What to do if your GPA, GMAT score, or other numbers suck

GPA: Aim for a 3.6 or above

What to do if you don’t have it:

• Leave your GPA off your resume.
• Consider taking supplemental coursework. The supplemental coursework you should consider taking (in order of importance to MBA/MPP admissions): Microeconomics, Statistics, Accounting, Finance, Calculus (surprisingly, Calculus is more important to policy schools than most business schools)
• Use your optional essay to explain in detail all the ways you are going to excel academically while in graduate school.

GMAT: Aim for a 680 or above

What to do if you don’t have it:

• Leave your GMAT score off of your resume.
• Consider studying and then retaking the test. Taking the test more than 4 times sets off a “crazy” alert though, so avoid doing that.
• Consider taking supplemental coursework.
• Rock that optional essay! (It is such an important and severely underused tool!)

Age: Aim to apply when you are between 24-28 years old

What to do if you don’t have it:

• If you’re “too young”: Make sure your recommenders address your maturity and ability to thrive in a rough and tumble learning environment. Use your optional essay to convey your confidence and enthusiasm for graduate school. Make sure that your essays convey that you have clarity on why you are going to graduate school and what you plan to use the degree for.
• If you’re “too old”: Make sure your recomenders address your ability to work well with people of all ages. In your optional essay, reiterate your openness to learning from people of all ages and backgrounds.

I hope you found these quick tips helpful! Of course there are never any hard and fast rules when it comes to these kinds of things, but I wanted to give you some helpful guidelines so that you can shape your application and make apparent weaknesses work in your favor.