How valuable are Online Courses to compensate for avg. academics?

Question

Having spoken to a few consultants under the "Free consultation" service, I had some questions in my mind which I am unable to figure. Would love to get some perspectives.

For someone whose academics are not very good or avg, how valuable are the online courses, such as HBX CORe, Wharton Analytics Course, some Coursera/EdX courses, etc.?

1) Do these online courses actually add value and compensate (even slightly) for low/avg. academics? 
2) If someone completes CFA and scores 750+ in GMAT, then do these online courses even matter?
3) What are the ways one can truly compensate (maybe even 50%) for academics? Or are we pretty much helpless and should rather focus on highlighting the good parts of our application?

Since some online courses cost a lot ($$$$), so before I put my money I wanted to know if I should actually invest my money and more importantly my time into them? Or rather focus on CFA, GMAT and the good parts of my application?

bb · Answer

Hi there. Well... your GPA is your GPA. There is no changing it. I don't know much about CGPA and how it is calculated but my guess the US schools do not report it on their reports to rankings organizations so they hardly care about it from that standpoint and would not have too much concern about admitting you. I would not discount the advise you got however, about taking additional classes and would definitely validate it (sorry I am not someone who knows CGPA).

CFA is not a big driver for the MBA admissions but for someone with low GPA it can help but I would not pursue it just for the purpose of admissions. It will look kind of silly otherwise even if you succeed (and it is tough).

I think your best chances are getting a high enough score on the GMAT to compete with your demographics of applicants and having a more diverse profile with work accomplishments and career growth and progression. GMAT is a pass/fail type of mark for the M7 with high volume of applicants and you want to have a differentiator. CGPA and HBX are not it really and some online courses are really just pay to play without a very strong quality control and since AdCom knows how easy it is to buy those, it may not be worth buying them afterall...

I personally would not kill yourself with a ton of classes UNLESS this is the main area you can improve. I would focus on your GMAT, Application Story, Resume, and of course career and things you are passionate about - whatever that is.

Good luck

SSS001 · Answer

Thanks  bb

Being an Indian applicant, do you mean that the CGPAs of ton of Indian applicants who apply for B-schools, every year, are just not reported to the rankings  (not negating the fact that CGPA does show how well we can handle the academic rigor of B-schools) ?

Second, I spoke with some graduates from M7 schools, and almost 70-80% of them said that online courses add no value to the applications. That kind of led me to a doubt, if I should actually waste my time and money into something that is not even valued by the B-schools. And I seem to be confused now, since I don't want my academics to be a reason for my rejection.

I am planning to apply for 2023 admit and since I have some time in hand, I am extremely wary to use it judiciously.  (Yes, you are absolutely right that if academics is not the most important areas to focus on then we should not bother much. And in this regard, in my view, I believe that it is somewhat an important area of focus for me. Still trying to get more perspectives from consultants and graduated students)

Admissionado · Answer

Rockstarr001 :

BB did a great job but we wanted to add a second set of opinions:

1) Do these online courses actually add value and compensate (even slightly) for low/avg. academics?

Not really. They will reward you for effort but it will have a negligible impact on your overall decision.

2) If someone completes CFA and scores 750+ in GMAT, then do these online courses even matter?

See my response to your first question. Those online courses will not matter regardless of a CFA certification and your GMAT score.

3) What are the ways one can truly compensate (maybe even 50%) for academics? Or are we pretty much helpless and should rather focus on highlighting the good parts of our application?

GMAT, GMAT, GMAT (or GRE, GRE, GRE). That's your best shot to counterbalance a low GPA. If you have a compelling reason for a low GPA, you should explain that in the optional essay section for each application. I dislike the word "helpless" but you should maybe need to adjust your school list just in case.

In conclusion: don't waste your time or money on extra courses. Focus on the GMAT and the other components of your application.

-Admissionado

bb · Answer

Thank you admissionado!

Asked of the GPA question, how would the schools report the crazy CGPA? All applications ask you to submit to your original numbers. So you will be submitting something like seven or eight. The rankings report numbers based in the US scale. Do you really think there is some kind of a universal formula that’s applied to an Indian GPA, Japanese, Nigerian, and one from Burkina Faso? There is just no way to reconcile those numbers. The only way you can compare them is comparing applicants from the same background. If you have to and the guys from Nigeria with similar GMAT scores, you start looking at their GPA to see who may be better academically or who may have gotten their lucky on their GMAT.

However, GPA Numbers are not created equal even from the same country. If someone has a high GPA from Stanford or Princeton, that is not equivalent to someone who has a high GPA from a small state college. The grading scales are not comparable. Many business schools, probably old business schools, evaluate GPA on the school by school basis.... If they have time that is or enough applicants.

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SSS001 · Answer

Thank you  Admissionado .

That totally makes sense. Being from an over-represented group, it's mostly better to score more than the median requirement of the target score, for example, scoring 740 (if the median of the target school is 720). But given that fact and an added burden of avg. CGPA, do you think scoring another 20 points, i.e. a 760 would be better? Or there is not much difference between the two scores?

I wanted to understand how a 730/740 and a 760/770 score is seen differently by the adcomms, given the avg. CGPA. Any thoughts?

SSS001 · Answer

Thank you  bb .

I can now understand how the GPAs or CGPAs are seen 'relatively' by the schools. And as you mentioned, it depends on the no.of applicants and the time as well.

I think it's a pretty clear direction to not worry too much about what has already happened and the things that are not in your control. Rather we should focus on the GMAT itself and the other positive aspects of the application. And if the acad. explicitly looks terribly detrimental to our selection, only and only then we should try to compensate by taking on just a couple of courses.

But GMAT comes first. Always !

Admissionado · Answer

Once you get into the 730+ range, it doesn't not really matter. You aren't going to get extra points for doing better on the GMAT. There are so many candidates who score 750+ that the school has their pick of the litter. It comes down to the other components in the application such as school attended/GPA, ECAs, relative strength of essays and LORs, work experience, industry represented, awards, etc. Put in another way: The GMAT is something that can keep you out of a school but can't get you into one. Does that make sense?

SSS001 · Answer

I get your point  Admissionado .

It was pretty critical for me to understand this difference. I was aiming for the peak of GMAT score, but I guess I should not worry between scoring a 740 and a 760. It's pretty much the same, and I should rather work on the other aspects of my application and make them shine.

Thanks for this perceptive. It's extremely helpful.

How valuable are Online Courses to compensate for avg. academics?

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