How much do grades factor into MBA admissions?

[micbain]

Okay, so I went back to my university student center and have calculated my official GPA (my last post was based on memory).

Overall: 3.3
Last two: 3.7

My overall is still on the low side. Will these numbers haunt me?

 

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by micbain

Okay, so I went back to my university student center and have calculated my official GPA (my last post was based on memory).

Overall: 3.3
Last two: 3.7

My overall is still on the low side. Will these numbers haunt me?

3.3 overall will not sink you, though it's not super competitive. 3.7 is good, but not enough to get you automatic admittance. This is from my experience with grad schools though, not admittance to MBA programs.

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by micbain

Thanks for the info guys! Sounds like I will likely have an uphill battle which just means I need to really hit the GMAT out of the park and really think about my application.

Cheers,

Regarding the GMAT: A high enough score doesn't guarantee that you get admitted, but a low score guarantees that you don't get admitted.

 

[Don Carlos]

Bear in mind that "grades" is just a shorthand term for many things about one's transcript, and should not be simplified to raw GPA alone. "Transcript" is the more appropriate word, because it encompasses:

- GPA

- Areas of focus and subject matter of major

- Sufficiency of preparation in key areas (quant, finance, accounting, etc.)

- Degree of intellectual difficulty of program
* A 4.0 in art history won't be given preference over a 3.6 in a more quantitatively rigorous subject, for instance
* A transcript littered with guts and other GPA-boosters, especially at the expense of more rigorous material, will be a red flag

- Prestige and difficulty of the undergraduate institution itself

Because all of these things go into the mix, it's too simple and incorrect to say that GPA is GPA is GPA.

 

[Jbreen1]

This thread scares me.

 

[pebblegrain]

Originally Posted by micbain

Okay, so I went back to my university student center and have calculated my official GPA (my last post was based on memory).

Overall: 3.3
Last two: 3.7

My overall is still on the low side. Will these numbers haunt me?

Huge difference between 3.3 and 3.0. you are fine. I would not even try to "explain" a 3.3

 

[L.R.]

My understanding that the older you apply to top-tier MBA programs, the less GPA matters, and GMAT is taken as a more serious indicator. (Though, no idea about HBS, as that place is going young)


How serious are alternative transcripts taken? Say the OP were to take a few Quant classes and ace them, coupled with a high 700+ GMAT. Would that put him on the right track, or still be too little, too late?

 

[easy_golfing]

what are considered 'quant' classes? 1st year Calculus? or higher up like stats (calc based), lin algebra...?

 

[Viktri]

Originally Posted by micbain

I always hear people say that undergrad grades do not matter and its all about experience + gmat. How true is this for top 15 programs? I ask because I have an interesting situation. My cumulative GPA not the best due to my first year of uni which was horrible (C/C- average). I didn't attend class and generally was uninterested (arts student). Luckily I was able to transfer in the business program as I did well enough in econ/english/calc to get in and my last three years went fairly well (A-). I graded in 05, after which I did about 4 years of audit in a big 4, plus 2 years big 4 corporate finance (middle market m&a). Assuming I get a killer GMAT, am I good to go? Or is this GPA issue going to haunt me? Thanks!
If you went to a Canadian Uni, some admission committees will add some amount (0.2 to 0.5 iirc) to your GPA due to relative grade deflation in Canadian schools. Edit: Might be more accurate to say they lower the GPA requirements rather than add to your GPA.

 

[pebblegrain]

Originally Posted by L.R.

How serious are alternative transcripts taken? Say the OP were to take a few Quant classes and ace them, coupled with a high 700+ GMAT. Would that put him on the right track, or still be too little, too late?

Do you mean taking classes after work at a community college? You can try, it will place you above someone with the same ugrad GPA and no extra classes, but not above someone with a higher ugrad GPA

 

[Don Carlos]

Originally Posted by L.R.

My understanding that the older you apply to top-tier MBA programs, the less GPA matters, and GMAT is taken as a more serious indicator. (Though, no idea about HBS, as that place is going young) How serious are alternative transcripts taken? Say the OP were to take a few Quant classes and ace them, coupled with a high 700+ GMAT. Would that put him on the right track, or still be too little, too late?
Think of them as a sufficiency thing. If you're below sufficiency (i.e., don't have any such classes on an undergrad transcript), then you'll definitely benefit by adding them. If you've already got a decent quant record on your undergrad transcript, then they probably won't help all that much. They definitely won't hurt, though, as they'll demonstrate that you've viewed continuing education in these subjects as a personal priority and/or want to brush up on the subjects before starting b-school. Will they totally put you in line with someone who had a strong quant undergrad transcript from the get-go? No. Not on this particular dimension of the overall app, at any rate.

 

[Don Carlos]

Originally Posted by easy_golfing

what are considered 'quant' classes? 1st year Calculus? or higher up like stats (calc based), lin algebra...?

Stats is the most important quantitative discipline in most business school curriculums, and it forms the basis for a lot of your subjects that use any sort of computational component. If you've got a college-level stats class on your transcript, that's about the bare minimum. More helps. A lot more definitely helps. I don't think one 1st year calc class will be sufficient.

 

[stant62]

How much leeway does the admissions committee give if you graduated from a school notorious for grade deflation (top 50 private)? For reference, I'm graduating with a 3.22, which is 0.09 from *** laude and I'll be starting as a front office analyst for a top Canadian bank.

 

[Don Carlos]

Originally Posted by stant62

How much leeway does the admissions committee give if you graduated from a school notorious for grade deflation (top 50 private)? For reference, I'm graduating with a 3.22, which is 0.09 from *** laude and I'll be starting as a front office analyst for a top Canadian bank.

Tough to say. If your school is well known to the b-schools to which you're applying, then presumably its grade deflation policies are also well known. If that's the case, you should be fine. But if it's not well known, you could be in minor to moderate trouble. Grade deflation = teh suck.

 

[micbain]

Originally Posted by Viktri

If you went to a Canadian Uni, some admission committees will add some amount (0.2 to 0.5 iirc) to your GPA due to relative grade deflation in Canadian schools.
Edit: Might be more accurate to say they lower the GPA requirements rather than add to your GPA.

Was this your experience?