Ask Stacy Blackman

like many people posting here i have afew strikes against me when it comes to admissions. my red flag is a lousy gpa, due to medical problems throughout college.

i hate to make excuses but i probably should have put college on hold till i was feeling better but it actually was a good distraction from my illness the only problem was my focus and such wasnt the best so my grades like many others dot represent my true academic potential.

i am lookin to get a phd in finance or gen business in the ny area.

i have taken 1 grad level pre-mba math type class with an A and about 12-15 credits from a community college in classes like finance, eco, & accouting I got A's on everything except a B in accounting so I

the gmats horrify me so i have been studying

my profile is a little unique as i had good work experience post-college but than became unable to work, temporarily disabled due to many surgeries. since i havent been working for a few years i have a lot of great volunteer experiece.

do you think i need to take any more classes? as i am looking to do everything to show that my lousy undergrad grades were just a temp thing,i hate to mak excuses but it was mostly due to the fact i was ill throughout college and the medicines were making me sleepy, hard to concentrate etc.

any advice would be appreciated. thanks again for the valuable opportunity you provode helping aid students.

thanks again

i am trying to find that fine line between not making excuses but also explaining the reasoning for my poor academic peformance.

as faras my alternate transcript do you agree that it probably wouldnt make sense to take any additional classes, but to just focus on my application. either that or im hoping as some schools let you take a class or 2 sometimes as a non-degree student than transfer that to the applicable school program.

im terrfied of the gmats, this forum is great but i know i hve to score huge in them probably to offset other things.

thanks again