Should I take supplemental courses when applying for an MBA or MPA program?
While you’re putting together a stellar graduate school application with great reference letters, solid test scores, and an amazing transcript, that one poor grade in a prerequisite course for your dream program haunts you at night. Are you worried that course might stop your dream of getting into your top-choice program? You’re not alone, and we have the answers.
Welcome to our new, monthly Ask The Art of Applying® series where we give you a peek into what it’s like to be a client asking a question in our Q&A Vault. We bring you answers to your questions about getting into graduate school. This month, we’re answering a question about supplemental coursework.
Should I take supplemental courses when applying for an MBA or MPA program?
Here’s the full question from one of our awesome clients, “I have a quick question about supplemental coursework for business school applicants. I was planning on taking some quant courses in the next couple of months due to my low GRE quant score. I searched through the Q&A Vault and saw that Kaneisha suggested taking Statistics and Microeconomics. I took an intro to stats course in undergraduate, and also an intro to microeconomics and macroeconomics course. For both of those, I got an A-, but it was 2010/2011-ish. Do you still think it makes sense to re-take intro courses for those to boost my application, or do you suggest I take other courses, or none? Thanks in advance!”
One of our top consultants, Virginia, saw this client’s question and jumped in to respond:
“Hi, It doesn’t hurt to retake statistics and microeconomics. But, since you did well in macro & microeconomics, you could focus on statistics. Have you considered accounting? Accounting is the other core MBA course, so it could demonstrate your readiness for business school. Kaneisha, anything else?”
Kaneisha weighs in with:
“I would not repeat macroeconomics, microeconomics, nor statistics since you did well in them. I suggest you take Accounting (take this first) and then Finance (Intro to Corporate Finance, not Personal Finance).
You don’t need to take Accounting, nor Finance anywhere fancy—just a place where you’ll get a real letter grade.
Another option is to take Harvard Business School’s CORe.
Between the two options above, (Accounting + Finance) and HBS CORe, I do not prefer one or the other.
I love that you’re going to take supplemental courses. You’ll be really glad you did that for negotiating additional financial aid, updates during your interviews, and updates for any schools that might waitlist you.”
So, there you have it! If you have a low GRE score on the quantitative section and you want to bolster your application, you’ll do well to take quant courses you didn’t do as well in to get better grades and prove you’re ready for a rigorous MBA program.
What if I got a D in Microeconomics in college? Should I retake that before I apply to my dream MBA program?
The great thing about this client’s question is that it spurred follow-up questions from other clients!
“Kaneisha, you had recommended that I take HBSCore for no credit during our Assessment Call. Should I take that in addition to enrolling for an econ course and stats course at a local community college for a grade? Please note that I got a D in Microeconomics in college, I don’t have a quant background and I got a 159 on the quant section of the GRE.”
According to Kaneisha, “No, you don’t do both; it’s the bundle of HBS CORe courses or separate courses.”
HBS CORe is an all-in-one package of courses to show that you’re ready for business school. So, if you’re planning to do that, you won’t need to take any additional courses to show you can handle Masters level quantitative courses.
What if I’m applying to Harvard Kennedy School’s Masters in Public Administration in International Development Program?
Once again, we have another follow up question from someone applying to HKS’s highly competitive MPA-ID program,
“I’m interested in taking supplementary courses for Harvard’s MPA-ID application. I know requirements for the MPA-ID include completion of at least one university-level course each in:
- Microeconomics
- Macroeconomics
- three university-level courses in calculus, which must include multivariable calculus
In Undergrad, I received a B+ both in microeconomics and macroeconomics, and an A in statistics. I should be good with the calculus requirement since I received an A in both multivariable and single-variable calc (I tested out of the 3rd with APs).
Do you think I should retake micro and macro economics at a community college or online course for credits?”
Here’s where things get interesting!
Virginia comes in with one answer, “Since you did well in these courses, I don’t think there’s value in you retaking them. I took a look at the HKS MPA-ID prerequisites, and linear algebra is the only other listed prerequisite course.
But, linear algebra is only listed as desirable. Looks like you’re good to go with prerequisite courses!”
Then, Kaneisha comes in with a dissenting opinion!
“I’m actually going to disagree. The MPA-ID is the most selective degree at HKS, and more selective than most top MBA programs. To prepare yourself for the rigor of MPA-ID, and to be as competitive as possible, I’d suggest you retake the two economics courses and take linear algebra.
Also, I suggest you speak with at least four MPA-ID alumni to get a very clear idea of the MPA-ID experience. It’s very different than the MPP and MPA—much more rigorous, similar to the first two years of a PhD program than simply a Masters degree.
I’m not at all looking to discourage you from pursuing it, but it’s important that anyone pursuing the MPA-ID knows just how competitive it is to get admitted and just how different the experience is than the other HKS degrees.”
What should I do next?
At the end of the day, your application is unique and it’s important that you think holistically about it when deciding to invest your time in supplemental courses to bolster your application.
If you want some help from experienced consultants who can help you decide, we’re here for you. Book a quick call with us and we’ll help you answer questions like these. If you enjoyed this post, tune in next month for another edition of Ask The Art of Applying®!
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