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740 GMAT, poor GPA, i want to hear some opinions

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740 GMAT, poor GPA, i want to hear some opinions

by vagasoee » Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:48 am
I took the GMAT 3 days ago and i scored 740, it could have been 10 or 20 points more but i think with this score it would be greedy not to be happy. So here is my profile:
GMAT: 740
GPA: 6,1/10 (3 classes to go for the degree)
Uni: Athens University of Economics and Business, department of Informatics (about 1/3 of my classes were business related quantitative and qualitative research methods and statistics)
Languages:
-English: an old CAE but 89 percentile in the GMAT verbal section and with little preparation i can score 7.0+ in IELTS fairly easily
-German: Zertfikat Deutsch (a bit rusty on the use of german but still got the basis)

I want to apply for RSM(Rotterdam) Msc in International Management/CEMS(min reqs GPA:7/10 GMAT:600). I understand that my GPA is very weak but also I am afraid whether the Admission Office will evaluate my degree as related to management. What do you think? Do i have any chance or should I start to look for alternative options?

Thanks in advance!
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by essaysnark » Fri Dec 09, 2011 11:07 am
Hey vagasoee - first off - CONGRATS ON THAT GMAT SCORE!! We agree, it might seem "greedy" to be complaining. :wink: You should be proud of this!! It will open some doors for you.

You're right that the academics are not that strong however it sounds like your coursework is very quantitatively rigorous - perhaps more so than typical. The schools do look at the whole package, though, and since you're coming straight from college into a master's program, your academic record actually counts for more than it otherwise would, as it's the best evidence they have for how you'd perform in the grad program. So unfortunately there is a bit of a dark mark here, as you have recognized.

Was there something going on in your time at university that contributed to the lower performance? If you had a personal situation, like a sick family member or parents divorcing, or you got injured, or if you were also working a job to put yourself through school, then any of these things can help you account the performance. You should be sure to inform the adcom about such a situation, usually in an optional essay (we don't have the RSM essays at hand so maybe there's room for this type of explanation in the main essays). We've got some posts about this on our blog - not all are totally related to your exact situation but they're at least in the ballpark:

https://essaysnark.blocked/2011/09/ ... rgrad.html
https://essaysnark.blocked/2011/10/ ... w-gpa.html

Also, if your grades were lower at first but then improved over time, then this will also be in your favor. They will look most closely at your most recent record.

The academics are not the most important thing though they do count for a lot. You have proven, with the GMAT, that you can handle the material, so they may simply be more concerned about your motivation and your reasons for wanting to go straight back to school. You might have a bigger hurdle to reach with that angle than anything else - and you can't just say something like "I wasn't very excited by my undergrad studies but I'm *really* excited by the Msc program..." - you'd need to do a little more to "prove" it. :-)

Not an easy task for sure but you're a smart cookie, we bet you can pull it off!! :D

Anyway, bottom line is you should ALWAYS be looking for alternatives too - yes you should go for the app to RSM but see about other programs that might work for you - there are so many these days! Check out this article if you didn't see it before: https://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/f33544d6 ... z1fs3D9ARU

Let us know what you decide and if you've got other questions, shoot them over!
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by Jon@Admissionado » Sat Dec 10, 2011 2:20 am
Dude, with your GMAT, you just go for it! I think your success there will definitely prove to them your academic capabilities. And for RSM, in my experience you are a good candidate. So just go for it!

PS, very good that you got some Deutsch in the mix too. They are gonna like that!
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by vagasoee » Sat Dec 10, 2011 4:19 am
Ok, you just made my day!
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by essaysnark » Sat Dec 10, 2011 10:16 am
PrecisionEssay wrote:Dude, with your GMAT, you just go for it! I think your success there will definitely prove to them your academic capabilities.
Wow we hate to see such advice. GMAT score != academic capabilities. GPA == academic capabilities.
EssaySnark has MBA application guides for HBS, Stanford, Booth, Wharton, NYU and pretty much any other school you can name - including a fully revised and expanded 2015 Columbia essay guide!
https://essaysnark.com/bookstore/
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