LOW GPA: What you can do : The B-School Applications

souvik101990 · 2012-12-12T10:36:15-08:00

LOW GPA: What you can do What is a low GPA? Technically, the yardsticks for GPA are quite flexible and school specific and you should not bother about absolute high/low figures. What you should be concerned with is the median range of the GPA of the school you are applying to, and it’s always good to be on the higher side. However, that said and done, undergrad GPA, just itself, is not a complete piece of information as business schools look for your story, and not absolute figures that you have achieved in life. So a low GPA is definitely not a deal-breaker and let’s try to explain why. Why GPA is important: GPA is a clear indication of how you performed in college in the past, so business school can have a fair idea of how you will perform in the school by simple correlation. Often, the progression in GPA values is more important than the mean GPA itself, as an ascending GPA is often regarded as a highly valuable asset in your profile. So even if you have a relatively lower GPA than the school median figure, the fact that you have improved throughout your college semesters mean that you have been persevering and consistent. Higher grades, especially those in quant subjects, is indicative of your reasoning abilities and acts as an assurance that you will be able to survive the academic challenges of a business program. How to overcome low GPA in business school application: Ace your GMAT : Chances are that, if you are an international candidate, your high GPA might not be as valued as those studying in US/Europe. The GMAT is a common platform and your score is equally valuable as that for your international competitors and becomes the most effective way to stand out. A 700+ score is always helpful and especially if you get a score which is higher than the median score of the school you are applying to. Alternative transcripts and certifications : These are great add-ons to your academic evaluations. Of course, these cannot increase your GPA but it can surely act as a guarantee that you can do well in the MBA program. Make sure to take quant courses such as finance, accounting, calculus, probability and statistics and make sure you get all A’s. Community colleges or even online programs can come of help with these, but please be certain that alternative transcripts do not erase your GPA problem. See this link for a couple of courses to consider: https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/x459.xml#5 Cerifications such as CFA, PMP, CSQL can come in handy, but make sure they are strongly tied to your story and goals for them to make a stronger impact. Your story : As always, your story is your best bet when you want to overcome/compensate for your low GPA. Explore the reasons that led to your GPA problems and make them your strengths. Were you working somewhere part time/full time while you were in college? Were you involved in very strong extra curricular and achieved significant results albeit with some sacrifices on the GPA front? Were you into serious national level sports? Not only these can give you tools to defend your GPA but also they can act as incredible story telling topics which the adcoms will love, provided they are aligned with your short/long term goals. Other facets of your application : Like your GMAT score, your GPA is also one part of your entire application and thus has limited effect in your admission. Make sure you use your essays , LOR, EC and most importantly your story so as to compensate for your GPA issues. There have been and still continues to be a massive number of applicants who did not get straight A’s but got admitted in top 10 schools and so can you. Here are a couple of inspirational profiles who got in with a relatively lower GPA/GMAT: profiles-admitted-to-top-b-schools-w-low-gmat-or-low-gpa-73999.html Correlation Data with GPA and GMAT Undergraduate GPA range (10th-90th percentile) and median GMAT School Undergraduate GPA range (10th-90th percentile) Median GMAT Harvard Business School N/A 724 Stanford GSB 3.36-3.97 730 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 3.18-3.87 718 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) 3.1-3.86 710 Northwestern University (Kellogg) 3.19-3.88 712 University of Chicago (Booth) 3.08-3.9 719 University of California--Berkeley (Haas) 3.39-3.9 715 Columbia University 3-3.8 716 Dartmouth College (Tuck) 3.2-3.84 718 Yale University 3.1-3.87 719 New York University (Stern) 3.02-3.79 719 Duke University (Fuqua) 3.06-3.79 689 University of Virginia (Darden) 3-3.8 701 University of California-Los Angeles (Anderson) 3.2-3.86 704 Cornell University (Johnson) 2.78-3.77 691 More discussions on GMATClub about low GPA: https://gmatclub.com/blog/2011/03/mba-ad ... a-low-gpa/ https://gmatclub.com/blog/2012/07/is-my-gpa-too-low/ profiles-admitted-to-top-b-schools-w-low-gmat-or-low-gpa-73999.html what-are-my-chances-at-top-b-schools-lower-gpa-129420.html

iVoRy

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14 Mar 2016, 20:58

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iVoRy

Thank you for both of your answers, It been very helpful.
For now I think it'd best for me to focus on my gmat prep first and aiming for mid-700.

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As I did my undergrad in business. I have quite a few business related courses that I got A namely quantitative marketing research, marketing strategy, accounting and a few others. Do you think I'd benefited from taking courses in business related subject.

Edited As I read your article I think It might be a good idea to enroll a statistic or calculus course from local university.
May be I'll think about this again after I take GMAT.

