Pass/Fail in Application

Luffys Hat

Given the Coronavirus, FSU has given the students the option to choose to take whatever class on a P/F (or S/U) basis.

Would It look bad to have a lot of P/F in your law school application?
If it does make a difference what is the recommended maximum amount of P/F I should be wary of?

I also heard some law schools consider a Pass as a C and a Fail as an F on their GPA calculations. Is this just a rumor?

lexxx745

rumor.

From what I know, the LSAC calculates your GPA for you and then that standardized GPA is sent to all law school. I dont think each law school has their own calculation for undergrad.

Ive taken 4-5 pass fail and it just doesnt count as long as you pass. If you fail it counts as F. If you pass your gpa isnt affected. As far as how bad it looks, idk the general consensus seems to be its gpa thats the most important thing.

Ive heard up to 4-5 Ws and some passes here and there arent that bad.

Luffys Hat

@lexxx745 said:
rumor.

From what I know, the LSAC calculates your GPA for you and then that standardized GPA is sent to all law school. I dont think each law school has their own calculation for undergrad.

Ive taken 4-5 pass fail and it just doesnt count as long as you pass. If you fail it counts as F. If you pass your gpa isnt affected. As far as how bad it looks, idk the general consensus seems to be its gpa thats the most important thing.

Ive heard up to 4-5 Ws and some passes here and there arent that bad.

You know if T-14 schools would care more?

jmarmaduke96

I think everything is more competitive at T-14 schools. So, all things being equal, if one person has a lot more Pass/Fail classes than someone else, it will probably count as a strike. However, in the situation you are describing, I don't think you need to worry.

Law schools are obviously aware of everything with COVID-19. If an undergraduate institution switches its classes to Pass/Fail (a lot of law schools have done this as well) that is different than if a student simply elected to take a bunch of Pass/Fail classes to protect their GPA.

SilentEagle

I am curious about this as well. I am wondering if I decide to make 1-2 of my classes pass fail if that will impact my chances of getting into a top t14 law school.

kes22284

When schools talk about "holistic review," that isn't just their coded way of saying GPA/LSAT. You can trust the admissions committee to evaluate your transcript within context, and a few passes in lieu of grades won't cause them to bat an eye, especially given current circumstances. As alluded to above, the only time it would hypothetically matter is if you're toe to toe with another essentially identical applicant, but due to the nature of holistic review I can pretty much guarantee number of passes vs. actual grades won't be the deciding factor (unless you took an inordinate number of classes pass/fail). I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Hopeful9812

I also agree with the comments above! I think it depends on the context. In the current situation with COVID-19, several schools have moved to a pass/fail system for the semester- which I think law schools will be understanding especially since some of the top law schools are also doing this as required by the university. However, I do think it depends on context such as what your major or degree is. For example, there are some medical schools which for grading purposes are entirely pass/fail. So if such a student were to apply to law school, I'm fairly certain that a law school admissions officer wouldn't neglect that application just because of P/F. Instead, I think/hope they will give a more holistic review of the entire application for all students! Good luck!