With GPAs on the Rise, How Would Low Scorers Fare at MBA Admissions?

The average undergraduate grade point average has been on the upswing at 18 of the top 25 schools during the five year period 2012-2016 in the United States, remaining flat at four and dropping at three schools.

Interestingly, only 13 of the schools registered a rise in GPA between 2015-16 with four schools staying flat. The increase in GPA was also marginal in the range of .02 or .01 pointing to the possible advent of a levelling off stage.

Among the elite schools, Stanford Graduate School of Business recorded the best average GPA. Its Class of 2018 registered a 3.73, a drop of .02 from the previous year. Harvard Business School (HBS) came 2nd, with a class average of 3.67 (up .01 from 2015).

Others with the top average scores were UC-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business (3.64, down .02), Yale School of Management (3.63, up .03), Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management (3.60, same as last year), and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (3.60, same as last year).

The biggest increases in the top 25 over the last five years were at Notre Dame University’s Mendoza College of Business (.11, to 3.37), Yale University School of Management (.08, to 3.63), Cornell University Johnson Graduate School of Management (.08, to 3.37), and Georgetown University McDonough School of Business (.08, to 3.40). And those three schools that saw a GPA drop? Northwestern Kellogg (-.09), Emory University Goizueta Business School (-.08, to 3.30), and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management (-.04, to 3.52).

However, MBA aspirants need to not despair on account of low GPAs stymieing admission chances. A candidate with 2.60 GPA managed to get in at Chicago Booth School of Business, a candidate with 2.6, MIT Sloan School of Management granted admission to those in the range of 3.24 to 3.90, Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business took in those with 3.24 to 3.84 GPA. At Columbia Business School, it was 3.10 to 3.80, at Yale SOM, 3.31 to 3.91 and at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, the range was 3.02 to 3.83.

The highest “low” GPA belonged to UC-Berkeley Haas: 3.34 (Haas’ high was 3.89). The lowest was Illinois Urbana-Champaign at 2.90.

How do those with low GPAs get into elite programs? Schools would give weightage to high personal qualifications. Admission Consultants claim to have helped such candidates with GPA score of 2.4 to 2.6 not only get admission but also scholarships in the top ten schools and those with sub-2.6 GPAs into the top five schools.

The schools do not merely consider the numbers but the quality of the GPA. For instance, a candidate with lower than average GPA for a subject like Chemistry, Physics or applied Math that are considered more difficult stand a good chance of clearing the admission hurdle.

The schools would also relent on this particular criteria, if you are able to explain the circumstances that led to the drop is scores due to extraneous factors like disease, death in the family or time spent at work to support yourself. Such factors could be stated in the optional essay, the relevant portions of the application, and letters of recommendation, admission officials say.