Ms. Comeback Kid

Hi Ms. Comeback Kid, Kristen from MBA Prep School here. Your 2.6 GPA is definitely a hurdle to overcome but I have to admit you cover all the bases necessary to make it a possibility. You obviously have a story behind the grade, and it sounds like more of an explanation rather than an excuse (big difference to the adcom). You’ve also done everything right to “right the ship”: retaken courses with a nearly perfect outcome, jumbo GMAT score, and rapid career progression in a competitive, male-driven, “hot topic” industry and a widely-recognized organization. You obviously have been recognized for your hard work by being selected for the emerging leaders program and winning the case competition, and being the youngest and only female team lead must certainly provide opportunities to display leadership, collaboration, and drive in complex situations. On top of all of that, you are engaged in internal committees as well as external volunteer organizations. Top MBA programs don’t often make a lot of exceptions outside of their “ranges” when they have so many qualified candidates to choose from, but I feel like you would be the type of person they would do so for. i do like that you have expanded your reach beyond the top 3 and you might consider adding one more outside the M7. Please let us know if we can help in any way or if you would like to schedule a complimentary consultation to chat more!

The real question is, Can you get into Harvard Business School with a 2.6 GPA from a public university, a full 1.1 points below the class average which is heavily weighted by Ivy League, Near Ivy and Public Ivy undergraduate institutions? For the vast majority of candidates, the answer is, Not a snowball’s chance in hell. But for you…well, I honestly think you have a good shot, particularly if your reason for doing poorly can be explained by a medical condition or a personal tragedy of some kind. And that’s largely because of your track record at work and your jumbo GMAT score of 780, a full 50 points above Harvard’s class median. Seriously, you have knocked it out of the park at your Fortune 10 company from both a volunteer standpoint and an employee. Your promotions, performance ratings and leadership of an all-male team at work is a very big deal. So if you can simply explain why you did so poorly in undergrad, I think you have more than made up for it since then. Good luck!