Taking online courses to mitigate my low GPA...Please advise

No way is it Ethically wrong. Dont worry! It's just a good Knowledge Management practice to have all answers/opinions consolidated in one place, lest someone else has a similar concern and is looking for an answer. It's easier to search if all the replies are aggregated in one place.

bilalcheema,

The best way IMO is to blow the GMAT away--750 plus would really make them worry less about your GPA. Another way is to have a few years separating you from that GPA. That is, the older you are, the less they care about undergrad grades. Third, strong grade performance in grad school can help. Finally, getting A's in isolated courses in pre-MBA type courses like accounting, statistics, calculus can do the trick. The fact of a class being online is less important that the quality of the institution offering it. There are good online institutions, and there are bad ones.

Good luck,

I didn't realize that fact when I was posting. Now I can understand how right you were in suggesting that ...Now we have four threads with the same topic... Its my bad, I apologize. I don't think we can consolidate the discussion now...can we ?


I have checked with a number of local community colleges. The earliest I can start taking classes is in fall(Aug/Sep). This way, I don't think my grades will be ready till the deadline of first round. So, online courses seem to be the only choice at this time. But I am still looking....lets see, thanks for the list of subjects though.

Hello Paul,

Thank you so much for your detailed and insightful reply. First, I have already taken GMAT and scored 700. I can give it another shot if it's really worth it. Secondly, I will have 4 years separating me from my GPA at the time of application. In addition, I completed two degrees simultaneously, LLB(Bachelor in law) & Masters in Political Science, So, I think I can also blame that extra course load for my low GPA.

As I am a borderline candidate for top business schools, I just don't want to leave any stone unturned.
What do you think would be the best way to improve my candidacy, retaking GMAT or building alternate transcripts ? I don't think I can do both the things, as I don't have enough time left. I would really appreciate your advice.

...If I have to build alternate transcripts, I will probably be going for UCLA extension. I am planning to take 3 courses(Accounting, Statistics & finance or mathematics for anagement), each course is worth 2.6 credits. are these courses gonna be enough to prove my academic ability ? How do you categorize UCLA extension ?

Bilalcheema,

If you think you can improve the GMAT score by more than 20 points then I think retaking it would have greater impact then taking some classes. UCLA extension would be a fine place to take the classes if you did go that route.

Good luck,