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boosikc
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Will having one 'U' mark on transcript hurt my chances at top MBA? 12 Oct 2018, 19:37
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Hi all,

I am a graduate from one of ivy league schools (think of columbia, brown, penn...) and I graduated with 3.9 cumulative GPA there. I am currently serving as a military officer and upon completing my duty, I intend to work for a consulting firm at one of Asian regions.

So here is my dilemma...

I was actually a transfer student to Columbia and before transferring to Columbia I attended Georgetown in my freshman year.

At Georgetown, I took one-credit Pass/Fail course (something like Map of the Modern World...) that is not calculated in GPA, and I failed, which got me to have 'U'(unsatisfactory) mark on my transcript (Its grade was determined solely by one final exam, and I was extremely sick that day). Since I was transferring out of the school, I did not have chance to make up the failure grade, although it did not affect my GPA.

Will having one U hurt my chances at top MBA school, assuming that I will be having good GMAT, work experience, volunteer experience and essay? Will writing an optional essay for it resolve such concerns? I am just very concerned that ADCOM might raise very serious red flag on that single mark.

I would greatly appreciate your input and advice.
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Will having one 'U' mark on transcript hurt my chances at top MBA? 12 Oct 2018, 21:53
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boosikc no, this will not be your undoing. if you have any context for this, do address in optional essay, but if you dont I would avoid drawing attention to it. this is a holistic process. dont focus or worry about this; think more about your strengths and USP for your essays. They are not looking for applicants who check all the boxes as much as applicants who have demonstrated they will enhance their school MBA community and reputation.

boosikc
Hi all,

I am a graduate from one of ivy league schools (think of columbia, brown, penn...) and I graduated with 3.9 cumulative GPA there. I am currently serving as a military officer and upon completing my duty, I intend to work for a consulting firm at one of Asian regions.

So here is my dilemma...

I was actually a transfer student to Columbia and before transferring to Columbia I attended Georgetown in my freshman year.

At Georgetown, I took one-credit Pass/Fail course (something like Map of the Modern World...) that is not calculated in GPA, and I failed, which got me to have 'U'(unsatisfactory) mark on my transcript (Its grade was determined solely by one final exam, and I was extremely sick that day). Since I was transferring out of the school, I did not have chance to make up the failure grade, although it did not affect my GPA.

Will having one U hurt my chances at top MBA school, assuming that I will be having good GMAT, work experience, volunteer experience and essay? Will writing an optional essay for it resolve such concerns? I am just very concerned that ADCOM might raise very serious red flag on that single mark.

I would greatly appreciate your input and advice.
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Will having one 'U' mark on transcript hurt my chances at top MBA? 15 Oct 2018, 02:42
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boosikc
Hi all,

I am a graduate from one of ivy league schools (think of columbia, brown, penn...) and I graduated with 3.9 cumulative GPA there. I am currently serving as a military officer and upon completing my duty, I intend to work for a consulting firm at one of Asian regions.

So here is my dilemma...

I was actually a transfer student to Columbia and before transferring to Columbia I attended Georgetown in my freshman year.

At Georgetown, I took one-credit Pass/Fail course (something like Map of the Modern World...) that is not calculated in GPA, and I failed, which got me to have 'U'(unsatisfactory) mark on my transcript (Its grade was determined solely by one final exam, and I was extremely sick that day). Since I was transferring out of the school, I did not have chance to make up the failure grade, although it did not affect my GPA.

Will having one U hurt my chances at top MBA school, assuming that I will be having good GMAT, work experience, volunteer experience and essay? Will writing an optional essay for it resolve such concerns? I am just very concerned that ADCOM might raise very serious red flag on that single mark.

I would greatly appreciate your input and advice.
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Hello boosikc,

Thanks for your query.

Frankly, what is done is done :-) Its time now to focus on the stronger points in your application; work on a stellar set of essays and put forth a logical set of career goals. Since you have a valid reason for the low grade, you could always address this in the Optional Essay. This should help clarify things.

Nonetheless, the bottom line is that worrying about this won't help :-) Just focus on presenting as strong an application as you can.

All the best!