GPA Explanations?

Question

Alright, I know this may sound absurd to some of you, but the application process brings out the paranoid in all of us!

Anyway, if I have a pretty good GPA in college, but had ONE single class in the very last semester where the grade was out of the blue bad (Just passing). while my GPA wasn't affected much, some schools (like Stanford and Haas) asks you to list out your yearly or your 2nd half GPA in addition to your cumulative GPA. So all of a sudden my final year GPA looks horrible because of that class. Am I thinking too much if I'm wondering whether I should explain that class? Or should I just ignore it, and hope that this one "blip" on my record won't affect anything? Any comments? Thanks!

aviroop · Answer

If that single class is putting a dent on your academic records, explain it in one or two sentences in the optional essay (if applicable). Since that course is affecting your GPA significantly, a good answer can set the record straight and remove any academic doubts the ad-com officer can have.

In short - play it safe. Why give the opportunity to pose questions.

zakk · Answer

blame it on bad sushi the night before the final. 

I'd mention it, but don't make it an essay on its own. If you write two sentences, its at least one to many.

kryzak · Answer

Hrm... maybe I wasn't clear in my original post. What I meant is that the one bad grade didn't really affect my overall GPA, but when broken down into GPA by year, the final year's GPA definitely is a bit lower than the previous years'.

I'm not quite sure what to say about it other than the professor's final was completely irrelevant to the class and I was just stumped even though I did well in the rest of the class. Her grading scheme was also very harsh and she's well known to be the prof that gave many straight-A students their only non-A grade.

None of the above reasons are good to put in an optional sentence, IMHO, because they sound like whining. But I don't really have any good reasons on why I got the bad grade other than what I stated already.

To make it more complicated, I'm already using the optional essay area to discuss my community involvement activities, so it'll be weird to have 2 sentences for the grade, and then the rest on something completely different...

Thus my dilemma.

aviroop · Answer

If its one year's GPA that gets affected, dont bother - your first post made it sound like it was significant.

Ya, dont talk about it. I doubt the ad-com officer is going to break down GPAs by year and scrutinize them thoroughly. Besides its the final year, he can do 2+2 together and figure out you were busy with job searches, graduation parties, parties before you become an adult... (get my drift).

kryzak · Answer

ahh ok, sorry about not being clear. I agree that I probably shouldn't bring too much attention to that grade. They may look at it and go, "Hrm, I wondered what happened there?" but you are right, I was busy with graduation activities and things like that. 

I don't think it's going to affect their perception of whether I can handle the workload or not (since my GMAT and overall GPA is solid). I just wanted to see if I'm missing something that could hurt me. Thanks again!

dabots · Answer

i wouldnt discount the year by year breakdown. most unofficial transcript forms ask you to calculate your gpa each year and note it.

aviroop · Answer

True. 

But going back to kryzak's dilemma - in this case one course grade deviation does not really warrant a written justification on his essay as it does not bring down his overall GPA significantly or show him to be academically deficient.

kryzak · Answer

dabot's point regarding unofficial GPA report and the yearly breakdown is the reason why I brought this up. But the more I think about it and also based on what aviroop is saying, I don't think it's something that warrants an explanation in an essay. It might be something to discuss at an interview if they bother to ask, but otherwise, the only thing that the grade affects is the final year's GPA and a slight downward "trend" in the final year.

If someone disagrees, please speak up, as I want to cover all bases.

jjanders · Answer

I wouldn't worry. At least you're not in my position of having a whole year of crappy grades to explain. I mean, I have a valid reason, but I still hate the fact that they exist.

grad_mba · Answer

Kryzak, I guess the optional essay is meant only for extenuating circumstances - in fact I have come across some atricles on B school essays that raise a red flag on using this space to build on one's profile.

bherronp · Answer

I've got 2 years of crappy grades to explain, and no explanation except being young, dumb, and lacking focus.

I'm not bothering to write essays about them, I am hoping my annual GPA progression speaks for itself.

kryzak · Answer

grad_mba: that is quite contrary to what Montauk, Bodine, and even MBA Game Plan says in their books. You are right in that some schools ask specifically for you to explain special circumstances with the optional essay, but if the school leaves the question open ended like Berkeley's, AND if there's an aspect of your candidacy that has not be discussed using the other required essays, then it's a good place to talk about that missing aspect.

None of the essays for Berkeley and UCLA allow me to talk about my love for teaching and mentoring (volunteering), and I believe if I write a succinct essay regarding that, it'll help round me out as a competitive candidate. In those situations, Montauk and Bodine recommends that you actually write the essay and NOT skip it. 

If you have the article that talks about the school that frowns upon optional essays that are not about extenuating circumstances, please let me know. I'd like to see what school it is and what the exact question asked was.

Thanks!

mNeo · Answer

I think the common perception is that one should certainly write optional essays as long as a school does not say specifically that the optional essay is for extenuating circumstances only.

ps. This is assuming that you have something useful to say in the optional essay (Like in case of kryzak)

kryzak · Answer

I actually wish we DIDN'T have to write anything for the "optional" essay. But after reading Bodine's "Required Optional Essays" chapter, I'm convinced that if you have something IMPORTANT to add, you should add it. Definitely don't use the space to talk about random things you did or complain about something.

The optional essay should have a theme and be cohesive. Some of the HBS Successful Essays are great examples of what to write (though mine are FAR from the level of originality of those essays!)

Praetorian · Answer

Thought this might help. Did you guys miss the "Frequently Asked Questions"? How do you explain a Weak GPA? https://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=35031 GPA Weight? https://www.gmatclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=38457 Some words of wisdom from Hjort:

kryzak · Answer

Thank you Praet! I read those when I first joined and forgot about them. Great words of wisdom and definitely answered my question! Thank you!

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