GoBruins wrote:
ARIEL, You're NEXT to POST!!
Sorry guys, been MIA lately. Just came back to civilization from Vermont. Ok, here's my story: 1.9 GPA here (yeap you got that right) and just got into Ross, waiting to hear from UNC and Cornell next week and INSEAD in May. Will report back when I do. Already interviewed at UNC and expecting good news there. Cornell is a big wild card at this point.
What I think made a difference in my case:
- I went to a well-known and rigorous program in Canada (GPAs from non-US schools have no bearing on their GPA averages and therefore rankings - so if you're in a similar situation, you just have to prove to them that you can handle the course work and are interesting enough to contribute meaningfully to the community. If you went to school in the US, there's still plenty of things you can do to strengthen your candidacy)
- I took quant and accounting courses at well-known universities last summer and got A-s in all of them
- I have a very fast career progression and my job is such that it leaves little doubt about my quantitative abilities
- I have good reasons for my sub-par performance in UG and explained those in the optional essay. That story also meshed well with the rest of my application and the qualities that came through in all the stories in the rest of my essays
- I was able to present a coherent application and build a brand, which jived with everything they saw on paper: course work, career progression, international experience, etc. I cannot emphasize this enough - imagine you're trying to introduce yourself to somebody and they don't know anything about you besides a few data points that can be construed in various ways. Come up with 3-4 strengths that you believe define you (ideally those will be aligned with the school's philosophy and you have some tangible experience to lend cred). In ALL your essays, make sure you pick stories that send that consistent message. At the same time, take care to present yourself as a versatile individual through varied experiences (which again, show that you possess those qualities you're trying to communicate to them, albeit in different environments)
- my interview went really well
- demographics - sadly, I believe this played a major role. I'm a Caucasian female, originally from Eastern Europe, have lived in different counties and have varied experiences. I possess a fairly unique work experience and post-MBA goals (yes IB post-grad is not the most popular choice among women). So I think all that contributed a lot as well.
I remember starting a thread on this very same topic a while back before I even started working on apps and I've come a long way since. It hasn't been easy but I, among others, am proof that a low GPA can absolutely be overcome. Just hit me up on PM if there's anything I can do to help anyone who is in the same situation as I was. I'll be happy to share what I have learned and hope that my experience can be of help to someone. Best of luck!