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28 Apr 2011, 14:16
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi All,
I have a question about how the GPA is calculated for an MBA program. Right out of HS (will be 10 years ago by the time that I apply), I enrolled in an undergrad program. Due to a myriad of personal reasons (which may or may not prove compelling to the adcomms), I didn't do well at all. I believe the GPA for that coursework would be about 2.8/2.9.
After taking a few years off to get my personal affairs in order, I returned to school in 2009. I changed schools and majors. I have been working in the aviation field in positions of increasing responsibility for almost five years now. In my new program, I have a 3.98 and will be graduating with honors.
Does the MBA admissions program have something similar to the LSAC that requires that all UG coursework be combined to yield your combined GPA? I have read in various places that more emphasis is placed on the junior and senior years as well as WE. I would really like to go to law school but it seems that my past GPA issues would not be looked as favorably upon as they may be for an MBA program. This would make the difference in a top tier MBA program and a likely second tier law program.
While it's certainly understood that one must pay for their mistakes, I would like to create the best opportunity possible for my graduate work. I have learned a great deal from those issues and would like to move forward.
Can anyone offer any advice?
Thanks!
I have a question about how the GPA is calculated for an MBA program. Right out of HS (will be 10 years ago by the time that I apply), I enrolled in an undergrad program. Due to a myriad of personal reasons (which may or may not prove compelling to the adcomms), I didn't do well at all. I believe the GPA for that coursework would be about 2.8/2.9.
After taking a few years off to get my personal affairs in order, I returned to school in 2009. I changed schools and majors. I have been working in the aviation field in positions of increasing responsibility for almost five years now. In my new program, I have a 3.98 and will be graduating with honors.
Does the MBA admissions program have something similar to the LSAC that requires that all UG coursework be combined to yield your combined GPA? I have read in various places that more emphasis is placed on the junior and senior years as well as WE. I would really like to go to law school but it seems that my past GPA issues would not be looked as favorably upon as they may be for an MBA program. This would make the difference in a top tier MBA program and a likely second tier law program.
While it's certainly understood that one must pay for their mistakes, I would like to create the best opportunity possible for my graduate work. I have learned a great deal from those issues and would like to move forward.
Can anyone offer any advice?
Thanks!
28 Apr 2011, 15:53
Kudos
Bookmarks
Generally speaking, b-schools are more forgiving of GPAs than law schools.
Part of the reason is self-selection historically: those with the strong GPAs tended to be the kinds of people who gunned for the top law and med school programs (and their prime motivation was to get the strongest grades possible). Also, law and medicine is far more numbers oriented: it's essentially a combo of your GPA and LSAT/MCAT.
B-school admissions is much more subjective and encompasses a wider range of criteria: namely the "quality" of your work experience to date (which is subjective), your narrative as conveyed in your essays and interview (which is subjective), your colleagues' assessment of you through the rec letters (which is subjective), branding/pedigree of your education and employers (which again is subjective), and your GPA and GMAT.
GPAs are not irrelevant, but in the overall scheme of things for b-school admissions, they are usually the least important. Even between the GMAT and GPA, the GMAT tends to be looked at more closely. In other words, a lower-than-average GMAT is a bigger handicap (and sometimes an insurmountable one) compared to a lower-than-average GPA.
This also reflects the needs of the post-grad recruiters. In law and medicine, the career paths are very structured, so it's less about "prior experience" and so the primary metric is your grad school academics (your grades and pedigree of your law/med school). In law, you work for a law firm as an associate until you're eligible for partner - it's very much an apprenticeship that is similar in nature across many firms and practices. In medicine, you intern, specialize and move up the ranks in a very structured and predetermined way (relatively speaking compared to business). That's one of the main reasons why law and med schools look almost exclusively at academics, because that's how their grads are being judged initially when they graduate and get placed in their first "apprenticeship".
