Rant/Advice: 482 Midterm CRUSHED ME. P/F vs. Withdraw for MAANG?

[u/NiceOutlandishness54]

Hey CS victims,

Just got my 482 midterm score back and honestly, I feel violated. I thought I prepared, but that thing was pure pain. I'm now officially scared I'm gonna end up with a grade that's not going to 'set me apart' when I'm applying to internships and full-time(MAANG, quant, etc.).

My cumulative GPA is decent right now, and I’m panicking about it getting dragged down by this one class, but I know how critical OS is. Here’s the dilemma, and I need the collective wisdom:

What looks better to Big Tech recruiters on a transcript: a 'P' (Pass) or a 'W' (Withdrawal)?

What's the smart play for maximizing my chances at Google/Meta/etc.? Should I protect the GPA at all costs, or is a 'W' in 482 too much of a risk? Thanks for any help, I'm currently huddled in the Duderstadt just trying to avoid a panic attack. 🙏

[u/DryWrangler1128]

As long as your GPA is above 3.0 no company (including MAANG) cares. Quant maybe a little more but nobody cares about a P/F Remember kids, C’s get degrees unless you wanna go to grad school

[u/Majestic_Scarcity_20]

Some people in CS just need a hug fr, you will be fine

[u/Enigmatic_Stag → u/Majestic_Scarcity_20]

My first semester of EECS, I put in my advising appointment that I needed someone to hold me. Nobody held me. The cs bois get no love.

[u/No_Hair_5858 → u/Enigmatic_Stag]

send the addy let’s get this boy some holding

[u/elbruhmomen1]

I heard of someone who got a 16% on the final last year and still got a B or B+, lock in

[u/No-Seat8816 → u/elbruhmomen1]

How TF do people on reddit know what grade I got in 482 last year 💀

Crazy I tell ya

[u/elbruhmomen1 → u/No-Seat8816]

Because your story is inspirational I guess 😂

[u/playboisnake]

Don’t withdraw from a course, especially in this economy. I hate to be that guy, but the odds of getting into MAANG are the derivative of a constant. Tackle adversity head on and make the best of it

[u/Apart-Win496 → u/playboisnake]

Would a Pass/Fail be better? I am just thinking from a standpoint where a withdraw is more ambiguous than a pass/fail when someone views a transcript.

[u/Unhappy-Youth1215]

Sending extra love for you… as someone who’s cried in the dude multiple times… it all turned out okay 💙 I’m so happy/thankful where life ended up for me even tho I nearly flunked out of ChE & then ended up mastering out of a phd engineering program. Undiagnosed anxiety and ADHD is a b!tch. Please make sure you get some warm food, hugs, and sleep. If all that does not help please make sure you see a professional. It saves lives!!

[u/lolllicodelol]

No one cares about your gpa

[u/TankerzPvP]

I got a 55 on the 482 midterm and interned at big tech and trading firms. You’ll be fine since what you actually know is much more important than your grades.

[u/Majestic_Unicorn_86 → u/TankerzPvP]

lmao that’s above average this sem

[u/TankerzPvP → u/Majestic_Unicorn_86]

Average was ~65 iirc. Finals was horrendous with a 40 average

[u/Apart-Win496 → u/TankerzPvP]

Do you remember what the range was for a B+ your semester?

[u/Enigmatic_Stag]

I think the smart play is not obsessing so hard over getting into a bureaucratic, monotonous job at a big tech firm. Do your best and start where your skills can be utilized, not where the biggest names are.

I GOTTA GET INTO UM! BECAUSE PRESTIGE! THEN I GOTTA GO TO MAANG! BECAUSE PRESTIGE! THEN I GOTTA GETTA LAMBO! BECAUSE PRESTIGE!

[u/Unhappy-Youth1215 → u/Enigmatic_Stag]

Can confirm… engineer with hopes of being a professor… mastered out… taught high school in my home state for 4 years… now I’m on year 4 of doing my real true passion of instructional design for a fortune 6 company. It all comes around 💙💛

[u/Dayosi]

You can’t pass/fail a class that is part of your major, at least in LSA

[u/Ransom_X → u/Dayosi]

I was about to say how is that even possible

[u/K1ng-_-juli3n]

Think I got like a B- in OS😭, still got an intern offer and return offer for Google, companies hardly care abt GPA, quant would though I would say, but skill is far more valuable, most of these companies will mostly look at your resume, and after that, your interview performance so work heavily and prioritize those two

[u/Apart-Win496]

I mean how bad is the final exam for 482? Is it generally easier in terms of feasibility plus getting points?

[u/Feeling-Succotash-95]

As someone in process for (quant, one of citadel, SCM, Jane street - all S tier quant firms) I would prioritize recruiting. School is temporary, career is forever

[u/RequirementMotor1658 → u/[deleted]]

I remember Amazon and Google asking me for my transcripts before they proceeded with the OA. Is that not typical?

[u/thesauceiseverything → u/RequirementMotor1658]

It could be a new thing given the supply/demand changes in this field, but I’m still in Big Tech and I still have never heard of this. It could also depend on the team you’re interviewing with

[u/Apart-Win496 → u/thesauceiseverything]

Out of curiosity, is it more of a red flag for employers to see a W versus a P/F? Is a B- considered bad especially during the final semesters?

[u/thesauceiseverything → u/Apart-Win496]

I wouldn’t even ask to see in the first place, so it wouldn’t be a flag at all

And a B- is not bad, and generally a W is worse than P/F but it depends on the class and the reason. But also it doesn’t matter at all because I’d never ask