I've hardly researched anything about business schools. What is this "alternative transcript" you keep talking about and what kind of classes should you take to build one? I majored in Art History with a 3.0 GPA (but 3.6 Major GPA) because of the pressure to do premed (classes which I failed and brought my GPA down). I have no background in math/finance/econ but did get a perfect on my SAT math back in the day (5 years ago) and have gotten A's/A-s in the 2 or 3 math and econ classes I took during undergrad as basic requirements. I'm getting the impression that business school is only for future investment bankers/hedge fund owners? I want to start my own consulting firm in art...should I be looking into some other kind of graduate school?

thanks!

Thank you for your inquiry.

You asked about an alternative transcript. This term generally refers to candidates who have graduated from their undergrad programs and want to either improve upon their respective GPAs, because they did not perform well in the past, or want to build confidence in their quantitative/management skills, because they took an unrelated course load (i.e. English major) and thus have not had the chance to prove proficiency. It seems like you are in the latter camp.

With respect to your desire to start an art consulting firm, it seems that an MBA will give you the tools to do so. Of course, only you can decide whether an MBA is right for you…

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

www.mbamission.com
646-485-8844
Skype:MBAMission

Hi Jeremy,

I'm not the OP, but am curious to hear more of your thoughts on alternative transcripts. My biggest weakness on my future applications will be my undergrad GPA. I have mitigating factors to discuss in essays, but want to do something about my 3.2 GPA (3.18 to be more accurate).

I've taken a couple finance courses through UC Berkeley's extension program (A's in both), but don't know how valuable those will be considering I was a business (finance/accounting) major. Should I continue to take courses - that don't overlap with undergrad courses - through the extension program to boost my GPA or is the alternative transcript more for liberal arts majors trying to show competence in business?

A couple other related questions:

- Is there any esteem given to certain extension programs that I should look into?
- If I'm interested in taking language courses, will these be looked at as viable alternative transcript grades?
- How does someone present his/her GPA on on b-school applications, with an alternative transcript?

Thanks in advance!

Thank you for your latest inquiry.

Your 3.2 GPA is actually not that much of a problem. Generally, anything under 3.0 gets you in the “danger zone” and anything above 3.t5 is solid. Still a 3.2 is not going to be the end of your candidacy. You just need to be sure that your GMAT is strong, especially on the quantitative side.

The fact that you have earned As at UC Berkeley is important – hopefully you were not taking courses that repeated subject matter. If you gained a window into some new concepts or more challenging versions of existing concepts, then your grades should be helpful to you. If you have not taken one of Calculus, Financial Accounting, Statistics or Corporate Finance, these are the most frequently pursued courses and you can select one from the bunch. Generally, people take quant and business classes to show that they are prepared for b-school. While an A in a language won’t hurt you, it likely won’t help bolster your academic case all that much. Still, it could add to your overall profile intangibly.

In terms of the actual presentation of the transcript, most schools just ask for you to self-report all under graduate level grades and then they have their own directions for calculating a GPA. There is a fair amount of variation…

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

www.mbamission.com
646-485-8844
Skype: MBAMission