In business, whether its corporate or startup land, the post-MBA positions are far more ambiguous. There is no such thing as a "standard post-MBA" job like there is in accredited professions such as law, medicine or architecture, and the level of responsibility and nature of your duties and knowledge/skill required varies a lot by industry. There is no standard or structured career path for MBAs. As such, recruiters tend to evaluate your potential hiring within a larger context (i.e. your overall body of work as a whole - your prior experience, your schooling, your connections/network, your interests, your "fit" with the firm -- all of which tend to be much more important than hiring new JDs or MDs). Also, it's because a JD and MD are specialist degrees, whereas an MBA is a generalist degree - in business it's less about the *hard skills* you learn directly from b-school, and more about how the MBA coupled with your prior experience and career ambitions as a whole fits into what you can provide for the company. That's why b-school adcoms tend to look at a broader range of things that are often more subjective - also because the post-MBA recruiting process is also so subjective.
In your case, your most recent grades certainly can balance out your grades from 8-10 years ago, but in the big picture it's not really going to matter as much as your overall resume (and how well you execute the essays and interviews obviously).
Part of the reason is self-selection historically: those with the strong GPAs tended to be the kinds of people who gunned for the top law and med school programs (and their prime motivation was to get the strongest grades possible). Also, law and medicine is far more numbers oriented: it's essentially a combo of your GPA and LSAT/MCAT.
B-school admissions is much more subjective and encompasses a wider range of criteria: namely the "quality" of your work experience to date (which is subjective), your narrative as conveyed in your essays and interview (which is subjective), your colleagues' assessment of you through the rec letters (which is subjective), branding/pedigree of your education and employers (which again is subjective), and your GPA and GMAT.
GPAs are not irrelevant, but in the overall scheme of things for b-school admissions, they are usually the least important. Even between the GMAT and GPA, the GMAT tends to be looked at more closely. In other words, a lower-than-average GMAT is a bigger handicap (and sometimes an insurmountable one) compared to a lower-than-average GPA.
This also reflects the needs of the post-grad recruiters. In law and medicine, the career paths are very structured, so it's less about "prior experience" and so the primary metric is your grad school academics (your grades and pedigree of your law/med school). In law, you work for a law firm as an associate until you're eligible for partner - it's very much an apprenticeship that is similar in nature across many firms and practices. In medicine, you intern, specialize and move up the ranks in a very structured and predetermined way (relatively speaking compared to business). That's one of the main reasons why law and med schools look almost exclusively at academics, because that's how their grads are being judged initially when they graduate and get placed in their first "apprenticeship".
In business, whether its corporate or startup land, the post-MBA positions are far more ambiguous. There is no such thing as a "standard post-MBA" job like there is in accredited professions such as law, medicine or architecture, and the level of responsibility and nature of your duties and knowledge/skill required varies a lot by industry. There is no standard or structured career path for MBAs. As such, recruiters tend to evaluate your potential hiring within a larger context (i.e. your overall body of work as a whole - your prior experience, your schooling, your connections/network, your interests, your "fit" with the firm -- all of which tend to be much more important than hiring new JDs or MDs). Also, it's because a JD and MD are specialist degrees, whereas an MBA is a generalist degree - in business it's less about the *hard skills* you learn directly from b-school, and more about how the MBA coupled with your prior experience and career ambitions as a whole fits into what you can provide for the company. That's why b-school adcoms tend to look at a broader range of things that are often more subjective - also because the post-MBA recruiting process is also so subjective.
In your case, your most recent grades certainly can balance out your grades from 8-10 years ago, but in the big picture it's not really going to matter as much as your overall resume (and how well you execute the essays and interviews obviously).
28 Apr 2011, 15:59
Kudos
Bookmarks
Excellent. Thank you very much! I'm looking at a MBA/JD program. I'm hoping that may be the way to go rather than straight JD. I don't think I have the grades to go where I want to go JD-wise, but it's looking promising through MBA.
