Hi,

I hoping someone can help. I didn't do so well during my UG and now it's coming back to haunt me like a reoccurring nightmare. I got a 2.89 GPA in college BS in Economics/Finance/Marketing. I struggled to finish up in 4 years which directly impacted my GPA.

I’ve recently heard about this “alternate transcript” idea. Since I’ve already taken accounting/finances courses – does it help if I retake them to get a better grade? Should I focus on quant classes like Calc/Stat? From what I’ve gathered from the forums – it looks like I should take a course from each subject but I’m not sure if that will help.

Also, does it matter where I take these classes? I.E. community college or university?

Any guidance would be appreciated!

Thanks!

In short, yes.

Even if it means taking courses that cover familiar territory, so long as you ace these courses it'll at least show them that your undergrad GPA wasn't due to lack of brains, but lack of effort/discipline/whatever. When it comes to addressing low GPAs, it's really about damage control more than anything else - you can't really turn it into a positive, but to show the lesser of two evils by demonstrating your academic aptitude in your "alternative" transcript.

And yes, you should focus on quant classes like calculus, stats, finance, accounting, linear algebra, etc. Also, adcoms don't care whether it's a university or a community college. Take 2 - 3 courses and you should be fine (no need for more than that).

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com

Alex,

Thank you for your quick response. I definately will look into classes this summer!