EssaySnark

What to do about a low GPA

by EssaySnark

EssaySnark back again (what, so soon??), this with a brief comment on GPA and what to consider when you evaluate your own past academic performance in preparation for your application to a top business school. Self-Assess GPA: Are you in the comfort zone? First, just like with GMAT, check the mean GPA of the current…

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Here's what others have said about this:

  1. I am getting my BS&MS degree in Teaching Mathematics in a month with a GPA of ~2.5. In my transcript, I have tons of Fs, I was a really bad student in the first years, because I was working all the time, since my family was not able to send me money (I read your article about not to write excuses in an essay lol). Anyway, in the last year, I managed to pass a total of 18 courses (that is normally two years load) and I took probability, statistics, microeconomics, calculus, differential equations and so many more math and physics classes in the last 3-4 years. Also, in my last Kaplan GMAT Practice test, I scored 97% in Quant and 89 percent in verbal. If we assume that was my real GMAT score, what do you think of my chances to get into HAAS MFE?.. OR MFE or MBA of any top schools?

  2. EssaySnark says, a 2.5 GPA is going to be hard to overcome to any top program. And, for the Haas MBA, they want ~5 yrs work exp. EssaySnark has little hope for you for the Haas MBA without fixing these two weaknesses.

    With the MFE, they're more flexible with the work exp reqmt, but when applying straight from school, they want to see serious academic accomplmt. So this isn't very hopeful either.

    You have already identified the points that you should raise to the adcom, probably in the optional essay – and these are valid, just be short and sweet when you tell them: give the facts around working in the early years (hrs/week, exact job(s) you held); don't mention “my family was not able to send me money” just explain how much you worked.

    Then explain how you finished the last 18 courses in half the time. Provided you got good grades in those, especially in the harder math classes, then you *might* have a chance here. If the past year you still weren't above a 3.0, then this is unlikely.

    If you really get a 97% Q on the GMAT, you maybe have a chance – but in this case the low GPA cannot be simply erased with a high GMAT because the GPA is how you performed in the classroom recently, and the adcom will expect you to continue those patterns if going straight to another program.

    This combo of low GPA plus no work experience is going to be tough at the top bschools. Without work experience, all they evaluate are your transcripts and any internships, and the GMAT. Usually the only kids who get into bschool straight from undergrad are the superstars, who show evidence of knockout achievement on campus. You don't have that story to tell, unless your most recent year was straight As. That would have weight. Taking all the classes in just one year without doing well in them indicates you couldn't really hack it, that you were just in a hurry to get out. People who love school get good grades, and some adcoms love people who love school – those ones often gain admission the easiest.

    So, it can work perhaps, but you'll have some 'splaining to do. (And of course you need to explain the career goals — with so much education already, why do you need more?)

  3. I am got a GPA of 6.9/10 from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in Aerospace Engg. amongst the class of 40 I would rank around 15-20 in my class. The scoring pattern was tough, but what I am scared of how will this GPA which comes to 2.8 on scale of 4 will impact? I got 4 years of great Work ex and Recommendations. I got a GMAT of 710, I might be a little late to join any course. How should I sketch my essay to anser my GPA?

  4. @downandhigh,

    It's unlikely that your GPA is only 2.8. You scored in the middle of your class, therefore it's more likely that your GPA is around 3.2 or so (this is just a very rough guess, you may want to get your transcripts translated by a service like WES). We're not experts in grade translations however all the top US bschools are. Some of them want you to do a conversion to the 4.0 scale, others want you to simply report your grades in the original scale. It still will help you to know the conversion so that you can assess how big of a weakness it is.

    If you're planning to apply for the admissions season that's just begun, then it's not too late for you to take a class to boost your academic profile. Round 1 deadlines don't hit until October. The 710 GMAT score is good (provided it's balanced), and the fact that you studied a difficult subject in university helps make the academics look a little better. However your profile is pretty common to many other Indian applicants. Taking a class could show the adcom that you're serious about getting an MBA and would be conclusive proof that you'll do well in the classroom. It can only help, with no disadvantage.

  5. Hi Essay Snark,

    In my undergraduate engineering degree, I scored 76% (considered honors in my undergraduation university). According to Columbia's conversion chart it's equivalent to a GPA of 2.3 which doesn't sound right as only two students scored higher than me in a class of 60.

