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During 
the 
COVID-19 

pandemic, and after a graduate 
student strike and a contested 
presidential election, University 
of Michigan undergraduates are 
still applying to graduate schools. 
And for grad school applications, 
grades matter.

Though 
the 
University 

unveiled a new grading policy for 
the 2020-21 school year, allowing 
students to display “Pass” on their 
transcript for grades above C- 
and “No Record Covid” for those 
D- and below, students applying 
to graduate schools said they are 
worried schools will assume the 
worst if they see masked grades 
on their transcripts. 

The University released its 

new policy after months of 
student advocacy for a revised 
grading policy. Central Student 
Government, 
the 
largest 

representative assembly at the 
University, passed a resolution 
demanding the implementation 
of the winter 2020 grading policy 
for the 2020-21 school year. 
LSA senior Cameron Roehm 
started a petition advocating for 
the University to apply P/NRC 
grading to the fall semester. 

CSG President Amanda Kaplan, 

a Public Policy senior, spoke on 
the widespread support from 
the student body for an adjusted 
grading policy at the Nov. 2 CSG 
meeting.

“This is a crazy semester,” 

Kaplan said. “Over 10% of the 
student body has officially signed 
on in support (of the resolution). 
The 
overwhelming 
amount 

of support demonstrates that 
students really feel like they need 
this.” 

LSA senior Timmy Li, who will 

be applying to medical school next 
year, said despite the pandemic, 
the expectation to do well still 
remains.

“I 
haven’t 
been 
severely 

affected (by COVID-19), and I 
haven’t had any major family 
issues or health issues of my own. 
And so, because of that, I feel like 
I still have the pressure to impress 
the schools and show to them that 
I can still get a good grade,” Li 
said.

LSA senior Jessica Baker, who 

applied to medical schools last 
semester, echoed Li’s concerns. 
Baker also said she feels most 
at ease when graduate schools 
acknowledge 
challenges 
that 

come with online learning in their 
application processes.

“I think as a pre-med student, 

you basically had to reveal your 
grades, because if you left them 
Pass/No Record (Covid) … it 
shows to the medical schools that 
there’s a reason why you’re hiding 
the grade, and so it kind of forces 
you to expose them,” Baker said.

LSA senior Claire Hubbell said 

she will be applying to physician 
assistant programs this year. 
Hubbell said she would like to use 
the new grading policies, but feels 
that she needs to show programs 
she excelled in a course. 

“I would love to use P/NRC 

on (pre-requisite courses), but I 
really can’t, because I need them 
to show up to show that I got an 
A for these grad schools,” Hubbell 
said. 

She said she felt the new 

grading policies are beneficial to 
undergrads who aren’t planning 
on attending grad school, but not 
so much to those who are. 

“Pass/NRC is really great for 

a lot of people that maybe aren’t 
(applying to graduate school), 
but for pre-health kids — for kids 
that are really set on going to 
grad school right after undergrad 
— it really is not much of a help, 
because you can’t really use it,” 
Hubbell said. 

Public Policy senior Mariana 

Perez is applying to law schools 
this semester and said she feels if 
she uses the P/NRC option, law 
schools will assume a low grade. 

“It 
feels 
like 
a 
lose-lose 

situation,” Perez said. “If I put it 
as a pass, I feel like law schools are 
just going to assume that it was a 
C+.”

Paul 
Robinson, 
interim 

vice 
provost 
for 
enrollment 

management and associate vice 
provost, wrote in an email to The 
Michigan Daily that students’ 
decisions to convert a letter 
grade to a “Pass” or an “NRC” to 
a letter grade should depend on 
the programs where they plan 
to apply and the importance of 
the individual class in a student’s 
application. 

“Many 
graduate 
programs 

want to see a letter grade and the 
associated GPA. So, there will 
be cases where a letter grade is 

needed,” Robinson said. “On the 
other hand, there may be courses 
where 
converting 
the 
letter 

grade to a ‘Pass’ is advantageous 
- especially in the case where a 
student’s GPA might be negatively 
affected.” 

Though 
students 
said 
the 

University’s new grading policy 
has taken a little pressure off, they 
said the best support would be 
leniency from professors and clear 
communication from graduate 
schools. 

Hubbell said she feels there are 

other actions the University could 
take to help students, like talking 
to professors about leniency with 
deadlines.

“The P/F option is definitely 

really good for a big handful of 
students, but I also feel like what 
would most help all students, 
regardless of what your post-grad 
plans are, is just having professors 
that care and are willing to work 
with you,” Hubbell said. 

She said some of her professors 

do not understand why students 
are finding this semester more 
challenging but hopes they begin 
to prioritize learning over strictly 
sticking to syllabi and deadlines. 

“I know a lot of professors are 

worried about grade inflation 
and stuff like that with the online 
format, but I think professors and 
administrators (should) just keep 
in mind that the best thing for our 
students right now is making sure 
that we’re learning,” Hubbell said. 

Daily 
Staff 
Reporter 
Julia 

Rubin can be reached at julrubin@
umich.edu. 
Daily 
Contributor 

Madeleine Bauer can be reached at 
madbauer@umich.edu.

