gradenvm

If by STRONG you mean 50%+ chance of getting in, I would say with that type of undergrad and major, 3.7+.

anything above 3.5 is good, but then there are other parts of application as well

I know of people from my university (one of the ones that you've mentioned) in technical majors who've gotten into 2+2 with a GPA of around 3.6.

averagejoe12345How competitive is say, 3.3 vs a 3.5 vs a 3.7 vs a 3.9? (naturally, the higher is better, but what classifies as STRONG)

3.9: strong 3.7: good 3.5: OK 3.3: better have a high GMAT

Thanks guys, appreciate all the input

bump****

You realize 3 of the 4 above posters haven't even graduated college yet right, lol.

You can find GPA figures for some of the m7 incoming classes - for example here: http://www.chicagobooth.edu/programs/full-time#simple2

Going to HYPS in a hard field might give you a slight edge when you compare gpa head to head, but it's hard to quantify exactly how much it is. Suffice to say it could be a .1-.2 boosts when compared to other profiles.