{"id":45159,"date":"2019-04-07T06:00:07","date_gmt":"2019-04-07T13:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=45159"},"modified":"2019-04-04T04:31:12","modified_gmt":"2019-04-04T11:31:12","slug":"mba-admissions-tip-dealing-with-a-low-gpa-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/mba-admissions-tip-dealing-with-a-low-gpa-4\/","title":{"rendered":"MBA Admissions Tip: Dealing with a Low GPA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/MBA-Admissins-Tip-Dealing-with-a-Low-GPA.jpg\" alt=\"Dealing with low stats\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>You want to apply to business school but are worried about your lower-than-ideal GPA. Don\u2019t worry \u2013 it\u2019s NOT the end of the world! Explaining a low GPA can be difficult,&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/reports.accepted.com\/mba\/get_accepted_with_low_stats\" target=\"_blank\">but it can be done<\/a>. The first thing you need to do is examine your GPA\u2019s trend. Once you understand this, you\u2019ll have an easier time explaining to the MBA admissions committee what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3 GPA trend scenarios<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Scenario A \u2013 3.0 GPA, upward trendYou goofed off for your first few semesters and didn\u2019t weigh the consequences. You failed some classes and started out with an embarrassingly low GPA not because of lack of ability, but because of immaturity. Mid-sophomore year you wised up and continuously hit above the 3.8 mark for the rest of your undergraduate career.<\/li><li>Scenario B \u2013 3.0 GPA, downward trendYour college experience started out with a motivated streak of genius \u2013 three solid 4.0 semesters in a row. But then\u2026things took a turn towards apathy and laziness and your grades began to suffer significantly.<\/li><li>Scenario C \u2013 3.0 GPA, staticYou work hard, but not too hard. You take some classes seriously, and some not so much. You never really cared about school or grades to really put the effort in. A few years out of school and a life-changing career move have motivated you to new heights and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/reports.accepted.com\/mba-admissions-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">you want to apply to b-school<\/a>. But now you need to deal with your less-than-impressive record.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Interpreting these 3 scenarios<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If you\u2019re like the student in Scenario A,<\/strong>&nbsp;then you don\u2019t really have too much to worry about (unless you\u2019re applying to a top MBA program for which a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/selectivity-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">3.0 GPA is a significant hurdle<\/a>). Many students early in their college careers have a couple of bad semesters because of immaturity. Your grades went up, proving your capabilities and your increased maturity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If you\u2019re more like Scenario B\u2019s student,<\/strong>&nbsp;then you may be in more of a bind. You\u2019ve proved your abilities by acing those first few semesters, but why the dramatic downturn? Did things get too difficult for you? Do you have trouble performing under pressure? Or do you just not care about improving and perfecting your academic capabilities?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem of mediocrity looms over you if you\u2019re like our&nbsp;<strong>Scenario C student.<\/strong>&nbsp;You will need to prove your skill level if you want to be considered for a spot in the next MBA class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recovery plans for each scenario<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Student A:<\/strong>&nbsp;You don\u2019t need to prove ability as much as motivation and seriousness, which you may have already proven with your last few years of work. You may want to ask&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/letters-of-recommendation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one of your recommenders<\/a>&nbsp;to vouch for your maturity and steadfastness. A high GMAT\/GRE score will help.<\/li><li><strong>Student B:<\/strong>&nbsp;You will need to enroll in some college courses to prove your verbal and\/or quantitative abilities (especially if your test scores weren\u2019t so great). You\u2019ll want to make sure your essays express your newfound motivation as well as your keen writing abilities.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/reports.accepted.com\/top-mba-essay-tips\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Your essays<\/a>&nbsp;should include clear anecdotes that illustrate how you\u2019ve matured since your last few semesters and how your skills should be judged based on recent work experience, rather than past college experience.<\/li><li><strong>Student C:<\/strong>&nbsp;You\u2019re in a similar boat as Student B. You\u2019ll want to retake some of your math and English courses and you\u2019ll want to get solid A\u2019s this time. B\u2019s and C\u2019s just won\u2019t cut it if you want to prove you\u2019re b-school material. Strong essays and letters of recommendation will also boost Student C\u2019s chances of acceptance.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Understanding your unique scenario<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course many of you will not be like Students A, B, or C. Your grade-dive may have resulted from illness or family crisis or circumstances beyond your control. Or perhaps steady, mediocre grades resulted from your working 20-30 hours per week to support yourself through school. There are many other scenarios too. The key is to prove that&nbsp;<strong>today you have the ability to excel in your target MBA programs<\/strong>&nbsp;and that the circumstances that contributed to the poor marks in college no longer affect you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Moral of the story:<\/strong>&nbsp;A single low number can be explained or put in a less damaging context with hard work and a solid application strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>And the consultants at Accepted CAN HELP. Check out our&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/services\" target=\"_blank\">MBA Admissions Consulting Services<\/a> to learn more about how we can guide you to acceptance at your target b-school, even with that imperfect GPA!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/reports.accepted.com\/mba\/get_accepted_with_low_stats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Get-Accepted-to-MBA-Programs-with-Low-Stats-Register-CTA.jpeg\" alt=\"Register for the webinar!\" class=\"wp-image-45160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Get-Accepted-to-MBA-Programs-with-Low-Stats-Register-CTA.jpeg 700w, https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Get-Accepted-to-MBA-Programs-with-Low-Stats-Register-CTA-300x86.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><br><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/services\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"669\" height=\"206\" src=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Accepted-blue-rectangle.png\" alt=\"Get accepted!\" class=\"wp-image-40068\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Accepted-blue-rectangle.png 669w, https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Accepted-blue-rectangle-300x92.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/applying-to-b-school-with-a-low-gpa\/\">This article<\/a>&nbsp;originally appeared on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/\">blog.accepted.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where to apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/services\"><em>help you get accepted<\/em><\/a><em>!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You want to apply to business school but are worried about your lower-than-ideal GPA. Don\u2019t worry \u2013 it\u2019s NOT the end of the world! Explaining a low GPA can be&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,775,113,243],"tags":[32,1837,1214,2089],"class_list":["post-45159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","category-blog","tag-gpa","tag-low-gpa-and-business-school-admissions","tag-low-gpa-and-mba-admissions","tag-low-stats","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45159"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45164,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45159\/revisions\/45164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}