Grad school hopefuls feel pressure 
to reveal grades despite P/NRC

‘You really can’t use it’: Students choose to opt out of using new policy to improve apps

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
2 — Wednesday, December 2, 2020 

Design by Maggie Wiebe

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WMG-contact@umich.edu 

More than 2,300 students 

began the application process 
for the scholarship this year, 
according to the Rhodes Trust.

As a woman of color, Girgis 

said she is also coming to terms 
with the complicated legacy of the 
Rhodes Scholarship. The grant 
was originally founded in 1902 by 
Cecil Rhodes, a vocal supporter 
of British imperialism and the 
eugenics movement. 

“I’m 
both 
celebrating 
& 

mourning the fact that the title 
‘Rhodes Scholar’ next to the name 
of an Iranian-Egyptian-American 
woman has Cecil Rhodes turning 
over in his grave,” Girgis wrote in a 
tweet following the announcement 
that she had won. 

Though unsure what she wants 

to do in the long run, Girgis said 
she is excited to take advantage of 
the opportunities the scholarship 
presents and help create a more 
equitable future for people of all 
backgrounds. 

“At the same time, the Rhodes 

Trust has for a very long time now 
been really doing incredible work, 
and selecting incredible scholars 
and contributing to a more just 
world,” Girgis said. “But to me, that 
tension still exists between those 
two truths. And I look forward 

to working with other Rhodes 
Scholars and Rhodes alumni to 
keep working for reconciliation 
and reparations.”

Henry Dyson, director of the 

Office of National Scholarships 
and Fellowships at the University, 
worked closely with Girgis during 
the application process for both 
the Rhodes Scholarship and the 
Truman Scholarship. 

Though Girgis did not win 

the Truman Scholarship during 
her 
junior 
year, 
Dyson 
said 

her candidacy set her up to 
eventually 
become 
a 
Rhodes 

Scholar-elect this year. He said 
he admires Girgis’s resilience and 
determination. 

“I think one big takeaway 

that I have with Amytess is that 
it takes perseverance on these 
things,” Dyson said. “In the case 
of Amytess, she is phenomenal, 
but even phenomenal students 
don’t always get selected for these 
things.”

Additionally, Dyson said he 

believes Girgis makes a great 
recipient because of her dedication 
to many different commitments 
outside 
of 
academics at the 

University. 
Girgis 
is 
heavily 

involved in various organizing 
efforts 
with 
the 
Lecturers’ 

Employee Organization and the 
One University campaign. 

“I 
think 
Amytess 
is 
just 

emblematic 
of 
what 
the 

contemporary Rhodes Scholarship 
is trying to do, which is to identify 
future leaders who are going to 
work for greater justice, for greater 
equity and for greater inclusion,” 
Dyson said. “That’s been the 
heart of all of Amytess’s work. … 
She wants to really identify the 
stories of those who have been 
marginalized in our economic and 
political systems and to raise up 
their voices.”

LSA lecturer and president of 

LEO Ian Robinson said he has 
worked with Girgis in the past 
on LEO initiatives and the 1U 
campaign and is grateful for the 
impact she has helped make in the 
surrounding community. 

Last year, LEO and 1U led 

a 
campaign 
calling 
for 
the 

University’s Board of Regents to 
provide better funding and further 
access to resources at the U-M 
Flint and Dearborn campuses to 
encourage equity between the 
University’s 
three 
campuses. 

Robinson said Girgis was one of 
the activists who was instrumental 
in extending the Diversity, Equity 
and Inclusion funds to the Flint 
and Dearborn campuses. 

“Amytess played a critical role 

in informing and organizing her 
Ann Arbor peers to support the 
extension of DEI principles to 
students on the Flint and Dearborn 
campuses,” 
Robinson 
said. 

“Amytess’s many contributions to 

the 1U campaign have undoubtedly 
moved us further and faster 
towards our goals than we would 
have been able to do without her.” 

Abdul 
El-Sayed, 
a 
2018 

Michigan gubernatorial candidate 
and University alum, also received 
the Rhodes Scholarship as part of 
the 2009 cohort. El-Sayed served 
on the Truman Scholarship and 
the Rhodes Scholarship naming 
committees and worked with 
Girgis personally during his 2018 
gubernatorial campaign. 

“So incredibly proud today. 

The best part of growing up is 
watching the ones who come next 
grow & emerge,” El-Sayed wrote 
in a tweet.

Girgis advised other aspiring 

students at the University to not get 
caught up with the competitive 
nature of college and to instead 
pursue their passions. 

“The 
absolute 
most 

important thing I would ask 
anyone to do is to really ground 
themselves in the beauty of the 
community,” Girgis said. “Focus 
on who they are and what it is that 
they hope to accomplish, and also 
towards what end? Who are they 
helping? Why? I think if we can 
all ground ourselves in those facts, 
we’ll be okay.”

Daily Staff Reporter Lily Gooding 

can be reached at goodingl@umich.
edu.

SCHOLAR
From Page 1

JULIA RUBIN & 

MADELEINE BAUER

Daily Staff Reporter 

& For The Daily

