Ms. Low GPA Leader

Hi Ms. Low GPA Leader,
Congrats on your early promotions! This is Debbie Choy from mbaMission and GSB alum. I like that you’ve done well in your career with accelerated promotions and stepping into a PM role. I also think your active community engagement through mentoring and volunteering with NGOs will resonate well with Stanford. You also showed good leadership during college. That said, I agree with Jennifer that your academics could be a concern. If there were any circumstances that affected your GPA, do consider sharing them in the optional essay. Also, given your GPA, I also think a stronger GMAT score would help. If at all possible, consider retaking the GMAT to see if you can boost it up a shade. The good news though is that AdCom evaluates your profile holistically, taking into account not only your academic track record, but also your work performance and community leadership. The GSB essays should give you plenty of opportunity to highlight your achievements in these areas, so do take advantage to weave in your personal stories that have shaped you as a leader. As well, peel back the onion to share what drives you to be passionate about women empowerment and social impact. Wishing you the best in your MBA journey!

Hi, it’s Jennifer Jackson from Stratus Admissions. You have some wonderful experience under your belt in consulting and PM that will help offset that lower GPA. Your solid GMAT also will help. GSB is so competitive for everyone and you’ll have a heavy lift overcoming that GPA. But I think Stanford will love the mentoring you’ve done in your career and life over the years, and it’s great to see that your LT goal is tied to improving women’s lives in low-income communities. They want to see big, bold ideas on how you’ll change the world and you need to show Stanford will help you, so offer a bit of detail on that longer-term goal. Also for your ST goal be sure to explain why you want to keep going the PM route and how that sets you up to start a social venture that empowers women. You want to connect the dots in the application so schools are crystal clear on what you’re trying to do and how your background and experiences have prepared you so far as well as how you can’t reach those goals without an MBA. Good luck!