I think it's a matter of time. Certainly a few recent A's in business courses can only help. On the other hand, if you had that upper trend, A's in quant courses, and earn an above average GMAT, then those recent A's are probably a little less important and then it's really a time-budgeting question. Where can you spend your time most effectively? If work is slow and you have the time for a class like this, do it. However if work is crazy or other commitments call and you're struggling to get the applications done, rely on the other elements.

I'm a big believer in the art of the possible. :-)

Linda

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Hi Linda,

A bit of a late follow-up.
After took GMAT I managed to score 700 (Q48, V38,IR5,AWA5)
It's not a mid 700 score that I was hoping for, but hopefully, it's good enough score.
Since there's still a bit more time before the R1 deadline.
I think I have to choose between 1) took some quant classes at local college/Online from UCLA extension 2) retake the GMAT and aim for 720-740.
With the time constraint, I think I can only choose one of them, which would you recommend?
Would appreciate your insights.
Thank you.

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iVoRy

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iVoRy

Thank you for both of your answers, It been very helpful.
For now I think it'd best for me to focus on my gmat prep first and aiming for mid-700.

Accepted.com

As I did my undergrad in business. I have quite a few business related courses that I got A namely quantitative marketing research, marketing strategy, accounting and a few others. Do you think I'd benefited from taking courses in business related subject.

Edited As I read your article I think It might be a good idea to enroll a statistic or calculus course from local university.
May be I'll think about this again after I take GMAT.

I think it's a matter of time. Certainly a few recent A's in business courses can only help. On the other hand, if you had that upper trend, A's in quant courses, and earn an above average GMAT, then those recent A's are probably a little less important and then it's really a time-budgeting question. Where can you spend your time most effectively? If work is slow and you have the time for a class like this, do it. However if work is crazy or other commitments call and you're struggling to get the applications done, rely on the other elements.

I'm a big believer in the art of the possible. :-)

Linda

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Hi Linda,

A bit of a late follow-up.
After took GMAT I managed to score 700 (Q48, V38,IR5,AWA5)
It's not a mid 700 score that I was hoping for, but hopefully, it's good enough score.
Since there's still a bit more time before the R1 deadline.
I think I have to choose between 1) took some quant classes at local college/Online from UCLA extension 2) retake the GMAT and aim for 720-740.
With the time constraint, I think I can only choose one of them, which would you recommend?
Would appreciate your insights.
Thank you.

Quant classes. They are safer and if you get A's you will show you know how to apply yourself in related coursework.

Linda

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05 Apr 2017, 12:07

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notadmin23

Do schools care what classes you have taken?
Rest assured that adcoms will look at the rigor of your program! But if you take all physics classes and get "D's" that is still going to look bad. It is good to have some quant courses in your transcript even if you are an English major. So if you don't have quant, consider taking something like MBA Math or doing some university classes in business subjects like microeconomics, accounting, statistics or even calculus. One thing that can help for International students is that your gpa may not be counted in the overall ranking results because it is hard to standardize transcripts across countries. But also some intl pools are very competitive and so it helps to be higly ranked in your academic work to stand out in your pool. The short answer to Low GPA... what can you do... is knock the socks off the GMAT! The second best answer is to take quant classes at respected schools and get "A's" and the third best answer is to get your recommenders to comment on your quant skills. Or for the home run have all 3 to counter the low GPA. This is where admissions consultants can help you manage your weaknesses and submit the most compelling application you can under the circumstances. I had a client recently with lower GPA and test scores but excellent work experience. He put in very thoughtful essays, did well in the interview process and was accepted at a top M7 program despite less than ideal grades. He even had some low grades in quant courses but his work experience was superior and he highlighted his quant knowledge in his work examples. So nothing is impossible- yes the odds can be lower- but everything can be managed and the MBA admissions process is holistic so every part of you is considered.If some part is low, some other part should be higher.
For example, in my case, I took mostly advanced 400-level math courses throughout my senior year in college and this resulted to subpar gpa.

Looking at my transcript, would the adcom give me a pass for taking more challenging courses, instead of per say gpa booster courses?

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Yes. they care what classes you took, but they don't expect you to take classes that you shouldnn't have taken because they were too hard or you didn't have appropriate pre-reqs. Nonetheless they will consider the rigor of your curriculum.

Best,
Linda

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05 May 2018, 10:52

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I have below Average GPA. What kind of a GMAT score will help in offsetting that. I belong to BITS Pilani. Does coming from a reputed college has nay benefit?

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ankitnoida2018

I have below Average GPA. What kind of a GMAT score will help in offsetting that. I belong to BITS Pilani. Does coming from a reputed college has nay benefit?

