if I’d be allowed to put solar panels on the roof to power my dorm.
Posted by: Reena on October 9, 2008
"No. You didn't get an A. You got a P. Just like _________ over there having fun. You got the same grade only he had more fun."
Seems like that one sentence sums up the entire thing xD
Posted by: Reena on October 9, 2008
Posted by: 0 on October 9, 2008
Of course they would. If they let Simmons do this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNpXWNpc4CM
then I think a lot of things are fair game.
@Anonymous
A lot of people swear by their TI-89s but just as many use TI-84s and TI-83s. You'll normally only use them on PSETs and generally only for four-function type things, but sometimes they're handy for exponents and numerically solving integrals. Tests are generally non-calculator, which I was scared of, but realized weren't really that bad because the questions generally have really easy numbers and the hard part is figuring out how to solve the problem, not actually solving it.
Posted by: Snively on October 9, 2008
Posted by: Ehsan on October 9, 2008
And now I'm a bio major. Go figure.
Posted by: Oasis '11 on October 9, 2008
"Upperclassmen are really careful not to let the freshmen tools brag about their straight As. Nobody likes a tool, nobody likes to hear about your "Perfect GPA" when everybody knows full well that the only thing you got was a 0 GPA and less time to meet new people and hang out with friends."
Hear, hear. [/cynicism] =p
Posted by: Oasis '11 on October 9, 2008
Posted by: Anonymous on October 9, 2008
Posted by: '11 on October 9, 2008
So help me I lol'd.
Posted by: 0 on October 9, 2008
Heh, but getting anything less than 65/100 would be very depressing to anyone who's targeted full scores at everything in life.
Posted by: 0 on October 10, 2008
Posted by: mohit on October 10, 2008
'Provide copy of all hidden grades: In order to qualify for the ACG/SMART Grants, federal law requires that you have at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale. In order to determine your GPA, you must obtain grade reports from every class in which you received a grade that was not a letter grade (meaning every class in which you received a grade of P or non-passing). Once you have copies of all "hidden" grade reports, please bring them to our office. This requirement is a result of MIT's current policy on hidden grades, and we in SFS are currently not authorized to obtain grades on your behalf.
Recalculated GPA from Registrar: Once you have brought us copies of all your "hidden" grade reports, we will bring them to the Registrar's office for GPA recalculation. Once they have recalculated your GPA, this document will be marked as 'Received'. After providing your hidden grade reports, no further action is necessary on your behalf. This recalculated GPA will be used for only determining your eligibility for ACG and SMART Grants only and will not affect your standard GPA.'
MIT, what the hell?!?
Posted by: dillusioned 11' on October 10, 2008
oops
Posted by: 'dillusioned 11' ' on October 10, 2008
I agree. MIT, what the hell?!?
Posted by: Snively on October 10, 2008
its ok. everyone odes that. but at least be honest.
ya know?
Posted by: '11 on October 10, 2008
While taking the test, yes, I worked hard.
Did I study hard for the test? No.
I will be honest, I did just as much work as I needed to pass.
Posted by: Snively on October 10, 2008
I am slightly dissapointed at what I've read. No one deserves to be responded like that for choosing which things to prioritise over others. Some people have the brains to be well-rounded and be equally great at many things. Some people would much rather spend countless hours studying because that is what they've chosn to do. More often than not, it is what they love to do. The satisfaction in those people's faces when they know they've accomplished what they've set their minds to, is enough to keep them happy with themselves and their lifestyle, and there is nothing wrong with that This entry ridicules those people in my opinion.
Posted by: O.o on October 10, 2008
But taking time off from a subject you don’t like to have some fun is probably good for you, too.
Posted by: Reena on October 10, 2008
But if you are worried about grad school / financial aid, or you actually like doing the work, and you're not going to flaunt your A in everyone's face, that's another story.
Posted by: Reena on October 10, 2008
And isn't the entire system really counterintuitive? I mean, I'm not complaining, it sounds awesome, but is it really that easy to go from working hard like a good little student in highschool so you can get into MIT, to not taking things seriously and practically failing your classes your freshman year?
Posted by: Laura on October 11, 2008
Haha, it's actually more like "not really working that hard in high school" to "being mean to your brain so you can understand enough to get a C".
But it is different for everyone.
Posted by: '12 on October 11, 2008
Posted by: Paul on October 11, 2008
No, seriously.
Posted by: 0 on October 16, 2008
Most grad schools don't ask for your first semester grades; only a few med schools like John Hopkins do that.
P/NR is a Good Idea. My floormate Snively didn't mean to belittle the accomplishments of those people who do strive for perfect scores or simply getting the most out of their classes. The important thing is that it lets you make that choice yourself. Some people choose to explore MIT's absolutely mind-bogglingly wide variety of awesome extra-curricular activities. It's actually almost an insult to call them extra-curricular activities; it seems to suggest something secondary about them.
Also, to those people claiming that you will experience a drop in motivation and exertion because of P/NR, you are probably under the impression that MIT is somehow comparable in difficulty to your high school. It is not. MIT is actually that hard. Snively works hard. He works really hard. Everyone here works hard, because it's honestly hard just to keep your head out of the water sometimes. You are in a place where everyone around you is used to getting absurdly good grades in high school. Something is obviously going to change. A lot of people stress out enough just trying to pass classes, let alone ace them. P/NR gives you a bit of breathing room.
I join the chorus of MIT students telling everyone else that MIT is actually pretty hard, as it turns out.
Yes, it's possible to get A's at MIT. Yes, people do in fact get good grades. Is it really that important? Probably not. Grades at MIT are more of a side-effect than a goal. Past your first job interview, nobody will care what your GPA was in college, let alone what you got on the first test in freshman year physics.
Posted by: Mason '10 on October 21, 2008
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