Insiders Advise: How Does Your Academic Record Affect Your MBA Application?

By Vickie Euyoque

Anderson MBA applicants: It’s time to discuss academics. Every student admitted must have a strong academic profile in order to succeed in the MBA program. In considering the academic potential of each applicant, the admissions committee evaluates academic records like test scores (either the GMAT or GRE, as well as the TOEFL or IELTS for applicants who earned their degree in a foreign country where the official language is something other than English) and other measures of progress and success.

When we evaluate prior academic experience and achievement, we thoroughly review undergraduate transcripts as well as graduate transcripts. In evaluating transcripts there are several things that we consider, including: the rigor of the school, the course load associated with each major, grade trends. So don’t worry too much if you got off to a slow start as long as you were able to improve your grades as you learned new study methods and became more comfortable with your major.

In general, we give applicants the benefit of the doubt, so a few lower grades can be offset by higher ones. Although not required, graduate coursework can contribute to a candidate’s academic profile, as can additional classes taken after college. Courses such as accounting, statistics and economics are usually the best ones to show good academic preparation, but they not required since we always want to admit students with diverse perspectives, which includes diverse academic backgrounds.

Our team is familiar with the grading systems and relative rigor for countries around the world, so we understand the context for each applicant’s performance. It is not necessary to convert grades to a 4.0 scale, since we will examine transcripts according to the grading scale for the school attended.

Academics are only one part of the application package. To learn more about our application process, read our blogs covering Anderson’s new essay question and opportunity to submit two letters of recommendation, and check back in with us over the next few weeks as we share more application tips.

Good luck!

Vickie Euyoque is associate director of UCLA Anderson MBA admissions. This blog was adapted from her most recent post in the MBA Insider’s Blog.

REVIEW ANDERSON’S MBA REQUIREMENTS AND APPLY ONLINE