Lindsay Haselton, Associate Director for MBA Admissions at UCLA Anderson School of Management, clarified the role that candidates’ academic records and GMAT play in indicating future MBA academic success.
Accurately Predict Year 1 Performance
- Two important indicators of your potential for academic success and achievement in an MBA program are prior academic performance (e.g. undergraduate/baccalaureate degree, advanced degrees and post-baccalaureate coursework) and your GMAT score
- Taken together, these two factors have been shown to quite accurately predict how you will perform in the first year of an MBA program
Range of GMAT Scores and GPAs is Broad
- A certain GMAT or GPA score alone will not prevent or guarantee you entrance into UCLA/Anderson
- The Admissions committee balances your GPA and GMAT scores with your transcripts to determine your overall academic competitiveness
- Range of GMAT scores and GPAs of admitted students is therefore broad
Context is Important
- The AdCom takes into context the competitive level of your curriculum and school, the course load you chose and the academic trends exhibited on your transcript
- Admitted candidates tend to show a consistent level of academic performance above their peers
- UCLA/Anderson admits candidates from a wide array of undergraduate majors
- The AdCom needs to get comfortable with your ability to handle the quantitative rigors of MBA class via your undergraduate or graduate-level transcripts and/or the quantitative score on the GMAT
GPAs and GMAT Scores are Evaluated in Context
The admissions committee is ultimately assessing that a candidate has the necessary preparation to succeed in our program and we really do evaluate GPAs and GMAT scores in the context of the overall application. For this reason, when determining your competitiveness as an applicant, it may be advisable to look at our GMAT and GPA ranges rather than strict averages.