Hello ankitnoida2018,

This completely depends on the school you are targetting. Yes, a higher GMAT score will help offset your below average GPA. While a reputed college may benefit your overall case, you will still need to get a higher GMAT score to showcase to the Admissions Committee that you have the ability to adjust to the demands of a rigorous academic program.

Thanks.

All the best!

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ankitnoida2018

I have below Average GPA. What kind of a GMAT score will help in offsetting that. I belong to BITS Pilani. Does coming from a reputed college has nay benefit?

Hi Ankit,

Many factors influence the admit decision: 1. your GPA, 2. GMAT score; 3. Work experience (career progression, quality of work exp, your achievements and impact created); 4. extracurricular involvement/achievements; and 5. overall profile strength among your pool of applicants.

Its a competitive world for MBA aspirants. Aim for a higggh GMAT score - its difficult to say exactly how much because I don't know the programs you are targeting, but generally speaking, it should be 30-40 points above the School's average GMAT score. BITS Pilani is a known college, but then so many alumni apply from there that its not going to give you any advantage, that too with a low GPA (and quite possibly, with no real reason for it).

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Thanks for the info. However, as an Indian applicant, I want to understand what the typical process for converting a percentage score (I am from Delhi University where we do not get GPA) to a GPA is.

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I'm interested in taking a couple of classes to show that competency. I just graduated from college and most of my college career I really struggled mentally. I found myself at a school where I didn't think I was a good fit. I'm not dumb but I just didn't put in enough effort. Got A in upper level stats courses but barely passes basic stats courses. I want to reach out and ask what courses I can take to mitigate this, does a community college act as a good platform? do they hold any weightage?

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Not sure if anyone has points this out--its not exactly a mind-blowing realization--but in situations with a bad quant stat (GPA, GMAT, GRE) or 2...just play the numbers game and apply to 7-10 programs.

I've been reading applicants' admissions prospects rise from ~35% at a TOP-50 program to 75% just by submitting 3+ apps instead of 1...

Unless one's GPA and GMAT are god awful, with stats like that isn't admission nearly guaranteed with 10 applications?

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Hi StevenTimmonsXman, while I understand the strategy of spreading risk around by applying to multiple schools, I've seen it backfire when people apply to more than 5 (maybe 6 across R1 and R2). Having an authentic, well-researched understanding of each school to which you apply is critical to showcase in your application. It's very, very difficult to obtain this if you're trying to get to know 7-10 programs. Just my two cents.

StevenTimmonsXman

Not sure if anyone has points this out--its not exactly a mind-blowing realization--but in situations with a bad quant stat (GPA, GMAT, GRE) or 2...just play the numbers game and apply to 7-10 programs.

I've been reading applicants' admissions prospects rise from ~35% at a TOP-50 program to 75% just by submitting 3+ apps instead of 1...

Unless one's GPA and GMAT are god awful, with stats like that isn't admission nearly guaranteed with 10 applications?

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samkhat77

I have a couple of additional questions.

I am looking at schools like Fuqua(Duke), McCombs (UT), Jones (Rice), and Goizueta (Emory). I got a 700 on the GMAT. Retaking in the next few months to see if I can do better. I have a 2.978 cumulative undergraduate GPA at a top state school with a very rigorous major. I have 4.5 years of work experience including the last 2.5 years at a very large company that is a giant in a very specific scientific market and Columbia Medical Center as a cancer researcher before that. Additionally, I manage 10+ individuals. I am a philanthropy chair member of my university alumni base as well as an chapter organizer for a global biotechnology organization where I manage another 3 individuals and oversee 250 members (quickly growing). My GPA is my biggest detractor by far.

1) Should I take an additional classes to show my readiness for business school? Would it still be helpful if I took this classes at a middle of the road state university or would an top 25 school be necessary?

2) If you had to guess, how much would my GMAT need to go up in order to be competitive?

I will be applying early action and round 1 for all the schools mentioned. Other schools that are close to medical centers and/or have a strong healthcare MBA program are my aim.

Thanks,

You may currently be competitive at Rice.

To answer your questions:

1) It would strengthen your profile and enhance your chances of acceptance if you would have a few recent A's in business-related classes, yes. Those classes can be at a local college and don't need to be at a top-25 university.
2) Your experience is good. Your GPA is somewhat low for Duke, McCombs, and Emory. You want your GMAT to be above average for those schools, to show you have the raw ability to succeed in business school. McCombs has the highest average GMAT of these programs at 700 (per BW), and Duke is very close behind at 697. I'd like to see it go up at least 20 point. The more the merrier.

Linda

This is true. We can’t change the past, but a bang on score with surely help us clear the barriers

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Hello from the GMAT Club MBAbot!

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