Average GPAs At The Top 50 Business Schools

Stanford may have stepped back from the brink of history with its 3.73 undergraduate GPA average in 2018, but keep in mind, it’s Stanford’s history to step back from: GSB set the all-time record of 3.75 in 2015. GSB photo

As consultant Karen Marks wrote for Poets&Quants in 2016, “Despite what you may have heard, it is absolutely possible to get into a top MBA program with a low GPA,” adding that she has helped many clients succeed despite having shaky undergraduate records. “Just how low were these GPAs? I have helped clients with GPAs as low as 2.4 get full-tuition scholarships to top-10 schools, and clients with sub-2.6 GPAs get into top-five schools with significant funding.”

Betsy Massar of MBA admissions consulting firm Master Admissions, speaking to P&Q in 2017, added that “A great GPA is not the only thing that admissions officers care about. It’s also the quality of that GPA. A student who has a lower-than-average GPA for a school in a subject like applied math or chemistry is still going to get a good look. Everyone knows not all majors and not all courses are equally difficult. If you have just an average GPA but took courses in really difficult subjects like physics, you shouldn’t worry. It’s really about how much you challenge yourself.

“But it’s not just about grades,” Massar said. “We see people all the time with great grades and scores who are really quite boring. The grades might get you considered, but you have to deliver.”

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