MIT's had pass / no-record for Freshman for some time now. WPI has had similar things to the point where getting Fs wiped off your record can result in what wa

MIT's had pass / no-record for Freshman for some time now. WPI has had similar things to the point where getting Fs wiped off your record can result in what was called "snowflaking" or a blank transcript for a term... RPI uses whole letter grades. A/B/C/D/F. Those are the only valid grades. A high GPA was far from guaranteed, because A- to B+ is a big shift. Overall, I think Pass/No Record is good. I think it results in less stressed out Freshman especially at elite schools, where some of them will get their first B or C, later on. They need to understand as a friend so eloquently put it: At MIT, you take all the kids who sit in the front of the class, and put them together. Guess what... at MIT there will be a kid at the front of THAT class. (And likely... it isn't you.) People need time to adjust their world view, or suicide rates, etc.. aren't pretty, they aren't great as IS. Many of us know someone who took their own lives, or just left after falling apart.