Which schools have grade non-disclosure

Here's the rest of the list.

Chicago - strict no disclosure policy
Haas - student vote each year but it is always GND in all recent years, GND for on-campus recruiting only.
Wharton - I guess has a voluntary disclosure policy
Stanford - No official policy, but student body policy is GND. 99% complaince rate among students.
Ross - Same with Haas, you do get distinctions based on grades though



Harvard - has had a grade disclosure policy for students following the class of 2008. HBS apparently has an unorthodox grading system
Kellogg - Grades

Like Rhyme, I had no problem giving out my GPA. Fortunately for me I had no restriction on me doing so.

Thanks GoBruins! +1

Having completed an MBA, seen rhyme's comments on his experience of GND, and all the other stuff I just cannot work out why anyone thinks GND is important.

Number of people who have asked me my GPA = 0.

LBS also has GND - however I agree with 3under - so far grades have been the last thing on people's minds (even during networking events).

After talking with Stanford students I learned why they don't disclose grades. They want to be able to experiment with different courses, and courses that are not necessarily in their area of expertise such as a mixed course with other disciplines, without being punished for it.

At HBS the grades are disclosed and a good number of students are also put on probation or "voluntarily leave to pursue a different opportunity" if they are at the bottom 10% of the class. As a result, people take much more courses in the areas they are good at to keep their grades, and few career switchers dare to take advanced Finance courses with Wall Street pros.

Given the choice, I'd definitely pick grade non-disclosure, even if I've never had less than a 3.9 gpa.

Very interesting summary of the difference, MBAgirl, thanks.

As a reasonably competitive person, grade disclosure motivates me to perform better (to a limit of course - my undergrad GPA could have been higher). That said, I want an MBA in part to learn the quantitative skills that are missing from my background. I fully expect that my grades in accounting are not going to reflect the effort I put in; I don't want to be penalized for having the courage to challenge myself.

Congrats to those of you who have been rocking the high end of the GPA scale, though.

I have good GPA as well, and I believe I can do well in my MBA. However, I feel one the main benefits of GND is what MBAgirl2010 alluded to - taking courses out of your comfort zone especially if you are a career switcher. Additionally, grades aren't everything and I would like the pressure off my back so that I can focus on networking and securing a job!

I think the picking courses you are good at is a little bit of a strawman - I never really felt drawn to doing that, and took some pretty ridiculous classes and steered clear of things I had seen before.

It really does only take a commitment to actually studying rather than going out drinking all the time, reading the books and actually giving a toss that stops you getting in the bottom 10% of the class. Plus, you probably ought to be focused more on picking classes that feed into your career path (returning to the point that B School is all about career, zero about grades).

Do Tepper Duke & cornell have GND policies

During my visit to Chicago Booth I pressed one of the current students about GND, as i had heard at various schools it slackens once youre not on campus, and get this - it is so strict at Booth, she told me that there is actually a school script to respond to aggressive companies making the inquiry in off campus interviews. i was like whoa. thats the beezneez.

CMU Tepper does have non-disclosure as well

You're certainly able to "experiment" with classes and still receive a grade for them. I belong to the school of thought that your grades mostly pretty accurately reflect the effort you put into a class, so there is no concept of you (and only you) being punished for choosing to do something different you have had no prior experience with. In my opinion, if a class requires some previous knowledge of the subject for you to do well, it will have the appropriate course pre-requisite. Otherwise, most everyone will start on equal footing.

Stern has proper grades (and by that I simply mean an A through F scale) but that hasn't prevented me or my peers from signing up for the classes we want to take, without worrying about the repercussions any single class might have on our respective GPAs. Heck, I will probably get a B/B- on some of the classes I plan to take, but why would that stop me from taking the class if I'm truly interested in it?

Nonetheless, different people will have different opinions. But I will contest any argument that posits that having GND allows for greater freedom in selecting "harder" electives. In fact, I would probably skip class a lot more if I knew my grades were meaningless - but again that's just me! It's completely possible these other GND schools have remarkably disciplined student bodies who don't need the scepter of a "poor" grade looming over their heads in order to ensure they do what is needed to be done.

Like underscore3 said, GND versus having none is probably the biggest non-issue when it comes to your academic experience at any business school.

The challenge is more obvious in schools like HBS that have grading on a curve. If you are a switcher, competing against classmates from Wallstreet in a derivative class, you are likely to get a lower score than if were graded based on effort alone. Furthermore, if you are a career switcher or risk-taker competing with people who have taken safe courses and have the GPA to reflect that, you are hypothetically put at a disadvantage with recruiters.

But no-one ever asks your GPA. They care more about your GMAT if anything. Honest - like rhyme (who will likely tell you the same) - having every academic distinction under the sun has done absolutely nothing for me.

The whole academic challenge and taking on people more experienced is a moot point. If you have any type of desire and self confidence that getting into any top MBA program should require, you should put your head down and run at stuff. You are going to get faced by a lot worse. Why recruit for any different career background when others have experience? Maybe there should be a non-career history disclosure.

Just go forth and do things and live your own life. To hell with anyone knowing or not.

After seeing one session of milk round recruiting I can say pretty emphatically that grades have ZERO impact on whether you get an interview (and the offer). At least for finance you are far better off networking your backside off rather than studying extra hard for that A+ particularly as a career switcher.

At LBS we have grade non disclosure but we also have mandatory attendance for core classes. Skip more than 3 and you get an automatic C (ok I'm exaggerating a little but you get the idea). I think rhyme might have mentioned this earlier too, if you truly want to get the high honours MBA is actually an easier place to do than other post graduate courses. A vast majority of the folks are not here for the "academic" experience (although I speak more about the LBS crowd).

I think that is true everywhere, BSD. The problem is that GMATClub attracts a certain type of person that has a niche in even business schools. They certainly are at the more prepared and concerned / considered students.