760 - Q49, V45, 2.7 GPA - Should I take an online course?

[left field]

A few quick questions

Should I take an online class to bolster my application, or shift gears and start focusing on the essays? Do programs value online courses?

(In a perfect world I would take a course on campus, but I'm living in China at the moment and it's not realistic)

I just retook the GMAT and scored 760 - Q49, V45. (Up from a 720 three years ago) My undergrad GPA was 2.7, major - genetics. I worked 25+ hours/week and was on a NCAA team during undergrad. I minored in computer science and as a result I have lots of quantitative courses , but my grades varied from a D to A's.

If I do take a course, which should I take? (I'm open to anything - business, calculus, statistics, economics)

I want to go to Columbia or MIT.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your reply.

LF

[Bryant@VeritasPrep]

Your GMAT definitely demonstrates academic ability, and while your GPA is not horrid, it's below the coveted 3+ which may look out of place considering your GMAT score. Sounds like you had a rigorous undergrad major, which helps, so sell that angle in your essays. Also, did you have an upward trend in your undergraduate grades or did you make bad grades all the way through? Was there a trend in the types of classes in which you scored poorly? If so, perhaps a course in that area would innoculate any misperceptions about your abilities. REmember, you are simply trying to prove to the adcom that you can handle the academics and have a sharp head on your shoulders. The GMAT pretty much proves that, but if you have never had a statistics cours or a calculus class (or even accounting or finance), you might take one or all of these to show commitment. As long as you take an online course from a reputable school you shouldn't raise any eyebrows. You are only trying to get the material down, not trying to use it to qualify for anything. Pick the best online program you can. Good luck.

[left field]

Thank you Bryantmichaels.

Fortunately there was an upward trend in my GPA, especially during the last three quarters. For better or worse there is no real pattern to the classes I did well (or poorly) in. Since I have taken everything from statistics to differential equations, I guess I'm left with accounting.

I'll start doing some research and sign up for something ASAP.

Thank you again.

LF


BTW - If anyone knows of a good school offering online courses with a flexible start date, please let me know. If all the material is online so that I don't have to track down a book in China, even better!