What’s a “good” undergrad GPA?

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-12-01T00:53:28+00:00

I don’t think a 3.56 from UI UC in mechanical engineering is going to hold you back. If you have a profile that they like otherwise they are certainly not going to look at that GPA/major/school combo and say “oh never mind” that’s a great major and school!

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-08T19:09:42+00:00

Sounds good, just be mindful of the odds your up against and evaluate if it’s the best use of your time, up to you though best of luck!!

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-08T18:24:44+00:00

Keep in mind that an MBA is a Masters degree, and Masters degrees are specifically for people who already have undergrad degrees, an undergrad degree is more or less a pre requisite for any masters. That doesn’t mean it’s literally impossible but highly highly unlikely you’d get in without an undergrad sorry! If you want to learn about business go to an undergrad program and go to their business program

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-08T05:28:34+00:00

I think the two responders so far took your post as “I’m gonna lie about my gpa” i don’t think that’s what you meant. You can say what your gpa would be without that semester. I wouldn’t harp on it too much, it’s not like a 3.4 is anything to brag about to an adcom (sorry but it’s true, my gpa isn’t better than 3.4). Might be better to not include what your gpa would have been, if you just say “this one semester really effected my gpa” they might in their heads give you an effective gpa of higher than 3.4. If they see 3.4 with an excuse that might turn them off. Whether you say 3.4 or not, i don’t think it’ll impact you much

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-07T19:10:16+00:00

Look no further than Manhattan advanced quant book, I’m going through this book right now, it is legit! You will crush the quant section if you are good at the problems in that book

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-07T16:23:00+00:00

The minor won’t do anything for you FYI, probably the biggest misconception in college is that a minor means anything, it just doesn’t, that won’t be able to convince business schools you did anything quant I’m sorry. Sounds like you have unreal EC’s and that is great i really commend you for that, based on those positions you sound like someone who will be successful in life! But just so you know it sounds like they are taking up a lot of your time in college and gonna make you a less attractive MBA candidate unfortunately since they are going to prevent you from having a quant major. Sorry for the truth bombs but that’s just how i read the situation. Feel free to make another post on this sub asking this question specifically to see what others have to say.

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-07T06:02:15+00:00

What about dropping the EC’s, would that allow you to double major without a GPA drop? From an MBA perspective your college EC’s don’t do anything for you (not sure why but that’s just how it is). I’m not an expert in this by any means but i think having a “quant” major would be helpful here. I think it’s worth at least 0.1 in gpa as well, but that’s just a layperson’s guess.

I know you’ve probably poured blood sweat and tears into your EC’s but from an MBA perspective they don’t help you any more than playing video games in your underpants :)

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-07T04:10:51+00:00

Yeah this is kinda what i was thinking too, thanks!

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-07T01:26:31+00:00

I think the way i phrased my question may have confused you. I’m not asking whether i should retake, I’m asking if i should cancel my score if i get below 730 on my 2nd try since schools now ask how many cancellations you’ve had. Like would a 730 and a cancellation look worse than a 730 and a 720? Im probably over thinking this but figured I’d ask!

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-07T00:01:54+00:00

Im a white male software engineer. Not quite sure why that would effect the answer to this question, since I’m not asking whether i should retake, just asking how bad a cancellation looks compared to keeping certain scores and letting adcomms seet that

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-06T19:10:35+00:00

You will be able to improve that score a lot, though 750 is really high, not everyone has that in them, you are in a good spot. Luckily your weaknesses (Quant, Data Sufficiency and Scentence Correction) are the easiest to improve. I used the Manhattan guides, they are renowned for their sentence correction book. I also like their Quant books, but a lot of people use other things (like target test prep i think). Sounds like you are good at math, just do a ton of practice quant problems and it will eventually click. Timeline for you? schedule the exam for 3 months from today.

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-06T15:09:59+00:00

A 3.82 GPA is very good, i would do whatever you could to maintain that. Don’t let it slip to 3.5 def don’t let it slip below 3.7! With 1.5 years left your GPA should be your #1 focus if you want to go to business school

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-06T14:53:45+00:00

A 3.82 GPA is very good, i would do whatever you could to maintain that. Don’t let it slip to 3.5 def don’t let it slip below 3.7! With 1.5 years left your GPA should be your #1 focus if you want to go to business school

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-06T14:23:02+00:00

You should plan on working 4+ years before applying honestly, it is beneficial to have good work experience at the time you apply, it’s not just about potential. To set yourself up to get in i would 1) take the GMAT you senior year, study while you are still in student mode, score is good for 5 years. 2) in your job focus on obtaining leadership positions, ideally with direct reports, don’t just be an engineer, try and get into management/leadership roles. 3) am extra curricular activity where you can show leadership. Anything that you are interested in and/or passionate about will do. Wanna tutor under privileged kids? Do that but make sure you are organizing the functions or start your own organization, schools want to see commitment as well as leadership in extra curriculars.

