A strong and competitive undergraduate grade point average will increase your eligibility for admission to top-tier business schools. In part, that’s because your undergraduate GPA is an indication of your capabilities in the classroom and a predictor of future success; but perhaps more importantly, the average incoming GPA for a new business school class will affect the program’s overall standing in MBA rankings publications—a significant consideration when highly selective universities are in competition with one another!
And while most Admission Committee members would agree that an applicant’s undergraduate GPA would not, by itself, make or break an application, the AdCom will nonetheless be wary of admitting someone whose GPA is too far below from the average. For this reason, you will find that the most selective business schools will demand the highest standards in regard to undergraduate performance, while lower ranked programs will likely have more lenient policies.
Many top business schools publish the average GPA figures in the incoming class profiles circulated every year before matriculation. The following table draws from these profiles to show the average incoming grade point average for MBA programs in the US.
Top US Business Schools: Average GPA, 2017-2023
| MBA Program | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford GSB | 3.77 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Harvard Business School | 3.73 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| The Wharton School | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
| Northwestern Kellogg | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
| Chicago Booth | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
| Columbia Business School | – | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.5 |
| MIT Sloan* | 3.61 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Dartmouth Tuck | 3.49 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Berkeley Haas | 3.64 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Virginia Darden | 3.51 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Yale SOM* | 3.64 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Duke Fuqua** | 3.49 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Michigan Ross | 3.43 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Texas McCombs | 3.46 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Cornell Johnson* | 3.35 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
| UCLA Anderson** | 3.45 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
| NYU Stern | 3.61 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Carnegie Mellon Tepper | 3.26 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
| UNC Kenan-Flagler | 3.42 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
| Emory Goizueta** | 3.47 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| USC Marshall | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Georgetown McDonough | 3.34 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| Indiana Kelley | 3.40 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| UW Foster | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| Rice Jones | – | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
*Median GPA
**Contains estimates
What Constitutes a Low GPA for Business School?
Put simply, a GPA 1 point off the average (or more) could be considered low, especially for top business schools, where standards are higher. As we’ve already mentioned, MBA admissions officers are keenly aware of the average stats for their incoming classes, and applying with a lower grade point average will certainly put you at a disadvantage compared to someone who meets or exceeds the average GPA of the incoming class. Nonetheless, there are still steps you can take to improve your application.
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Applying to Business School with a Low GPA
If you are applying to a business school on the list above and you are worried that your performance as an undergraduate does not stand up to that of other admitted applicants, don’t be discouraged. By putting time and effort into your GMAT score and your application package—which includes your resume, extracurriculars, and most importantly, your essays—you can make up for a less-than-stellar GPA.
- Your GMAT score is one of the most important variables in determining if you will be successful at business school—and if you will be successful in being admitted to business school. If your test scores are high enough, it might convince admissions officers that a lower GPA does not reflect your true intelligence and competence. A competitive GRE score will also help you compensate for a low GPA.
- Applicants to top MBA programs need more than good grades and work experience to stand out from the crowd—you will also need strong extracurriculars too. Business schools won’t see a candidate as favorable if their profile lacks clear instances of leadership and generosity—extracurricular activities can and should speak to these qualities!
- In the realm of MBA admissions, no one expects an undergraduate GPA to be directly tied to intelligence and motivation—AdComs realize personal life circ*mstances can contribute to a rocky start in college, resulting in a low GPA. That’s why MBA applications provide a space to explain and expand on the details behind an applicant’s profile. In these optional, “support” essays, you can tell the AdCom why your GPA is below average, and why this won’t affect your ability to act as a high-performing member of the next incoming class. Note that you should only use these support essays to directly address your GPA if it is significantly below the average. For all other cases…
- …You can use your personal essays and stories from life outside of work or school to show the AdCom what would make you such a productive and valuable member of their program. If the support essays are not exactly the right forum to address a low GPA, you can instead use the general essays to explain why your performance as an undergraduate might not be up to usual standards, but in an indirect way.
Elevate your candidacy with personalized guidance from our dedicated team of expert MBA consultants.
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The Ultimate
MBA Admissions Checklist
Our free, comprehensive checklist covers everything you need to shop for an MBA admissions consultant.
Our free, comprehensive checklist covers everything you need to shop for an MBA admissions consultant.
✓ Compare pricing across 35+ MBA admissions consulting firms
✓ Learn why “success rates” are not to be trusted
✓ Find the right service model for your needs
✓ Prep for your consultation calls
✓ Compare pricing across 35+ MBA admissions consulting firms
✓ Learn why “success rates”
are not to be trusted
✓ Find the right service model
for your needs
✓ Prep for your consultation calls