    Should I get my GPA calculated by wes.org and report that in my applications?

  6. @ccatcher, great question. You're likely to have a MUCH higher equivalent GPA than 2.3; it's likely at least 3.3, actually (don't quote us on that though!). We're gonna post an article on the blog about this soon. You might want to use WES just for your own purposes, so that you have a clear sense of what your grades look like in the American system.

  8. Thanks for the detailed information. I've got another question about Kellogg-
    My GMAT score is 690 (35/73% verbal 49/86% quant) which clearly is not good enough for an Indian IT profile. I plan to write the GMAT again at the end of this month. The first part of the Kellogg application for R1 has to be finished by 22 Sep. I was wondering whether I should complete part1 with my current score and then update it in part 2 or get the scores and then apply in R2.

  9. Sorry ccatcher, meant to also reply to your Q: Your existing score *might* be good enough (depends on how your essays shape up, and your career goals). However, retesting is always a good idea if you think you can raise the score. Pretty sure that the Kellogg Part I app has a field where they ask if you're retesting. Use that to indicate that you are, and then yes, update the school with the new score when you submit Part II. This is a viable strategy. Even if your score doesn't go up, you can still submit in Round 1 (you may want to write a short optional essay if you don't, in fact, submit a new score though, just to explain things).

  10. Thanks ES. I also got my answer from the admissions people at Kellogg. I can report my new GMAT score as long as I write the GMAT before the part2 deadline.

  11. Hello EssaySnark

    I will be applying to the NYU Stern Langone PT program for this upcoming Fall. My undergraduate transcript would make you faint. I went to a state school for 5 years (graduated May 2011), and majored in Econ. Lots of C’s and B’s. A few F’s which I retook, dropped, dropped, and retook again to get a C. I wasn’t particularly bad at quants, but my grades in those classes weren’t consistent. Oh, and I changed my major like 5 times (at one point I had 3 majors!). Although I did well in my last year few years of school, I also took a semester off. I was paying for everything myself and have pretty much had a job the entire time. Also very active in the community (although I know I should not mention this). I was pretty much a busy-bee to the end, starting my job search super early and accepting an offer a semester before I graduated. I was a FT student and FT employee my last semester, giving me over 2 yrs of work experience (2.5 by the time I submit my app).

    I’ve gotten a 720 GMAT score (39V, 49Q). I’ve also already taken 2 UCLA Exntensino classes (Accounting 1a & Mathematics for Management), and gotten A’s in both (one is an A+.. perfect score). I’m also in the midst of taking 2 more classes which I will be done with before I submit my application (Quantitative Stats & Accounting 1b). While doing all of this, I’ve done really well at work, even won an award, and have a handful of extracirriculars, including being a committee lead to Ascend, a Pan-Asian Professional group (continuing my passion for Asian-American awareness from college).

    So my question is… is this enough to mitigate my LOW gpa to make me a competative candidate for NYU’s PT program?

    Thank you in advance!

    • Hey chris558 – thanks for the question. It’s a tricky situation, the biggest reason being that you graduated from college not all that long ago – it’s hard to make a case along the lines of “I didn’t think school was important” or “I didn’t have myself figurd out” or whatever when you’re only 1.5 years out from the experience. (Not that you said those things in your question, just reading between the lines.) The solid GMAT and your recent coursework is excellent, that shows the adcom that you have the capacity to handle the material, so that leaves us wondering what was really going on during college. The skeptical adcom-person may assume that you just didn’t care about school, and that’s sometimes a tough assumption to recover from. (They are essentially academics, after all.)

      NYU is not one that often overlooks the lower GPA but they have more flexibility with Langone compared to F/T. We can’t say for sure without getting a bigger picture of the entire candidacy – obviously your goals and the pitch and your overall presentation (particularly recommendations) will matter a LOT. You’re doing all that you can to try and offset this weakness, and that’s impressive. You’ll need to include a palatable optional essay to explain what was going on – that’s not always easy (be prepared to rewrite that one quite a bit). If you execute flawlessly on all those points… then sure, there’s a chance.

