When To Take A Class Pass/Fail
By: Jordan Bucknor ‘22
As the year begins to wind down and we make our plans for the next semester, you may or may not be considering taking a class Pass/Fail. While it is still pretty early in the decision-making process, it does not hurt to get a jump start in considering all your options. If you do not know what the Pass/Fail option is, you can read here to find out, but if you do and you are just not sure whether it is the right decision — keep on reading!
You should consider taking a class Pass/Fail if:
You have a history of struggling in that particular subject.
Maybe you are not a math person. Maybe you suck at memorizing science facts or statistics or are just a bad writer. There’s no shame in it! Everyone has one subject they would probably prefer to avoid and while it is good to push yourself sometimes, it’s fine if you are not up for the challenge this particular semester. There is no fault in knowing your weaknesses and acting accordingly.
You already have an incredibly heavy course load planned.
If you are registering for 18+ units with multiple discussion and lab sections in a single semester, it is completely understandable if you want to lighten up that load a bit. Even not having to extensively worry about a single class can really make a difference.
You want to explore a different subject.
USC has such a huge variety of high-ranking departments that it would be a shame to not try and take advantage of at least a couple! Consider using some of your elective credits to take a class in something completely unrelated to your major, something you might have always been interested in, or just something for fun! Taking the class pass/fail allows you to explore those different departments without too much worry and allows you to get the most out of the experience.
You are worried about your GPA.
If you are someone who has been feverishly working towards a near-perfect GPA but predict you’ll either struggle in a particular class or find yourself slipping more than usual in the first few weeks, taking it pass/fail could be the thing which saves you!
You are just not interested in the class.
Simply put, it is hard to do well in a class you do not care about. Even if a subject has nothing to do with your major or minor you can sometimes find something interesting to learn within it, but that’s not always possible. Whether you are forced to take a class for a GE or it just being your last available option, it, unfortunately, might not be all that interesting to you. If that is your situation and you find yourself taking the class just for the credits — take it pass/fail!
The class does not have the best reputation.
On one hand, you probably should not judge a book by its cover; but on the other hand, if you are receiving the same warnings from multiple people — maybe there is some truth to it? Whether there is no other section available or you just want to give it a shot regardless, taking the class pass/fail takes a bit of the edge off.
It is important to keep in mind that taking a class pass/fail is not just an excuse to slack off! You still need to get at least a C- to get credit which means doing a decent portion of the work. It would really suck to have to throw in a bunch of last-minute work and effort to pass a class you completely slacked on when the whole purpose of a pass/fail class is to take some of the edge off!
Hopefully you keep these tips in mind when deciding to take (or not to take) a Pass/Fail class!
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