Mr. Low GPA

The way to overcome that low GPA is to play up your personal story and your GRE score. On the latter, you are in good shape with a 323 combined score vs. Duke’s class average of 319. And as to your personal story, uou clearly have a good one, coming from West Point and spending nearly seven years in the service of our country as a Green Beret. But you’ve given us a rather sparse view of yourself here even if you describe yourself as an extrovert. I bet there’s a lot about you that would be quite compelling. Duke’s acceptance rate is 23% From the looks of your profile, it appears you are only applying to Fuqua, perhaps because you are already located there with a wife and three kids. If so, let them know that Fuqua is your first and only choice. I would encourage you, however, to apply to a broader range of schools, including UVA Darden, UNC at Chapel Hill, and possibly Emory. MBA admissions can be quite random given the low admit rates at the better schools so it is best to hedge your bets. I think Fuqua will look past the low GPA and accept you if you present yourself in a compelling way.

I think that your GRE will go a ways towards offsetting your low undergraduate GPA, but you’ll still want to address the grades in your optional essay in a way that indicates ownership and responsibility (and, if any personal circumstances affected the GPA, do note them). If possible, I’d also take a couple of supplemental quant courses to demonstrate your academic readiness for the MBA program. The Green Beret is impressive, but I would need to know more about your impact and trajectory in the Army to assess the professional aspect of your profile. Fuqua is known to be a very military-friendly program, but for the same reason I’d also consider Darden, Tuck, and Johnson. Best of luck!

Hey Mr. Low GPA – This is Susan Cera, Director of MBA Admissions Counseling.

First, thank you for your service! Second, you need to get past the low GPA which is now 8+ years in your past so don’t let it define you (or your persona on Poets & Quants!) Having read applications at Fuqua for nearly a decade, I know that Fuqua values it’s military students. While it is fantastic that your GRE is above the Fuqua average, I feel that a 2.4 will be REALLY difficult to overcome. In fact, I recall needing to make a super compelling case for any candidate I wanted to admit whose GPA was below 3.0.

You didn’t share much information beyond your stats and your work. It is possible that your leadership and community (greatly valued by Fuqua) or incredibly impressive recommendations will enable adcom to look past the GPA.

If Fuqua is your top choice you need to do a few things: 1) take one or more quant courses at a program that will give you a transcript and get straight As. 2) Invest your efforts in connecting with students and admissions folks so you can better understand Fuqua’s values and how you can contribute to the community, 3) Apply in the binding Early Action round and 4) Have a backup plan to apply to other military friendly schools. WashU Olin comes to mind. A few years back one of our clients who had softer stats was accepted with a full merit scholarship. Good luck!