Taking Pre-MBA Courses To Reflect Low GPAs.

Question

Hi everyone, I have a quick question. I have a low undergrad GPA (below a 3.0) and I have not really declared my MBA candidacy until I get a super high GMAT score. I am a first-generation college student so I had a hard time my first 2 years managing my time and classes. But I am a lot better now protitiing my time and work. I know that I will have to take a community college level course in statistics or economic or accounting. My question to you is that do Coursera/Udemy courses count on the new transcript? How are MOOC courses evaluated by MBA admissions committees and does it vary depending on the school. Thanks!

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

The best thing you can do to offset a low GPA is to get a very high GMAT. Assuming you will already do that, additional courses are good and will help you. The online courses are not quite as good as in person courses at a school, but it does depend on the university. Doing well in these courses will certainly help your application. Good luck and reach out if you want any assistance with you applications. Scott@personalmbacoach.com Best, Scott

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

The GMAT will be your best bet to move the needle here but other courses will help as well just not as much as the GMAT. The closer these academic courses are to the real thing the more weight they will be given

aerien · Answer

Do as well as you can on the GMAT or the GRE, especially in Quant IMO.

Then take a look at your transcript. Did you have similar scores across the board or were you strong in some subjects and less in another? If you're offset -- and the area you're low in is relevant to the MBA -- it can help if you take something to balance that out. The MBA core regardless of where you are has a lot of courses in statistics, accounting, economics so something along those lines could help. If you flunked Painting 101 and that hurt your GPA, it might not matter as much (and you can explain that in your 'additional information' section if it's really bothering you).

Another thing which I've seen is people taking on roles that will help improve their skills outside of the classroom. Being a member of an organization where you have to manage the budget or manage other volunteers and the like can help you develop your skills and gain hands-on experience. You're effectively killing 2 birds with 1 stone when you're making a positive impact in something you care about while beefing up some quant / people skills.

MBAbot · Answer

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Taking Pre-MBA Courses To Reflect Low GPAs.

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