I need a C to pass my major requirement — what does the final need?
Major requirements name a specific grade, and the specific grade is the target. From 66% with a final worth 30%, a C at 73% needs 89.33. A C-minus at 70 would need 79.33 — but a requirement written as "C or better" does not accept the minus, and that distinction is ten exam points wide.
Common plus/minus convention; many schools use straight letters or different cut points.
You need 89.3% on the final.
That is within reach — the final is worth 30% of your grade.
🔢 Show the math
- Work graded so far covers 70% of the course; 30% is still to come.
- Points already banked: 66% × 70% = 46.2 points of the 100 available.
- To finish at 73% you still need 26.8 points from the remaining 30%.
- 26.8 ÷ 30 × 100 = 89.33% on what is left.
What you need, at every current grade
With a final worth 30% of your course grade and a C (73% on a plus-minus scale) as the goal, this is the score you need on the final from each starting point:
| Current grade | You need on the final | Reachable? |
|---|---|---|
| 79% | 59.0% | Yes |
| 74% | 70.7% | Yes |
| 70% | 80.0% | Yes |
| 66% | 89.3% | Yes |
| 61% | 101.0% | Not with this final alone |
| 54% | 117.3% | Not with this final alone |
Grading scales vary by institution — your school's own table and syllabus govern. Conversions shown here follow common published conventions.
Frequently asked questions
Does a C-minus satisfy a C requirement?
Usually not. Departments that write "C or better" generally mean 73% and exclude 70 to 72, while others accept anything at or above 70. The wording sits in the degree audit or the departmental handbook rather than the course syllabus, and the two documents occasionally disagree — the department's version governs.
What happens to the courses that follow this one?
A prerequisite that is not satisfied blocks registration for everything downstream, which is why a marginal grade in one course can cost a term rather than a course. Map the chain before the exam: if two later courses depend on this one and run only in autumn, missing the grade delays graduation by a year.
Can I retake the course to fix the grade?
Often, and the terms vary in ways that matter. Grade replacement substitutes the new result for the old in the GPA; grade forgiveness leaves both on the transcript but counts one; some institutions average the two. Limits on how many retakes are permitted are common, as are restrictions on retaking after progressing.
Who should I ask about the requirement?
The department that owns the major, not the instructor teaching the course. Instructors know their own grading; advisers and department administrators know how the requirement is written, whether substitutions exist, and whether a petition has ever succeeded. Ask while the outcome is undecided, since petitions read differently before a grade exists.
Other targets
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