Ask Stacy Blackman

Hi!

I'm from Turkey and have a question for you too I have a GPA of around 3,1 but even the top of my class has a 3,3-3,4 GPA! Does it make any difference when my GPA is being rated? I have an undergraduate International Relations degree, I will graduate this year and I'm planning on specializing on the International Business after some work experience of a couple of years. Is IR viewed as tough? And I should add that my college has the hardest curriculum of the country and it is well known for its difficulty. You said that the low GPAs from the Ivy League is taken into consideration, my college is one of the best schools on Int. Rl. in my country(similar to the Ivy), but it's definitely the toughest one! If it was in the USA, they would know which school was tougher, but do they have a system to know about the colleges from the other countries?? Or do I have to explain that to them?

If I get a high score at GMAT (+700) and with strong essays,recommendations, interview and the work experience, what are the chances of me being accepted to the UCLA? Thank you.

Hi Lisa,

I just graduated from Boston University with a degree in Economics and Mathematics... 3.0 GPA (though I should note that my grades were generally better junior and senior year, after changing from a pre-med track). I have taken a few GMAT practice tests (Kaplan) and expect to score in the low 700s (700-740). I am currently working in an entry level position for a research and consulting firm where I work primarily in eHealth (Electronic medical record implementations and corresponding workflow redesign) and proposal development.

With 2-4 years experience at this job and some growth in terms of my role and responsibilities, combined with my GPA and test scores (and assuming that my essays and recommendations are consistent with these other factors), would it be unreasonable to shoot for a top 10 B-school? Top 20?

Thank you for your time,

Josh

Lisa,

Good morning. I hope this e-mail finds you well. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind taking a look at my current profile?

GMAT: 670
GPA: 3.0 (BA in economics (minor in sociology) from a top liberal arts college)
Work Experience: 4 years working for a global financial services company

Now that I am finished with my GMAT (seemingly) I am curious as to what type of schools you think I have a fighting chance gaining admittance to?

Thank you very much for all of you help. Keep up the good work.

Gabe

Hi Lisa,

I'm currently a rising second year undergrad in an "Institute of Technology." I have a 4.0 and have prepared for the GMAT so that I can probably crack a 730 or 740 (hopefully when I apply, my score will be higher).

I'm doing computer science and mathematics at my college, where in CS, my school is in the top 10, and in mathematics, my school is in the top 30. I'm involved in my school's computer science magazine, where I consistently write articles. In addition, throughout my freshman year, I did physics-based research in quantum computing. This summer, I'm doing particle physics research at a top physics program in the US, which is extremely computer science oriented. (Initially, I was a physics+cs major, but decided to go more towards math+cs)

This semester, I'm taking the most challenging classes that I can without imploding and I will be doing research in artificial intelligence.

Given the above and my goal, that I want to get into HBS (hopefully the 2+2 program targeted at college juniors), could you answer my questions?

- What can I do to improve my chances of getting into a top business school? Should I become more involved in "non-research" which is more people-oriented like my magazine club?

- What should I be doing over the summers? Should I go for something a bit more practical... like an internship? Or should I just stick with doing research?

- Should I try and focus more on one topic (math+cs) or should I try and diversify (do internships AND research as opposed to just one?)

- Generally, what should I be doing right now?

Thanks very much for your time!

Hi Stacey,

Thanks for a very informative thread...

I hold a MS and PhD from France... While a Bachelor from Pakistan... As it is clear from the thread, it is difficult to compare/convert %age values to GPA as it depends on lots of factors.... (From my university in Pakistan, we were based on %ages and our final year %age was considered the most important one: 78 % ). In France, from MS, we are scored from a scale of (0-20) , A score above 14 is considered "bien": Good while a score above 16 is considered "tres bien": very good. I was among top stuident of my MS and scored 15.2 ). Again, PhD in France is not graded. It is either "good","very good" or "exceptional". You don't get "exceptional" unless you come up with a ground breaking result. You don't get "good" unless you kept on sleeping during your PhD and your advisor wasn't happy at all by your performance... Lastly, levels of these grades vary from university to university just like the way GPA varies from one university to other...

I was wondering, how admission committees can come up with a comparative score in such complications. Do I need to explain this fact in my essays to explain what my GPA/score means for all of my degrees. And what were my other achievements in terms of project based work, final year project which actually resulted being used up in a start up etc.)

Any ideas...

Hi,
I gave the GMAT a few days back and scored 720 (VA - 36, QA - 51)
and AWA 4.

I am thinking of giving the exam again because of the dismal AWA score.
Could anyone suggest me if this would be the right strategy ?

I've about 3 years of quality workex, decent acads and extra curr and thinking of applying to some of the US B schools (top most as well as middle ones).

I am currently in a dilemma whether I should retake the GMAT to improve my AWA and overall score. (AWA is the main concern).

Will be really thankful if you could provide some suggestions.

Thanks,
Shruti

Hi Lisa,

Thanks a lot for the reply..

I have decided not to retake the exam..

I've a couple of more queries..will be really thankful if you could resolve these as well -->

1)I am thinking of getting the AWA section regraded..Do you think that would be fine ? What's the procedure for the same and can it lead to an even lower score after regrading ?

2)Some people have suggested me to take the TOEFL and score well in the essays to compensate for AWA...since my medium of college education was english, I don't need to write the TOEFL, shall I just write the TOEFL for this reason ? (I am an Indian candidate)

Thanks a lot for the help..

Regards,
Shruti

Dear Stacy/ Lisa,

I am currently a senior in a State University which has a good local reputation and is AACSB accredited, expected to graduate May 2010 with a BS in Business Administration- Finance concentraition and a minor in Economics with an expected GPA of ~3.7

I am currently serving the United States Army in the reserves as a Financial Management Technician as a Sergeant.

I plan to take and pass at least till CFA level 2 before I apply to Business grad school.

I also plan to crack FINRA series 7 and series 66 on Investments before I apply.

I was a distinguished graduate in my military AIT (Advanced Individual Training) which was a Finance Corps School.

I plan to take the GMAT in 2011 and have already started studying for it and am confident to get ~770- 780 (I am giving it 2 hours of prep time every day).

My question is- What are my chances of getting into NYU Stern or Columbia University (Both are top 10, more importantly- Goldman Sachs recruits primarily from these schools), the reason why I ask is that the only things that are holding me down are my expected GPA which would be at least a 3.6 but not more than 3.7 from a AACSB accredited State U- which top B schools look down upon, and my work experience. As I graduate in 2010, I want to be enrolled in 2012 with a couple of years of professional work experience.

Is this do-able, and what are my chances? I can provide excellent essays and top letters of recommendations from my University Dean and very high ranking officers in the military... Please help me out, I am losing my sleep over this for quite some time now


-Devang