      Keep us posted, would be curious to know how this turns out!!!
      EssaySnark

      • Thank you for the super quick reply! What you say is true, I’ve got some ‘splanin to do. I already have a copy of my transcript and will be taking a walk down memory lane. I will definintely keep you posted.. I’ve been lurking around your blahg quite frequently so you can expect to be hearing from me again!!

        PS- I must say, what you’ve written is so much more refreshing than the same repetitive stuff I’ve heard or read from other consultants. I just got your strategy guide last night, and it offers like 10x more insight and actual information that I would WANT to know as an applicant than those “strategy guides” I’ve purchased from other consulting companies.

  12. Hi,

    I have a GPA of 2.56 and the 56th successful student of a 96 students class at Business Administration in a top university in Turkey. I do not have a valid reason to explain such performance.
    I have now a 5 year experience in public sector. I want to apply CBS and to prove that I will be a good student at classess, I took Statistics and Mathematics II courses during summer 2013 from my old school. I also took 12 week long Principle of Economics courses from Johns Hopkins SAIS and got “B”.

    My GRE Quant is 164 (89 % percintile) and Verbal is 150 (44 %) percentile. I am also a graduate student at one of the top universities here in Turkey right now, at the program of European Studies.

    Do I need to write an optional essay? If so what would be good to mention and not to mention?

    Thanks

    • @voyagegrande, this is going to be a rather tricky profile for Columbia – particularly if you haven’t applied yet!! You need to get that app in NOW. Each day that goes by represents a greater disadvantage.

      You do need to write the optional essay, exactly as we’ve stated repeatedly here on the blahg. You may want to review more of our posts about it. You are helping your case considerably with the courses you’ve taken. However the verbal score on your GRE is very low; that may be a showstopper issue for you. There’s quite a few obstacles here, unfortunately. 🙁

      If you want further assistance then we strongly recommend going for the Grades and Transcripts App Accelerator.

      EssaySnark

      • thanks for that quick response,
        Another question whether it would be good for me to submit my GMAT score:

        ınt reas 4(37 %)
        quant 44(61 %)
        verbal 23 (31%)
        and total 560 (49 %)

  13. Hello there! I received a 2.7 GPA from UVA APMA Engineering, back in 1999. I’m applying to NYU’s EMBA program and have a very strong resume (wound up in finance). I have no reason for my poor GPA; I just enjoyed partying a bit (ok, a lot) too much to keep up with the rigorous program. I failed a chemical engineering class, and also received a D in an APMA class….there isn’t rhyme or reason to it. My GPA was actually average for applied math back in the 90s, so I hope they take this into consideration. I’m not taking the GMATs, since NYU waives them. NYU’s application requires me to select Y/N to the question of whether my grades are reflective of my ability. If I select No, then I have to provide an explanation. I was going to write: “UVA’s Applied Mathematics Engineering program was extremely demanding. Regrettably, I did not dedicate enough time to my studies.” Or is this a bad idea?

    • @seh13w, thanks for the question! NYU is obviously a great school and they’ll look at the entire picture including your recent successes in finance as part of the evaluation. Yes definitely answer “no” to that in-app question, but giving more context and insight would be helpful. WHY did you not dedicate enough time? You don’t necessarily need to be as candid as you were here about the partying (though sometimes people are, and it can be refreshing — if done appropriately!). Our advice is to skip the “extremely demanding” comment and especially don’t mention anything about the GPA being average back then (if that were the case, then it would mean that everyone was partying too much, and that’s why the average was so low — those reasons don’t work when offered together).

      With a GPA this low then we do suggest looking for other recent ways to provide substantive proof of abilities. Obviously a career in finance does show that you can find your way around a spreadsheet — though there are many areas of finance where quant ability isn’t even that necessary. We suggest doing the Executive Assessment, GMAC’s newer test which is designed exactly for people like you. Even if the school does not technically require it, in this case it would go a long way to showing that you are really motivated and committed to the next step in your education and you’re willing to go beyond what’s minimum in order to prove that you mean it. This would settle any concerns that they may have and would very easily offset the negative of a long-ago weak academic performance.

      (Note to anyone reading this who’s trying for a full-time MBA: The GMAT does not fully offset a very poor performance from college; it most definitely helps but the EMBA case is different in flavor and nuance, so this advice may not fully apply to your specifics.)

      Hope that helps! Good luck with the app and let us know if you have other questions!

      EssaySnark