<p>I had excellent grades in high school, and I got accepted into a top notch undergraduate institution. I thought that I wanted to be a high school football coach/teacher, so I majored in History (even though I did much better in economics courses). Later on, I lost interest in this career path, but I still needed to complete several 'historical methods seminars' in order to graduate. I had little to no interest in these courses at the time, and as a result, my grades suffered. </p>
<p>So, I am going to be graduating after next semester with about a 3.3 gpa in History. I would like to get into a top notch business school (I'm talking Harvard, Stanford, Kellogg, Wharton, Booth, etc.). So, I am thinking about getting a masters degree...in order to get a relevant job...in order to get into a top b-school. But I do not know what kind of masters degree would be best for this!? Economics? Finance? Marketing? etc. If anyone has any input, it would be greatly, greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>Blue</p>
<p>p.s. - I have already scheduled a meeting with the chair of our economics and business department to speak about this when he returns to campus in the fall, but I want to do a great deal of research before going into that meeting.</p>
<p>i mean…its gonna be pretty tough for me to get a great job that would impress the likes of harvard with a History major, right? its gonna be pretty tough for me to ace the GMAT with no business courses, right? its gonna be pretty tough for me to get accepted into a top school with a 3.3 gpa, right?</p>
<p>it seems like it might be the best idea to just ace through a masters program.</p>
<p>The undergraduate gpa is what schools have to report, so that is what they primarily care about. If you want to raise your GPA and get relevant courses in, I would recommend taking courses over the summer and staying at your current undergraduate school for another year or semester. After you take relevant courses, work for three or four years, and then apply to business schools.</p>
<p>im sorry…but this seems a little bit crazy to me…if i 4-pointed a masters degree in finance…they wouldnt care bc they have to report my undergrad gpa?</p>
<p>I’m not saying they won’t consider it, I’m just saying that in terms of raising GPA (what you said you wanted to do) it would make more sense (especially financially) to stay in undergrad. Masters programs have VERY limited financial aid, if any at all.</p>
<p>Not at all - the GMAT, ironically, has almost nothing to do with business courses whatsoever. It’s actually rather similar to the SAT and GRE. Basically, if you can write essays, do basic high school algebra and geometry, and have good vocabulary and grammar skills, you can do well on the GMAT. On the other hand, people with excellent business skills may do terrible on the GMAT, for example, those who aren’t fluent in English.</p>
<p>1st of all, great news. If the GMAT is anything like the SAT, I should be able to ace it.</p>
<p>2nd of all, I’m sorry, I should have been more clear about my situation (I was trying to be brief)…</p>
<p>The school I’m at right now, a year here isn’t any less expensive than a year at Wharton. Almost any masters program would be a break for me. The angle I’m trying to sell is this - “Hey, I’m a smart kid, I got into a great school, but I didn’t have any direction (as opposed to…I got lazy), so I ended up with a 3.3 gpa. Then I figured out what I wanted to do, aced a masters program, earned rave reviews from employers, and here I am, ready to lead with the best and brightest.”</p>
<p>But it should also be said that the GMAT is a relatively minor admissions factor, as are grades. Plenty of people with killer grades and GMAT scores are rejected from the top B-schools. For more important is your work experience and leadership potential. </p>
<p>As a case in point, I know a guy who’s a indisputable genius, obtaining killer grades as an undergrad and completing a PhD at MIT at a rapid pace, and scored a top figure on the GMAT. He then applied to the MBA program at the MIT Sloan School…and was rejected. Why? No work experience. {Note, being a PhD student doesn’t really qualify as ‘work experience’}</p>
<p>well, i mean, work experience is something im going to get. im a likable guy, a relentless worker, and i like to think that ive sort of got a brain for biz…so i dont think getting work experience/letters of reccomendation will be a problem.</p>
<p>They don’t look at work experience as sources of recommendations. They look it as an important educational experience, and important preparation for business school. That is why work experience is much more important than a masters program, even if you got a 4.0.</p>