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BAMBAMBAM
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Valedictorian at MBA 05 Jul 2012, 10:36
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Starting full-time MBA this Fall (top 20 w/grade point averages), setting some goals for the time being, one of which is straight A's. Figure thats as good a goal as any, and realistic too.

Then I just noticed MBA programs actually have valedictorians at graduation. Is this title, like HS and college, inevitably taken by a student w/4.0 GPA, aka a person who was perfect the whole 2 years? Or is it more typically taken with 3.9 or 3.8 GPA, given that grades are not the top priority they once were in previous levels of education?

Just curious what people have seen...
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Valedictorian at MBA 05 Jul 2012, 11:14
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From my understanding the valedictorian is the person with the highest GPA. If the highest GPA in a class is a 2.5 then that person is the valedictorian. I could be wrong though so if someone knows differently please weigh in.
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Valedictorian at MBA 05 Jul 2012, 11:30
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I don't know how it is in grad programs, but I've heard of ties, or near ties, in undergrad where a committee chooses between a set of students. In which case other factors come into play - extracurriculars, leadership, etc.
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Valedictorian at MBA 05 Jul 2012, 11:53
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I think a bigger thing to consider here is that your goals might not be in the right place. The MBA is soooo much more than your grades. Its the friends you make, connections, internship, clubs, experiences, happy hours, network, etc... all of which have NOTHING to do with how long you keep your nose in the books. Generally, graduate school is easier to get high grades in then in college. So a 3.5 will be much more common. I'd much rather have a 3.5 and really know that I took everything I could from my program, not just the title of having the best grades. The amount of work between achieving a 3.5 and 4.0 becomes exponetially tougher.

Working after an MBA has very little to do with how good your GPA was, and even if you're applying for the toughest jobs, they won't just be deciding based on your GPA or GMAT. So unless you are planning on getting a PhD in Business, you might want to reconsider your goal, and make sure that this goal wont keep your nose in the books, but your body, mind, and resources away from some of the most important aspects of business school.
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Valedictorian at MBA 09 Jul 2012, 07:21
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Agree with the last. I've decided not to care about difficulty of classes when picking my electives, but rather focus on what appeals to me - regardless of A+ probability. Goes without saying that I'd like to work with people of same nature after school; not the people who desperately want to get a 4.0 out of biz school. Plenty of people (Wharton mostly) with MBAs and they've further said that nobody cares about grades anyway (obviously, don't get a 1.0......).
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Valedictorian at MBA 08 Apr 2015, 13:07
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