Question about bad grades

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Question about bad grades

by silversurfer » Mon Dec 03, 2007 9:32 am
Stacy,

I started undergrad when I was 18 and quit school as a Junior, essentially flunking or getting Ds as I walked away in disgust from a failing program at my state school. My adviser and favorite professors all quit at the end of the previous semester and the teaching assistants couldn't made things work in their absence. The program was eliminated by the university the following year.

I returned to school with a new major planning to get all As, but my parents separated and I got a D in one class and got As, Bs, Cs on the remainder of my classes. Some semesters I got 3 out of 3 As as I worked and went to school. I got my degree with a 2.2 average after 7 years.

I took many skill-building IT classes, including university classes, and got straight As, except a professor refused to accept my final project while my wife was 8 monthspregnant with our first child. I told him I couldn't fix the project until I dealt with my new responsibilities as a father, and when I attempted to fix the project the professor had already quit the school and moved to Germany. That class has an official grade of "F."

I'm a mid-level corporate manager with 10 years experience, certified PMP, MSCE, CISSP. My first GMAT practice test got 600 with no study and I hope that I can get about 650-700. I am a published book and magazine author, professional speaker, researcher with credits in three history books. I've been interviewed in business magazines- but only for the websites, never in print.

All the companies have been small, entrepreneurial government contractors and IT services companies.

What I wanted to think was a sort of youthful problem seems to be a recurring issue- When I'm confronted with difficult external stimuli I screw up the classes.

How will these grades affect my chances? Do I have to include transcripts from every time I took a university night school class for work? I've taken 5 different graded classes at different schools. What would happen if I skipped the night school transcripts? Would that be unethical?

How would you view this in admissions? In each situation I had very specific reasons for these events happening. However I never want to appear that I'm making excuses for this behavior- just explanations. My sister graduated with a 3.5 average and 10 years later still has no career. I scraped by while working, writing, building a life and a small consulting company on top of my regular job.
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by Amy » Mon Dec 03, 2007 9:39 pm
Hi silversurfer,

It's great that you have been so successful at work despite a difficult academic career.

I would spend some time working on your GMAT as you are, and really introspect about why some of these difficult circumstances were impossible to overcome for you. It's an important personal quality to evaluate your past and learn from your mistakes.

Good luck!

Amy
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by silversurfer » Tue Dec 04, 2007 1:34 pm
Thank you Amy for your response.

Naturally there is no connection between academic success and business success. One requires observance and following, the other requires innovation and leadership.

After much introspection in my twenties, I know why these issues happened- professors with outdated knowledge or experience frustrated me. I quit my undergraduate school halfway through a semester when the influx of untenured "teachers" with their hangovers, missed classes and grading problems (the dean halted one class of mine after the TA gave us all As on the midterm) made me think the state school and its policies did not need to be followed. I walked away, only to realize the importance of the sheepskin in getting a raise- even as my productivity got me very good dotcom positions without a degree.

I have grown to pity these professor's faults and not rely on them to lead the class as much as simply proctor our self-knowledge journeys- after I came to that realization my academic career has gone much smoother. In my most recent graduate class, for instance, I took over management of the online tool so we could create better online collaboration because our professor was unable to make it function. In another life I would have thrown up my hands at his "incompetence." This prof asked me to present the class's lecture on XML because he had no real-world experience with its use- he just wasn't qualified to teach it, but he was also good-natured about his stale experience. I would be embarrassed if I hadn't done more work or wasn't more productive than someone putting in their time at a university job. That's the attitude shift I needed- not to get upset with the professor, but to expect that I've done more over all than they have.

That and I'm 39 and when I was in college I was 18.

This attitude, of course, must never be expressed in an application looking to explain my grades to an academician. That's really my main concern- how in the heck can I explain that I don't understand international finance and that makes me humble so I'll have to follow all the rules?

As an aside, I'm aiming for programs like Lehigh, U of Maryland, U of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins and related mid-Atlantic MBAs. If I can't get into any then I will do a complete distance program from the least of the AACSB state schools.

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by Amy » Tue Dec 04, 2007 5:14 pm
Hi silversurfer,

Introspection is not about blaming others for your choices, it's about seeing how your own behavior may have contributed to an outcome.
This attitude, of course, must never be expressed in an application looking to explain my grades to an academician. That's really my main concern- how in the heck can I explain that I don't understand international finance and that makes me humble so I'll have to follow all the rules?
You are correct, this is not an attitude you want to express in an application. It's a big red flag for admissions, and honestly, rightly so.
Your writing in these two posts communicates a lot of anger and blame, which concerns me a bit. Perhaps this is just a sore spot for you and not representative. Hopefully. If it's not an isolated problem, I think you may be setting up roadblocks for yourself in many areas.

My advice for this short term issue is to seek some help from a friend or relative to read your drafts and provide feedback on the tone and attitude you are communicating. Humility and a resolve to do better in the future are generally good tones to strive for.

Good luck!

Amy

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by gmat765 » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:06 pm
thank you amy