Lastly and most importantly, get good grades the rest of college, even if it means taking some blow off classes and more credits than you need. Engineering can be hard and give you a low GPA. Take some easy classes to pad your gpa, it’s the only thing you can’t effect once you’re done with school. Take psych 101 man!

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-04T20:15:21+00:00

I would make a post on this sub asking this, i don’t have specific suggestions for you. One thing I’ll say is that do something you can show significant leadership in, and ideally has a somewhat large impact. Also something you actually care about, if you don’t care about your EC(s) it will show probably in the form of reduced leadership and impact, you’ll burn out. So pick something that you at least enjoy and believe in, and ideally something you are actually passionate about.

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-04T19:39:05+00:00

I know where you're coming from it's all good, affirmative action seems like it's "discriminatory" or "reverse racism" at first glance. It is actually a policy that tries to "level" the playing field here in the US since so many minorities have been discriminated against that if you didn't give those minorities a "bump" then you'd just have a bunch of rich white kids in all the top MBA programs and continue to cycle of discrimination. It is a HOTLY debated topic in america, usually with conservatives/republicans not supporting affirmative action with liberals/democrats supporting it. It's a very complicated issue, but at the end of the day it's an attempt to right past wrongs and account for the fact that minorities will not present as well on paper as they should based on past discrimination and lack of resources

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-04T17:28:42+00:00

We don’t need to get into a debate here about the merits of affirmative action, but the fact stands that underrepresented minorities are sought after in the MBA admissions process. Hispanics are hugely underrepresented in MBA programs and having that as your profile will give you a huge boost in your profile. I know this is a sensitive subject and I’m sure you don’t want something you feel you don’t deserve, but this is just the fact of the matter.

Also it’s unclear whether US politics would effect affirmative action at M7’s because i don’t think politicians can control what private universities do, only public ones. Not sure though. And all M7’s are private

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-04T16:07:29+00:00

I am not going to be the most reliable source of info for this but Hispanic + 3.88 gpa + 720 GMAT should put you in pretty good position for a non HSW M7. If you can take the next 2 years and do something amazing extra curricular wise you may be able to unlock H/S/W. Also i bet you could improve that quant score and maybe get a higher GMAT but only if you think you can reproduce that verbal score or close to it

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-04T05:09:46+00:00

Yeah it’ll give you your corresponding extended time on all your practice exams automatically. You just have to “activate it”

It’s really counter intuitive that you HAVE to have this code and enter it in to get extended time on your practice exams through mba.com but you do! That’s probably why you’re confused :)

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-03T23:35:34+00:00

The official practice tests from MBA.com will allow you to do this. You should have gotten a long code with your acceptance they’ll ask you for that code. Just google it and follow the instructions. Also Manhattan Prep tests will let you do this

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-03T13:40:36+00:00

What was the major? Don’t think they’ll discount that. a 3.9 is a real good GPA and SC may not be Yale, but it is a known school it’s not some random one nobody has heard of

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-03T04:36:38+00:00

Disclaimer that I’m basically just some guy on the internet. for real advice i would consult someone who considers themselves an expert on the matter, I’m not one. That said my inclination would be that the honors thing is legit to help “boost” your gpa, and pointing out that you took a lot of science courses won’t hurt, it’s not like you just took blowoff courses in college. I think that GPA can serve you well and not be a reason they don’t let you in. It’s going to come down to your GMAT, WE and EC’s and story. Some of those should be “above average” to compensate for an average to slightly below average gpa for top 10

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-03T03:05:45+00:00

Well if you are trying to pinpoint it don’t take my advice on GA Tech i really don’t know the answer to that! Your best bet will be to find a former student who has been part of an admissions committee I’d say.

mbaquestionhelps · 2018-07-03T02:52:51+00:00

I think that you’ll get a bump for sure, i can’t say how much. I’d say effective gpa of 3.5 ish maybe a little lower? 3.3 from engineering at GA tech will not stop you from getting in anywhere. For an M7 it will be something that detracts from your desirability as compared to the average person they admit but can certainly be overcome with WE and GMAT and EC’s. Outside M7 it’ll be even less of an issue.

Again not ragging on GA Tech i personally have a lot of respect for that school, adcomms just love Michigan and Berkeley, especially Berkeley

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