Is a “D” a passing grade?

D for Diploma!

D is typically a passing grade, but certain programs may have minimums to be in good standing or else probation or program disqualification may occur necessitating a re-take.

In order to fully explain my answer, I’ll cover several topics.

A final grade of ‘D’ would be considered a passing grade, but the GPA for a ‘D’ is calculated as 1.0 X # credit hours. The GPA as stated on a transcript is the total number of GPA points divided by the total credit hours.

Most schools require a student to maintain a MINIMUM GPA of 2.0 (a ‘C’). If the GPA falls below that they are placed on academic probation and given a certain amount of time to bring the GPA up to the minimum or are not allowed back into the school. You’ll also need a GPA of at least 2.0 to graduate at most schools.

Differential Equations is not a general class everybody takes. It’s a core class for those majoring in Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, etc. As such, even getting a ‘C’ wouldn’t be that great. If that’s the highest math class required, then they could get by w/ a ‘C’, assuming their interests in whatever field they wanted to get into wouldn’t involve higher math.

Most schools have a drop deadline date. If you fail to drop the course by that date and later try to drop the class, you’ll get an ‘F’ anyways. An ‘F’ by the way has a GPA modifier of 0. Some schools swap the new course grade for an old one, but some average the 2 grades together to arrive at the modifier for that course.

So, let’s try an example.

If the school allows a swap and the student gets an ‘F’ this time, but a ‘B’ the next time they take the class, and assuming it’s a 3 credit hour class, they will have 3.0 x 3 = 9 GPA points (as opposed to the 0 they’ll have for failing the class). If the school averages the grades though, they’ll have [(0+3.0)/2] X 3 = 4.5 GPA points.

If the student manages to get a ‘D’ the 1st time and a ‘B’ the second, then they’d get either 9 or 6 GPA points. While this looks negligible (4.5 VS 6) you’ve got to remember 12 are required for a 4.0 (A) and only 3 for a 1.0 (D).

If she has 135 credits taken already, getting a D or F won’t hurt as much as if she only has 21 credits. Assuming she has a 3.0 GPA and gets an F her GPA would drop to 2.935 with 135 credits but 2.625 with only 21 credits. It’s always hard to improve your GPA though; that’s why they are valued so much.

My advice is to have your friend study hard and go for it. They might be surprised w/ a ‘C’ in the end. Even if they get that ‘D’, they’ll have an understanding of what the final looks like and will be better prepared for it next time. They’ll know what they need to learn the next time around.

In high school, a “D” is passing and you can move on (it will count as a graduation credit if you have maintained overall a 2.0 GPA). In college, on the other hand, a “D” is NOT passing and therefore you must take the course over again. I think she should give it a try to ace the final exam and if she did not do so hot take it next semester and get a grade recalculation at the end of the second try. She should be proud of her accomplishments, nevertheless, because Differential Equations is only taken after at least two semesters of calculus AND you can take that course along with the third semester of calculus concurrently. A “D” is not the end of the world. I’m assuming she’s an engineering or math major. Anyways, I wish her the best of luck in Differential Equations (believe me it was horrendously rough)! 🙂

If she can drop the class this late in the semester, she should drop it and retake it.

D is a passing grade. So if she needs the credit, she can stay in the course, but otherwise it looks like it will damage her GPA and it would be best to drop it. She might want to talk with the teacher/professor before she takes action.

She should just try to take the exam anyhow–I think if she withdraws very late in the class, the withdrawal will be considered an automatic F, so she will get a 0.0 averaged into her GPA. D is a passing grade, but she won’t be able to transfer the course if she took it at a college different from the one at which she intends to graduate from, so it is possible that she won’t receive credit for the course. Also, if math is her major, she might be forced to retake the course–some colleges won’t accept grades lower than Cs in major courses.

D is passing only if she’s taking the class just for credit. Is this a college course? If the class is required for her major, then she might need to get at least a C for it to count, so failing and retaking would be a better choice. However, if she plans on applying to med school..then getting a D is a better option because med schools do not count classes that you retake.

It depends where you go to school.

At my high school a D was a passing grade.

In college it was a little different. At my college you could receive credits for only one or two grades below a C, if you had more than two Ds or C-s during your time in college you had to retake classes. When taking classes elsewhere, a C was required to transfer the course.

Yes it’s a passing grade

If this is a college course a 2.0 ( a letter grade of C or a 75) at most schools is considered passing. Most highschools have 65 as a passing grade. Check with the school and their policy.

Yes, a D is a passing grade. Believe it or not but as long as a person gets through school with all D’s they will still graduate. It’s sad, but true.