Low GPA..how to address that

Question

Hi, I have graduated from a Indian university where we were awarded aggregate percentages and I scored 77% which is above average (the highest in my class was 82%). But, if translated to the GPA style (as given in the mba.com site), it turns out to be 2.7 which is very low.

How do I tell the school that the GPA is not the true indicator of my performance in the class? Should I use optional essay to address this or it (explaining) won't make any difference?

ncp · Answer

No need to translate percentages to GPA. This is pretty common and B-schools know how to evaluate your UG grades. Enter your % as it is in the application forms.

krishan · Answer

oh...that's fine then. Thanks ncp.

billyjeans · Answer

I think I read the Richard's book, and it says best way is to show you how you stack up against your peers. For example, you can say my 77% grade is ranked top 3% of the class. Now you turned a tough situation to your advantage.

benpack03 · Answer

Do schools address the difficulty of the degree? For instance I have a 2.8 from a top 25 State school but I have two seperate degrees in Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering. Also the school is known for its tough engineering school. If I had known what I know now, I would have gone into business or poli sci and gotten a 3.5!

I am trying to get a good score on the GMAT, but the factor above drives me crazy......I feel some MBA Ad Coms just have no idea.

I am trying to get a good score on the GMAT, but the factor above drives me crazy......I feel some MBA Ad Coms just have no idea.

Jerz · Answer

I would give the adcoms more credit. They see thousands of applications each year from a wide range of undergraduate institutions and majors. For the most part, they have a pretty good sense of which schools/majors have tougher grading or a tougher curriculum than others.

benpack03 · Answer

I respectfully disagree......

I minored in business and had a 3.5 in those classes. My engineering GPA was around a 2.8. I have heard from law schools that you at least need to add around .6 to get it right.

unhedged · Answer

When I asked an admissions consultant for a free eval on one of those bweek threads, he told me that it is about 0.4. So, a 3.0 in engineering would be bucketed with GPAs in the 3.4 range.

However, I kind of wonder about those schools that have 26% of people from engineering AND have GPA averages around 3.5 (i.e. Booth, MIT).

Low GPA..how to address that

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