<p>I am a senior at an Ivy League university with an average 3.65 GPA right now and I was planing on graduating early i.e. end of this semester instead of the fall as I was able to secure a full time position at at Investment bank after I graduate. </p>
<pre><code>However, because of all the time I spent interviewing and traveling for the full time recruiting process, my grades have taken a big hit this semester and I am worried that if my GPA falls substantially to say a 3.55 or a 3.5 this semester, it might affect my chance of getting into my top choice Business School. So what do you all recommend, should I come consider coming back for the spring semester and try to push back up my GPA if I end up doing badly this semester? Or should I go ahead and graduate early and focusing on writing doing really well on the GMAT and explain the situation in my application essay. Also, taking into consideration the fact that the extra semester will cost $25000 in tuition and expenses......
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<p>I’m in somewhat of a similar situation. I found out I could graduate with honors in 3.5 years. I’ve been told from many around my school that graduating early could only help. And saving 25k seems to be more important than going from a 3.55 to a 3.6, especially if the classes are unnecessary. I’d say go for it and try and graduate early because it will separate you from other candidates with similar grades who graduated in 4 years. And since you have a position lined up already, there’s really no reason not to. Think about how much you’ll make at that job over the course of the semester compared to the 25k cost for staying in school just to increase your gpa slightly.</p>
<p>If you are concerned about MBA admissions do some research and find out what sort of “extra-curricular” activities you can have while you are working that would look good on an MBA app. </p>
<p>It has been a long time since I completed my MBA but back in the old days doing things like building houses for Habitat or working some hours in a soup kitchen while working full time meant a whole lot more than finishing undergrad with a 3.65 versus a 3.5.</p>