Ask Stacy Blackman

Very informative thread. Thanks for your responses Lisa.

In regards to Undergarduate GPA, I had repeated a few classes during undergrad (from community colleges - as it was less expensive)to be a better candidate for Dental school admissions as they used my average GPA. My university GPA without those classes was 2.6 and with those CC classes was 2.9. I went to to be admitted to Dental school with a competative DAT score and graduated. Two years after, I am now looking into Top 15 MBA schools in the east coast, since I have found a niche in a health care management field and am being sponsered by my company. When applying, should I use my cumlative undergraduate GPA from various schools (average GPA)? Also, I went on the graduate Dental school with a 3.1 ( although I realize that may not not matter for MBA admissions)

I recently took the GMAT and scored a 660 and have solid refrences from my managers. Would it be OK if i'm on pace to apply in the 2nd rounds of admission thsi year?

Thanks,
Brian

Lisa,
I'd like to join the other posters in thanking you for your insights.
I'm hoping I can get your thoughts as well.
Here's some background on me.

- I'm in Canada (Toronto)
- 30 years old
- Undergrad GPA - around a C+ overall. My target school (Schulich/York) asks for a B average in the last two years. my trend has been upward, but I still might fall short of that.
- Undergrad is a BA in Political Science.
- GMAT: 710 (48 Quant/40 Verbal)
- I have about 8 years of work experience in the insurance field, and in risk management.
- I've done some volunteer work, including the big brothers program. My extra curriculars are not extremely extensive otherwise.
- my undergrad has been a part time venture over the last 7-8 years, but my grades suffered earlier on really due to a lack of discipline. I've smartened up and got my academics back on track toward the end, I just hope it was not too little too late.
- I had started out pursuing my undergrad in business admin, my grades in stats were pretty weak. I'm hoping that the decent GMAT score will compensate?

Thanks in advance.

Lisa thank you for the knowledge.

I'm curious as to what level of detail the admissions committee digs into your undergraduate transcript.

I graduated with a BS in electrical engineering from a large state school with a cumulative GPA of 2.89

I never had to crack a book in highschool to succeed and as a result i never developed good study habits, combine that with my immaturity and I performed very poorly my first couple years in school(~2.0 GPA). Once it finally "clicked" for me i was able to maintain a 3.65 gpa my final two years including all my upper level (more difficult) engineering courses.

I got a 750 on the GMAT.

Would it be worth it for me to build an alternate transcript or will pointing to my performance the last two years of undergrad be enough to alleviate any doubts? I assume my GMAT will help significantly as well.

Is explaining this situation in my essays something your consulting firm can help with? I've got great work experience/recommendations and if I could just overcome what looks like a poor GPA on the surface i think I'd be comepetive at some of the top schools

thanks,

ben

Dear Lisa, here's my profile

Cum GPA : 2.94
last 2 years GPA : 3.4
working experience : 6 years (bank)
educational background : aeronautics engineering from top engineering institute in Indonesia
exposures : I was deployed in several high level projects in my company, got promoted 3 times during 6 years of service.
GMAT taken : 2 times ( 1st : 610, 2nd : 640 )

My B-School targets
1. Michigan : Ross
2. UT-Austin : Mccombs
3. U Southern California : Marshall
4. Emory : Goizueta
5. Indiana : Kelley

What do you think about my targets? Are they too optimistic?
What can I do with my current profile? (Retake GMAT? Concentrating on aplication and essays?)

Thank you.

Best regards,
Ronald

Hi Lisa,

Could you please advise me on the following?

I want to be able to effectively translate my CGPA to the 4.0 scale and hence understand my chances for the MIM programs in Tier 1 schools such as LBS , Duke MMS , HEC Paris etc (or if this does not work out due to low gpa- mba a few yrs down the line in top20-30 programs). I have studied in India at BITS- Pilani as a Bachelors in Engineering and Masters in Science(Perhaps you have heard of IIT or Indian Institutes of Technology - BITS Pilani ranks just after a few IIT's and is quite well known in Universities in the US).

