P&Q’s Must Reads: Undergraduate GPA: The Score You Need To Get Into A Top-50 U.S. MBA Program

Hello everyone  — Welcome back to Poets&Quants’ Must Reads, a quick, digestible recap of the top business school news, sponsored by CentreCourt, P&Q’s virtual admission events.

I’m your host, Kristy Bleizeffer, and I’ll be highlighting the most important P&Q stories you might have missed. So, let’s get to it. 

No. 1: Undergraduate GPA: The Score You Need To Get Into A Top-50 U.S. MBA Program

Think your undergraduate GPA is too low for a top MBA program? Think again.

In 2024, someone got into the University of Chicago Booth School of Business — ranked among the very best MBA programs in the world — with a GPA of just 2.36.

While GPA averages have long been used to assess competitiveness, ranges offer more transparency about what’s possible — and who might be the exception. 

Among its many useful metrics, U.S. News & World Report reports 10th-90th percentiles, giving us even more insight into schools’ admissions.

This story, now up on our homepage, offers the undergrad GPAs of all the top U.S. Programs.

No. 2: UC Berkeley Takes The ‘Interim’ Tag Off Haas Dean Jennifer Chatman’s Title

Jennifer Chatman has been appointed the 16th dean of the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley. Chatman, who has served as interim dean for about 11 months, will formally begin her new role on July 1. She becomes the third woman to lead Haas in the school’s 126-year history.

“As a proud ‘double Bear’ with deep Berkeley roots, it is an incredible honor to be leading Haas,” Chatman says in a statement. “Our distinctive culture and commitment to innovation and excellence continue to energize me every day. I look forward to working closely with our amazing faculty — and our entire community — to lift Berkeley Haas to new heights.”

Read more about Chatman and her plans for Haas from our homepage.

No. 3: This Chinese B-School Is Trying To Lure Admitted Internationals From U.S. MBA Programs

In an effort to take advantage of the chaos created by the Trump Administration, China’s leading MBA program is offering immediate admission to admits to Top 30 U.S. business schools. Shanghai-based CEIBS is opening its doors to applicants holding admission offers from any of the Top 30 U.S. full-time MBA programs (as ranked by the Financial Times this year). They are eligible for direct admission into the CEIBS MBA Class of 2027 program that starts on August. 25 with no application or admissions interview.

In this commentary, P&Q founder and editor in chief John Byrne explores whether Europe will follow CEIBS unprecedented move. You can find it in our Admissions hub from our main menu.

No. 4: Our Weekly Round Up of  News You Can Use

No matter where you are in your MBA journey, we bring several helpful stories for you this week.

First up: 2025-2026 MBA Application Deadlines At Leading Business Schools. We’ve updated our list to show you the most recently announced deadlines at all the schools on your target list. You can find it from our homepage. 

Next: How To Stand Out In The Application Pile. In this article, learn how to sidestep the overflowing buckets of banker, consultant, and tech profiles – and craft an application that truly shines. Find it in our admission hub.

Finally:  5 Tips To Craft A Killer MBA Resume: This story, up on our homepage, offers valuable insider tips with specific examples.

And, that’s it for this week’s Must Reads recap. 

I also want to alert school seekers to our events tab from our main menu. There, you’ll find all the upcoming admissions events for a range of degrees and programs including full-time and online MBAs, specialized masters, entrepreneurship and more. Registration is free.

Again, I’m Kristy Bleizeffer, and you can join me next week, right here, for a recap of what’s important in the world of business education. Thanks for listening.