hey aska!
straight up – I took up a 6th course this semester as compensation for only taking 4 courses last term. Said 6th course is really hurting my gpa right now (got a 55/100 on the first test that’s worth 25%). So I’m thinking of either cr/ncr-ing or dropping it. I’m conflicted because
1) I heard cr/ncr looks bad on paper for grad school and
2) dropping it would mean only completing 4.5 FCEs this year which also hurts my grad school chances since it’s not a full course load. (ps. I had 2 transfer credits from high school, so I’m not worrying about graduating a semester late.)
So, between cr/ncr and dropping, which is the lesser of two of two evils?
much appreciate
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hey there,
- it really depends. if it’s not a course affiliated with your program or the program you’re hoping to go to grad school for, CR/NCR’ing it is’not the end of the world. also, one CR/NCR in a transcript otherwise full of good marks is not going to destroy your chances. however, it all depends on the school/program you’re applying to -how competitive they are may affect their policy on CR/NCR.
- again, double-check whether having a full course load is relevant to the program you’re interested in. as far as i know, the only cases in which a full course load is a really big deal are medical school, pharmacy school, nursing school, and possibly similar professional programs in the field of medicine. usually, graduate (as opposed to professional) programs aren’t too concerned about the difference between 4.5 and 5.0 credits in a year.
the drop deadline has passed now, which is too bad, but at the end of the day, neither credit/no-credit nor a less-than-full course load will completely destroy your chances at getting into graduate school. if one of those options will make you breathe easier, let you focus on your other courses, or otherwise positively impact the rest of your transcript, then that’s the one you should go with. however, both options are valid, as far as i’m concerned.
cheers,
aska