How to Overcome a Low GPA in Your MBA Applications

College was years ago. You’ve grown since then. You’ve started a career, earned promotions, and maybe even managed a team. Your progress since college helps address questions about your leadership potential, skill set, and analytical skills. But it doesn’t answer one key question. How well can you handle a classroom or academic environment?

MBA programs emphasize experiential learning. But an MBA is still a master’s degree. Admissions committees look at your GMAT score and GPA to assess academic readiness. MBA coursework demands classroom performance. You must study, apply theories to cases, and pass tests. Admissions committees use a time-honored method to assess these skills. They look at your GMAT score and GPA combined.

So what can you do? What if your undergrad GPA falls below your target schools’ averages? When I advise an applicant with a low GPA, I focus on two things. First, explain. Second, overcome.

Note that I did not use the word “justify.” Explaining is not making excuses. Explaining simply states how it was and how it’s better now. Don’t sweep anything under the rug. Don’t be cagey. Was your GPA low in your first two years? Perhaps you struggled with over-committing and poor time management. It’s OK to admit this. Say that it took time to perfect your time management and prioritization skills.

This shows maturity and self-reflection. However, you must immediately follow up. Point to how you’ve overcome that issue. Cite your higher GPA in a previous master’s program. Or note that you now manage multiple projects with no issues. Be brief but be specific – you don’t want to leave anything to assumption or have them think that you are being vague because the real reason is that you just partied too much.

All of this information, in addition to any other necessary explanations, will go into the optional section of the application. This section is where you can directly point out that certain areas of weakness, including a low GPA, are not reflective of the strength of your candidacy.

So, in addition to explaining why your GPA from undergrad was low, you also want to note in this section what you’ve done to prove your academic ability. The best “proof” of course is to take a post-grad class and show the admissions committee that you can handle the academics like a champ.

A large percentage of my clients taken some sort of online or in-person class to bolster their applications (I’d estimate over 50%). And fortunately, there are great options for every work and life schedule.

On the higher end of commitment level would be in-person classes at a local community college or university continuing education department. These work well for people who learn best in a group setting and want to hunker down and complete the class on a more concrete schedule. Attending an in-person class, per se, isn’t necessarily viewed more favorably in this day in age, but it has the advantage of a more structure for those who prefer that setting.

Online classes offer more flexibility, or go-at-your-own-pace programs that are appealing to those who travel for work or have less control over their day-to-day schedules. Online classes vary in commitment and costs. On the lower end, try MBA Math.com. It costs $149 for statistics, accounting, and finance modules. Complete them in 20-40 hours.

On the higher end of commitment and time is Harvard’s HBX CORe, which costs $1,950 and is estimated to take approximately 150 hours to complete. Of note, many estimate that a rather large percentage of HBS admits have taken HBX CORe (this is anecdotal, of course).

Other popular options include Wharton’s Coursera courses(the graded versions – there are many different classes, and you can subscribe to the specialization for $79 per month) and UC Berkeley’s extension(approximately $1,000 for an accounting course that spans approximately 45-50 hours).

The most popular courses to take generally include accounting, statistics and/or calculus if you didn’t take it in college. This, of course, depends on how much quant work you’ve done in the past and how you scored.

Strong grades in these courses show the admissions committee you can handle MBA academics. This matters more than your undergrad record. Typically, this demonstration, paired with a strong GMAT score, will help an admissions director to feel more comfortable with that aspect of your application.

And aside from increasing your chances, taking additional coursework shows your commitment and willingness to prepare for the MBA experience, which of course signals that you are ready to get as much value out of the program as humanly possible (and they like that!)