My CGPA on 10 is 6.95. This is a direct result of 2-3 terrible semesters in my third year. The grading system is as follows:
A grade ( granted to approx top 10% of the class)
B Grade ( granted to next 20-25% of the class)
C Grade ( granted to next 40% of the class)
D Grade ( granted to next 15-20% of the class) - I have several of these in my 3rd and 4th year!
(My grades are terrible in theoretical maths courses - completely theory based - theorums and axioms - no quant hence very dry)
E Grade (granted to the bottom 5-10% of the class)

I am quite confused as I believe American universities have 2.5 as the minimum GPA to graduate - which would make it equivalent to 4.5/10 in our system. Does that mean my GPA would convert to approx 3 in the US system? Is y=(x-2)/2 a more effective method to convert gpa out of 10 (x) to 4.0 scale (y) /
What will be my GPA equivalent as determined by American B Schools (such as the University of Fuqua)

The thing is I have extraordinary Extra curriculars
1.( part of the reason my GPA dipped - founded a Finance club, led a Literary and Debating Club, led the fund raising and marketing efforts for the college national festival, represented India at an international business case study competition -14 out of 2500 teams from 14 countries and a research paper in portfolio optimization at a national conference)
2. GMAT score of 720 (q 49, v 39)
3. internship in a non profit and a company

Lastly, based on how my GPA is interpreted by the ad com I will consider not applying for the MIM program and plan for applying for an MBA a few yrs down the line. In that case I would need to build an alternative transcript, right?

Thank you for your time.

Hi Lisa,

Thank you so much for your participation in this incredible thread. My stats are as follows:
-750 GMAT (48Q, 44V)
-3.35 cum GPA from Texas A&M, Finance major (but ~3.0 GPA in quant courses)
-Currently 2.5 years WE for small, local commercial lenders, nothing sexy (will have 3 years upon matriculation)
-Average extra curriculars
-Thus far, most of my recommendations have admittedly been provided by peers from internships or summer work, instead of recommendations from supervisors at full time jobs

So far I have not be accepted anywhere-
I have been dinged without interview at Yale and Harvard
I have been dinged without waitlist at Duke, Dartmouth, and UNC (self-initiated interviews)
I have been dinged without waitlist at UT McCombs (invited to interview)

Are these dings unusual considering my profile? Or is there a glaring weakness?

Also, for my Round 2 applications, I am planning on applying to
-USC
-UCLA
-Vanderbilt
-Georgetown
-Indiana

Are these out of my league too?

Thank you so much for your advice!!

Hi Lisa,

I too am faced with the situation of having a low GPA. I started in 1994 as a freshman at a Cal State school and majored in biology. Due to a combination of factors (immaturity, not having a knack for the science and difficult math courses, lack of focus, involved in sports, working), I wound up with D's and F's in some of my classes. A couple of years later, I finally switched to a different major (Radio/TV/Film), which I enjoyed. Once I switched majors, my GPA started to improve towards the end--I got A's and B's in my major courses. Unfortunately too much damage was done from staying in the biology major, and I wound up graduating Dec. 2000 with a 2.57 Cumulative GPA.

I decided to pursue a second Bachelor's degree at the same university- this time in Art with a concentration in Graphic Design. I started school Fall 2001, and since I had already met the general education requirements, my curriculum was mostly comprised of art and graphic design related courses. Unfortunately I went through a couple of devastating events during this time--my grandmother's death, and the breakup of a serious relationship in which I had been with the person for 7 years. I had to do a withdrawal from classes for Fall 2002. I came back to school for Spring 2003, but got C's and U's (which count as F's) since I was not emotionally ready. Fall 2003, I was back on track and got A's and B's. I graduated December 2003 with a GPA of 2.61.

My profile is as follows:
-Bachelors TV/Film/Multimedia 2.57
-Bachelors Art/Graphic Design 2.61
-Have been working 8 years full-time as a designer, and have been at the same company for the last 6 1/2 years. My current role is designing the interior and covers for books, but also designing advertising and promotions for the marketing team. There has been no advancement since I started working there; the company I work for doesn't have much room for growth, and the job market for designers has been pretty tough the last few years.
-In the past, I've done pro-bono work for a few non-profits (-animal rescues who are unfortunately no longer around). I recently reached out to a few non-profits (a couple of animal rescues, plus a non-profit org that helps at-risk youth) to see if I can help them with their design and marketing. I enjoy working with non-profits since it gives me a chance to lead and utilize my design and marketing skills.
-Interesting tidbit about me: I'm a woman who's been playing competitive hockey in a men's league since 1997.

In pursuing an MBA, I'd specifically like a concentration in marketing or international business. My goal is to one day be a Creative Director or Product Marketing Manager. Ideally, I'd like to work in media, sports, or for a non-profit organization that helps animals and the environment.

What are my chances of getting into a top-25 part-time/fully-employed program, such as those offered at USC or UCLA? I have not taken the GMAT yet, but am preparing to take it June 2012 and hope to score as close as possible to 700 with the help of a prep course. I plan to apply for Round 1 2012. If I do apply, would it be beneficial to include a few pieces from my design portfolio, especially since I'd like a concentration in marketing? I can write strong admission essays as well and will write the "optional" essay, but I'm a bit discouraged that I have no chance with these schools with my low GPA. I'm actually taking a statistics course at the university this winter session which will hopefully help a bit.

Any advice would be great!

Thanks Lisa!