Q: My major has a yearlong thesis, and my fall thesis grade is a Y, and I don't seem to have credit for this class. What's up with that?
A: Not all majors grade the thesis this way, but for those that do (e.g. History, Neuroscience), the Y grade is short for "Year Course" and is a placeholder until you finish the spring semester thesis class. Since the Y is not a final grade, you don't yet have credit for the fall class, but the Y demonstrates that you're on track and there's nothing to worry about.
Once you finish the spring class and the grade is entered for spring, the same grade will join the Y in the fall, so you'll have (for example) YA- in fall and A- in spring, and your transcript will reflect credit for both semesters. Grades joined with the letter Y will participate in your GPA just like other grades, and if the grade/credit from them make you eligible for the dean's list, that notation will also be added.
While the credit for fall Y grades is not yet included in the "total completed credits" on the transcript, the College understands that you have completed this class, and you may safely add these credits to the "total completed credits" number to determine the number of credits you have actually completed as of the end of the fall semester.
This and all other letter grades are explained on the reverse side of all official transcripts, as well as on the Registrar's website: https://barnard.edu/registrar/grades-exams#grading-system-your-gpa-1
