Low GPA, high GMAT. Would Oxford consider me?

Question

Hi guys,

I'm a hopeful Oxford applicant and am looking to apply in Round 1 this September. I'm curious about how the adcomms feel about applicants who have a low undergrad. GPA (in my case, 3.0 in Electrical Engineering from a school in Canada), but a GMAT above the school average (700 in my case)?

My larger goal from an MBA is to move towards management in the renewable Energy industry. I'm from Newfoundland in Canada, where wind energy development is expected to explode a few years from now and I want to get into the industry in a management capacity. Since wind development is a much larger industry in Europe (and most of the large players in the field are from Europe), I feel like doing an MBA overseas would be a very good move for my career. From an academic perspective, is this feasible?

mrlittleleo · Answer

Hey Solarus, 
I believe you can probably give it a shot as long as you have solid career track record that can indicate your effort towards your aspiration. (plus else in the application package such as essays, interview etc.) Oxford does consider students with GPA below 3.5 every year should the admission believe you got the potential. My two cents, hope that helps.

Solarus · Answer

Thanks for the reply mrlittleleo. I've seen a few wonder stories of people with very low GPAs getting in before, I just wasn't sure how commonplace it is. From a purely academic standpoint, I'm not sure what would be considered "balanced" on the sliding scale of GPA vs GMAT. I have an extremely heavy upswing in grades during my senior year (3.7 GPA during senior year), but I had an abysmal first couple of years in university. I do think that I can work the upward trend into my story (since that is actually what happened), so I'm hoping this can temper the blow somewhat.

thanks again

Yudanashi · Answer

Hey Solarus,

I had a GPA of ~3.3 from a middling US school and a GRE of 160/160 (80% percentiles) and 5+ yrs of work experience for a blue-chip firm and was able to get in. I saw go for it and come join us!

asimov · Answer

b-school admission is more than just GPA and GMAT. It is more about telling a compiling story about your career progression, and aligning that with your career goal and school choice. Your career goal and it's alignment with why MBA is Europe makes a lot of sense. I would recommend thinking about the "why Oxford" part.

BTW, I think your GMAT more than offset your GPA. I remember in my application year (2010), one guy got in Oxford and INSEAD with 2.9 GPA and wrote a forum recap on his experience. You can try to search for it.

P.S. If you are not 100% set on Oxford yet, you should also looking schools with dual degree in the US like Fuqua, Yale, and Ross. Those are considered the 3 Trinity schools for MBA and energy/environment. Students places very well into renewable energy.

VeritasPrepEdison · Answer

Agree with the encouraging advices above, your higher than average GMAT will help address potential concerns on your academic potential. The upward trend of your GPA would also help show how you have matured. These would show your readiness to benefit from and contribute to your peers and the MBA program.

bb · Answer

Low GPA, high GMAT. Would Oxford consider me?

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