Ask Stacy Blackman

Hello

I have just begun considering an MBA. I actually graduated this past May, so I won't be applying for a while. I am still looking for a solid consulting job!

My main concern is my undergraduate GPA, and it's a bit complicated. Let me first say I initially wanted to go to med school, and more specifically, a D.O. school because they were more forgiving...they allow retakes to help boost GPA and do replacements when calculating GPA.

Here's the story:
*I went to a top 50 state school for my freshman year, ended up with a 2.61.
*Did a summer of 9 credits, got a 4.0
*Three years at a top 25 state school (UVA), ended up with a 2.87
*My total lump sum GPA of quality credits/overall credits comes out to 2.89

Following graduation, in order to take advantage of D.O. retakes, I took three courses at a local community college for 11 credits getting a 4.0. Overall GPA is a 2.97.

If you consider the community college courses as full replacements (they had the same content as the courses I was attempting to retake, and verified by D.O. schools), the GPA would be a 3.17.

My question is this: first of all, how do jobs and MBA programs view my situation? Would they not consider the courses I took after graduation for my GPA? Would they not consider any sort of "replacement" policy and simply take the overall GPA from all courses and all quality credits rather than replacing some repeated courses?

Regarding the question about courses after degree...if I can't improve my undergrad GPA to MBA programs with post-degree coursework, how can I improve my academic credentials for MBA programs and top-name companies? Should I just get a masters degree? Continue taking undergrad courses and repeat bad ones from the past or take new ones? I guess my main concern is baccalaureate vs post baccalaureate (but not graduate) coursework. My main interest lies in either Ross @ Umich or Darden @ UVA. I know I still have a long road ahead but if I can do something to mend my academic situation I'd love to.

Thanks so much.

EDIT: I read an eHow article and it did advise that if I have a low undergrad GPA to take more undergrad courses at a local CC, private U, or local state U. They state that graduate coursework isnt reccomended since schools know that they have inflated grades there. T/F? Still looking for your input on other matters as well, thanks!

Thank you for the reply. Honestly, the reason for the low overall GPA was indeed lack of focus and immaturity. Since then, however, I've retaken some courses (I was initially planning to pursue medicine in a D.O. degree, which allows for course retakes to improve GPA).

That being said, I've read that 'alternate transcripts' are a popular way to go to demonstrate a high undergraduate GPA.

1) Is this GPA separate from the GPA my degree was in?
2) Is taking courses at a CC okay?
3) I've done well in my quant courses..all of my math was a B+ or higher. Same with my physics and other courses (like I said, I was premed at one point and it was calc based physics).
4) I was premed and engineering, would it be a good idea to take some business/finance/accounting courses that are quantitative in nature? How about macro economics?
5) I've also been planning on getting a M.S. prior to attempting my M.B.A. in order to improve my job prospects before applying for my MBA...would this help offset my low undergrad GPA, or should I not bother?

An additional, unrelated question; I am new to the whole MBA process, and I have one concern; I am entering my first post bacc job, and it's a very small IT consulting company. I wish to work in tech consulting/IT consulting prior to applying for my MBA programs, how much will it hurt me that I'm working with a very small company (25 people) versus a big name like Accenture, IBM, CapGemini?

Thanks so much.

Thank you for the response, it was actually very helpful.

That is interesting about masters degrees. In a way, I would be pursuing a masters degree in order to help my MBA chances.

My reasoning for getting a masters are for these two reasons:

1) I believe it would be a good "fresh slate" for job prospects, as I know I would get a good GPA in it. As you know from this thread, I have a low undergrad GPA so having another degree would allow me to have a chance to get a great GPA to show employers at bigger firms I'd like to work at.

2) My undergraduate degree provided me with some of the soft skills I'd need to succeed in IT Consulting, but I think a masters in something more relevant would make me a more viable candidate, especially at some of the bigger firms I want to join down the line such as Accenture or IBM.

So in a way, the masters (not necessarily an M.S., but an M.Eng too) is to help me get into bigger and more recognizable firms, which in turn would help my chances at better MBA prospects. That's basically my reasoning for it.

That's good news about working at a small firm not hurting my chances, it's been a bit of my concern lately. But on the other hand, it could always be a stepping stone to something bigger.

Thank you very much for your response, I appreciate the advice you have to give!

Hello

I'd like to bump this post with regards to what you said.

So yes, I have a low undergrad GPA, but many of my quantitative courses (ODE, calc 1-3, prob/stat) were good. I want to take local CC courses (which is OKAY correct? Cause it's more of WHICH class you take vs. WHERE you take it when making an alt. transcript, right?), but I'm not sure what in order to raies my GPA since most of my quant classes were good. I was thinking maybe some accounting and finance classes? I came from an engineering background, so I haven't taken any accounting or business classes yet, just econ.

If you do receive an MS degree, remember that MBA admissions teams will wonder why you are pursuing an MBA after having already received a Masters. You can pursue an MS, but do not do it for the reason of improving your MBA application. There are better ways to do so.

This was something I wanted to touch on. I'd like to work at a top tech consulting firm, likely Booz Allen or Deloitte before I go for my MBA. As we know, my undergrad GPA was not good, so I couldn't make it into their entry level positions...the reason why I want to get a masters of engineering (likely in Systems Engineering since it's engineering, analytical, and very relevant for tech consulting) is so that I can sort of have a clean slate for GPA, have a second chance at Deloitte, and simply improve my credentials. This would be an evening, part time program, so I'd still be getting work experience as well.

What are your thoughts?