Schools most receptive to High GMAT low GPA combo?
I'm wondering if there are any schools in particular that value super gmat scores over others. I know some schools are stat focused, but most seem to have that hand in hand with high average GPA's like Yale. As someone with a super split (780 GMAT, 3.1 gpa in engineering) I want to know where I should apply that will value my GMAT without being too horrified by my GPA so I don't have to be an engineering monkey this time next year. Thanks in advance!
low gpa high gmat mba
Unfortunately, it is impossible to say definitively which schools will accept an application. It is worth noting that the GPA range for M7 schools is between 3.58 and 3.71. The average M7 school GMAT ranges from 720 to 737.
from @mbaMissionKate"
In regards to the GPA -- a high GMAT is your best strategy.
There are ways in your application to mitigate a low GPA. The biggest one is to score very well on the GMAT, and a 730+ would do just that. You could also take supplemental courses after college in stats, calculus, or economics, and assuming you get an A, that will also show schools that you have the academic capacity to succeed.
It is not too early to take on a leadership role in an extracurricular activity. It will really separate you if you have years of experience making an impact on a charity, as schools will feel that you will be likely to make a similar impact in their community.
check out some of the posts here - http://www.mbadataguru.com/blog/
http://www.mbadataguru.com/blog/admissions/low-gpa-mba-acceptance-rate-…
From M7 - Booth and Kellogg apparently
Thank you! I'd be a little suspicious about the data quality but it's definitely a place to start. Does this seem to match up with what you've personally seen in real life?
No personal experience. But I would be lowish GPA high GMAT candidate as well, so I hope it's true.
I haven't done the GMAT, but I almost went to UChicago for undergrad based on extremely mediocre grades and a perfect-score SAT, so I can confirm that at the undergrad level they also seem to place a good amount of weight on standardized test scores.
Interesting. I obviously have a personal bias to think this way, but it makes a lot more sense to me to evaluate on a test that's the same for everyone rather then grades that will obviously be heavily variable based on each persons specific circumstances
Perhaps. Without having thought about it in much depth, I would imagine that every school's admissions committee is playing a numbers game. They are trying to drag up their weighted average admissions statistics w/r/t standardized scores GPA, and some other factors, since these contribute to published numbers that reinforce their prestige.
So if you have a mediocre GPA but a great test score, it's a trade off for them - do we want to bring our class GMAT up at the expense of class GPA?
Maybe there's something more philosophical going on...like evaluating the true merit of a candidate's application and "story" relative to other candidates. But based on what a cash cow university is nowadays, I'm hard pressed to believe this stuff matters more to administrators than the straightforward calculus of class stats -> prestige -> tuition $.
I had 3.16 GPA and 780 GMAT. Got into Columbia but I did early decision so I don't know how much that factored into it. From what I've heard, Darden and Ross will let you stroll right in if you have above 750.
Congrats! I suppose if you applied ED you don't really know how you would have done elsewhere, but were there any other programs you were targeting?
I'm the other situation - high GPA/summa, but probably won't score too well on the GMAT. Me thinks Fuqua is the most receptive to my types.
Undergrad GPA and GMAT are meaningless if you write shitty essays.
You're right, but I also want to point out that most of the "winner" application essays to top universities that I have read are absolutely trite garbage themselves.
I read most of these essays and think "The prompt must have been 'gloat about something menial you've done, but do it with the tone and writing style of a contemporary novelist".
And then the admissions committees in these august halls of learning coo, and get all goo-goo for the precocious young man/woman. "This one will make a fine conduit for $60,000/year of student loans!", they'll say.
I am pretty sure top B-schools pay way more attention to gmat scores rather than Ugrad GPA. Although I am no expert in MBA admissions (am going to be an applicant this year or next year!), I have some friends at top MBA schools such as Wharton, Stanford, Yale, and Duke and they ALL tell me that the most selective employers at MBA OCR use applicants' GMAT scores as the main resume filter criteria.
For example, MBB consulting firms wouldn't even give out 1st round interviews to candidates with gmat score lower than 720-730. At MBA OCR, MBB consulting, IB's, and other desirable employers couldn't care less about your college gpa, but they still care about your GMAT score to filter out the resumes before interviews. I am assuming that B-school admissions officers know about this situation, hence put more emphasis on GMAT than college gpa when admitting students. I'd much rather be applying as a low gpa + high gmat guy, rather than the other way around. (both to mba and to post-mba jobs)
I'm assuming this might be true because most top schools have grade non-disclosure policies for students so just like undergrad OCR would filter resumes using undergrad GPA, since MBA OCR doesn't have access to MBA grades, they treat gmat scores as the main way to filter candidates on intelligence.
That's good to know! At the very least its encouraging that if I get in, I wont be held back. It's just little concerning for me when a school like Yale that's on that top ten border still has an 80% range for gpa of like 3.38-3.9 something. Like that seems like they probably have no one there with a GPA as low as mine
Similar situation to you, but I think only MBB care about GMAT from my research. IBs do not care.
Top 16 schools most receptive to high GPA/low GMAT combo? (Originally Posted: 10/29/2017)
I went to Georgetown University, majored in Economics, and got a 3.9/4.0 GPA. I've been working in Economic Consulting (think, Cornerstone Research) for around 4 years. 1 Promotion at work. Decent EC involvement. However, after months of practicing, I only got a 700 on the GMAT.
I'm not that good a standardized test taker: I only got a 2050 on the SAT in high school after prepping for it, so my Georgetown acceptance was mainly on my high grades, even then. My post-MBA goal is to go into f500 corp strat.
We all hear about high GMAT/low GPA candidates. But what about the opposite? What schools among the top 16ish would be the most receptive to my profile? Thanks!
Well,if you think that 700 on the gmat is a low score you got to revise the concept of "Low". Your score is in the 88% and most of the best schools have an average score around 700s. Plus you got a really high Gpa!
Not sure why anyone gave you monkey shit, your answer is absolutely correct. Given the median SAT scores of schools in the 10-15 range are ~710, 700 is probably at the ~40th percentile, which is in the lower half of the distribution but not a large handicap given a 3.9 GPA and good work exp.
doekeo202 You'll be just fine with your profile for T15 schools. You won't get into H/S/W but you should stretch to lower end of MBA business schools">M7 and target schools in the 8-15 range. FYI, I got into 2 T15 schools (Ross and Johnson) with the same GMAT and a much lower GPA (2.96). Similar quality of work exp, time on the job and slightly better undergrad school (Ivy in the 5-10 USN range).
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