The Application Process

I have an engineering degree from a UC with an overal 2.85 GPA. My first couple of years I paid no attention to grades and just did enough to pass. One quarter I failed all classes and was told to switch majors. I said no way and did a complete 180. My last two years I had a 3.5 which consisted of almost all upper division engineering courses which were obviously a lot harder than my earlier classes. Basically if I would have had the same attitude from the start I would have ended up with a much higher overall GPA. Can I use this in my optional essay to account for my low GPA? Thanks

I think you definitely SHOULD call this out in an optional essay. Those are the things that the Adcom wants to know about....especially since you turned your grades around - with harder classes.

If you were a member of the adcom and was reading your profile, you may be weary at first to admit someone with a low gpa... then upon reading the optional essay you'd be at ease knowing the reason for the low grades... and then showing the great turnaround....

it's better to point it out then let the adcom try to speculate...

jmo

Thanks for the reply. That's what I was thinking. It may not be evident at first when glancing at my transcript but the first few years are mostly C's and D's while the last two are all A's and B's.

Wish I would have tried harder earlier now but at the time I had no intention of going to grad school... It's great that I showed a complete turnaround but how can I positively explain the lack of effort in my earlier years? I have a great track record since my wake up call, and the truth is that's what I needed to turn things around.

I'm in the exact same boat as you. I entered undergrad as pre-med and also had to take many of the required writing classes. Writing has always been my weakness, which is why I love to use ellipses now haha... they say so much in so few characters. Once I realized that I didn't want to be pre-med, I switched to Economics. All of my quant classes from Freshman year to Senior year were pretty much A's and B's, and economics isn't an easy major either.

I've begun to speculate what I'm going to write in my optional essays, and I think with that... honesty is the best policy. I'm sure they see many people try to sugarcoat their undergraduate performance. For me, I was the first person in my immediate and extended family to go to college. So while in college that was my only goal - Just Graduate. I didn't know what the GMAT was or why people even went to business school. It definitely was not on my radar, which is why my first two years I did just enough work to "get by".

How long have you been out of college? If you just graduated last year, they may put more emphasis on your undergraduate performance. I just reread your first post, and this really stuck out to me - "One quarter I failed all classes and was told to switch majors. I said no way and did a complete 180." That shows a lot of character that you didn't take the easy way out by switching majors. You stuck with it and turned it around!

I think when writing essays... mention the negative but focus on the positive and what AND WHY you did things differently.

Sorry for the long post... i tend to babble!

Undergraduate grades are a constant issue for some and that includes me. I have a very hard time speculating how to explain and lousy grades in undergraduate studies.

What was the reason for my poor grades? Consisted of multiple factors surely but unlike the original poster of this thread I didn't turn it around. I did reasonably well in my first year when there was a lot of enthusiasm but as senior years came I began to find subjects boring and further lack the energy and motivation to really work. In school however I understood concepts and I always try to study in detail complex concepts. In fact my friends came to me for explanations on concept etc. But I'm a person who is built on the level of motivation and confidence within. I remembered to feeling demotivated and started lacking confidence as my grades dipped, despite me being very interested in the subjects. Is it ok to associate the poor grades solely to my performance in exams saying that I'm not such a good exam taker. Now I've come to realize I wanna realize the dreams I always had, that is to build a specialized career in a niche career with a very specialized set of skills. Which is why now I am turning my head around hoping to start fresh again and really push for what I know I am capable of. But I need peoples opinions. I'm gonna really appreciate it for sure. I'm not going to live with mediocrity anymore!

I ccan say that I'm ambitious enough to always want to improve myself but tends to be demoralized when things doesn't turn out so well. And despite all the hassle and dreams I have dreamt and put down in the past I never gave up and continue today in search of something I can pride myself in and commit to. And that is a masters program and hopefully a changed future

valleeny, I personally would be weary about stating that your UG performance was poor because you're bad at taking exams. When I hear this I think - "oh this person is bad under pressure", which for b-school & business world... there's a lot of pressure.

i also wouldnt state that you become demoralized when things dont go your way... because again... nothing will ever go your way 100% of the time... that could be a detrimental essay.

How long have you been out of school? If I may ask... how low are your grades? Are you considering low to be a 3.0 GPA? because if so... I'm not sure if that needs to be addressed... especially if it's going to unearth negativity.

Hi money9111,

Appreciate the candid response. Yes the kind of grades that I am referring to is somewhere around the 3.0 mark. I also agree with you that the response I suggested unearths negativity, which is perhaps why I am trying to gather a third party point of view here. Imagine that. I am so confused about how I should handle these sort of questions I can't even tell if it's gonna have a negative effect! But surely, to me, with my acquired achievements this can be a tough question to answer. I am still thinking of a positive thing to say out of it.

Probably my strategy has to be changed just a bit. Instead, acknowledge the poor performance while show that I am really enthusiastic about attending b-school and try to convince the school to take me in.

I would pose the question to one of the consultants in the "Ask the consultant forum..." they'll definitely be able to lead you in the right direction.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/ask-an-mba-a ... t-f40.html