What kinds of classes should I take to boost my academic app

[Scott.Wachs]

To whomever this may concern,
I went to university of wisconsin-madison and didn't do very well while i was in school. This was about 6 years ago. However, after college I'm extremely focused and would like to show potential business schools that i have the ability to handle business school course work. I need to take a few classes because my gpa in college was very low. Around a 2.2. What kinds of classes should I take and where should I take these classes. Is there a difference in the eye of an admissions person between taking a class online or in the classroom? Does the school where I take the class make a difference as well? What are your suggestions? I was thinking of taking 2-3 classes before my i send in my applications for the spring semester in in 2011.

Thanks so much

[mbamission]

Hello,

Thanks for your inquiry. It’s great that you’re planning to create an alternate transcript to help supplement your relatively low GPA. I would certainly focus on quantitative classes. You might consider calculus, statistics or finance. Some schools require that students have taken a calculus class with a grade of a C or better in order to attend, so if you haven’t taken calculus, then I’d check the requirements of the schools that you’re interested in. This will help you better plan your supplemental courses. Perhaps this goes without saying, but you should shoot for an A in these classes, so I’d schedule your classes in a way that will allow you enough time to do your best.

You do not necessarily need to take these classes in a classroom if that is very inconvenient for you. I suggest taking courses at a reputable institution. It doesn’t need to be Harvard, but I would use your judgment when selecting classes at a local university. Good luck with your planning.

Sincerely,

Akiba Smith-Francis

MBA Mission
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[Scott.Wachs]

Based on your response I did a lot of searching and signed up for three classes at ucla. These classes as described by UCLA are pre-mba classes and are all quant based. 2 accounting classes and one class called mathematics for management. My question is, provided I get an A in all three of these classes how much will these classes help me vs my low gpa. Considering I graduated six years ago is it possible that these grades outweigh my college transcript? I just need guidance because I want to be realistic about my chances when applying to the right schools. Any insight is helpful.

Thanks

[mbamission]

Based on your response I did a lot of searching and signed up for three classes at ucla. These classes as described by UCLA are pre-mba classes and are all quant based. 2 accounting classes and one class called mathematics for management. My question is, provided I get an A in all three of these classes how much will these classes help me vs my low gpa. Considering I graduated six years ago is it possible that these grades outweigh my college transcript? I just need guidance because I want to be realistic about my chances when applying to the right schools. Any insight is helpful.

Thanks

The 2.2 GPA will certainly be an uphill battle. Do you have a credible reason for your poor performance that can be explained in an optional essay as well? I will say that this is certainly going to be hard for you to overcome. The rest of your application will need to be stellar (especially your GMAT score), and still there will be no guarantee. One suggestion would be to take a look at the range of GPAs for your target schools. If your 2.2 is far below the lowest score in the range, that will give you an indication of your chances.

I hope this helps.

Monica Okrah
mbaMission