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[jjk87380]

Unit wise I'm barely a junior and have a cumulative GPA of 2.89...
I'm trying to raise my GPA to at least 3.5 by the time I graduate because I want to go to a graduate school. My goal is getting admitted to UCLA Anderson School and their average GPA is around 3.6 and I know its fairly impossible to raise it above 3.6
I was wondering if there was any way to raise my GPA to ATLEAST 3.5
I was thinking about taking extra units or repeating my classes with a letter grade of "C" or lower.
Any suggestions??

[sanjoaquin]

In my experience, graduate schools, especially the more highly rated schools, will consider more than just your undergraduate GPA.  They may look for evidence of character development, community service, or volunteer or internship experience related to your field.  And GPA.  And standardized test scores.  And letters of recommendation that give detailed information about your strengths and developmental areas. 

My point is that even if you improve your GPA via working hard to earn good grades in your remaining classes, it may need more than that to achieve the admission you seek to that reputable program.  You didn't give us much detail regarding your other qualifications in your original post, so this may not be an issue, but I thought it would be helpful information if you did not know it yet.  Admissions folks will look at the overall quality of the application package and use more than one measure of success in their decision making.

You might also wish to consider what other programs or departments would make good alternatives to apply to in case you don't meet their admission criteria.  We often advise our students to apply to 5-7 schools at the graduate level.  Sometimes a program gets too many good applicants and just can't admit them all.  Alternatives are good, as are opportunities to consider more than one admission offer.

Best,
San Joaquin

[daniel_von_flanagan]

Unit wise I'm barely a junior and have a cumulative GPA of 2.89...
I'm trying to raise my GPA to at least 3.5 by the time I graduate because I want to go to a graduate school. My goal is getting admitted to UCLA Anderson School and their average GPA is around 3.6 and I know its fairly impossible to raise it above 3.6
I was wondering if there was any way to raise my GPA to ATLEAST 3.5

Probably not.

If an A in your school is 4 points, and you take only as many courses in your last two years as you took in your first two years, then the answer is "no"; straight As from now on will only net you an overall GPA of 3.44.  (You should be able to work this out yourself, the formula is 7th grade math...and you want to be a management student!)  If your school lets you retake classes in which you got a C or lower, and lets you substitute the new grade for the old, or if you take an extra semester or two, then it should be possible.

Your school surely has an advising office that can help you navigate your options, which will be unique to your situation and school and so impossible to pin down in a forum like this.

I do not know why you suddenly think you can earn As in all your courses given your C+ average to date.  However, if you do, then there is a good chance that the graduate program will look at your exemplary recent work and choose to ignore your early slacking off.  Just make sure you get the good GREs and letters to back this up. - DvF

[polly_mer]

OP,

Focusing purely raising your GPA to a given (and still embarrassingly low number) is missing the big picture.

Why do you want to go to graduate school and this school in particular?

What makes you a strong candidate for them apart from your grades?

I have to second DvF's comment.  What has changed so that you will now be a stellar student in what should be more difficult and time-consuming classes?

I know people who have made a big turnaround after a couple of years of poor performance (I'm married to one) but there was always an observable factor.

Have you changed majors to something that is a better fit with your strengths?
Have you spent some time working a crummy job that pays nothing and finally realized the value of an education?
Did you finally see a bright light and say "Yes!  I must be an X.  That is my destiny and nothing will stop me from becoming an X.  Graduate school is the proper next step."

None of those things come through in your post.  What we can read in your question is "Well, I have to do something after college and graduate school seems like a good idea.  I've goofed off a little, but tell me how to fix that and I will."  That won't get you into graduate school.

Doing the things that San Joaquin suggested will make you a better candidate.  If you can turn yourself around in the next two years with excellent grades in relevant classes and an active involvement in preprofessional activities, you will have a reasonable shot of getting into an good graduate program.  If that sounds like too much work, then you don't belong in graduate school and you should think about what you really do want to be doing with your life.

[namazu]

I disagree with Polly Mer that a 3.6 is "embarrassingly low" (it's close to an A- average), unless you are at an institution with rampant grade inflation.  Whether it is attainable or competitive is another matter.

Daniel von Flanagan has given some good guidance in this area - you will have to work exceptionally hard, and may need to take more units than you have in the past (which itself may may it more difficult for you to get top grades in all of your classes).  If, as DvF notes, you would be able to replace grades in classes you re-take, then this strategy could provide more bang for your buck, assuming you have reason to believe your second attempt will be much more successful than your first.

Depending on your financial considerations, interests, and the school's policies, you could also consider staying for an extra semester, or taking additional undergraduate classes at a local community college (particularly in areas relevant to business or to your major, if your major is related to the type of business you want to do).

Also, the Anderson School of Management claims that no work experience is required for admission; however, 98% of its students did have prior work experience, and 94% had at least 2 years of work experience (with the average student having more than 4 years of experience), if I am reading the 2009 profile correctly.  (http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/documents/areas/prg/mba/profile.pdf).  You may want to keep this in mind as you figure out your post-college plans.

You should certainly focus on bringing up your GPA through your upper-division coursework if your goal is ultimately to be admitted to a graduate program, but as San Joaquin and Polly Mer have noted, you should be careful not to do it at the expense of everything else that might make you a competitive candidate - good internships (which may provide a foot in the door to a good position or yield good letters of recommendation), involvement in extracurricular activities that highlight your initiative and ability to follow through on a good idea, and so on.

Oh, and aim for a great score on the GMAT.

Good luck!

[conjugate]

I disagree with Polly Mer that a 3.6 is "embarrassingly low" (it's close to an A- average), unless you are at an institution with rampant grade inflation.  Whether it is attainable or competitive is another matter.

As an undergrad, I knew a lot of business major wannabes who felt that a 3.8 was as low as they wanted to go if they wanted a really good business school.  Of course, I don't know which schools, or how the market has changed in the past (ahem) few years, or anything like that.  It seems to me, however, that colleges of business are much more selective than other colleges where the graduates don't expect to make so much money.

[msmommy]

I had a spell at my "junior" year where I did below my potential.  Now, I attended 4 different undergrad schools, I married a man in the military and plugged along as I could.  If anyone were to out right ask me why my grads at XYZ university were so out of character my honest answer is I was suffering from depression related to moving from my family and home to living in the US for the first time.  Somewhere in some military hospital archieve files I have medical documentation of this, but honestly, it hasn't come up.

My first 80 hours are very good solid grades, my last 36 hours at 1 university are stellar, I was older, I was settled, I was focused and it was a small university.  It is clear something went amiss during the time at 1 university, although it is not clear what from just looking at transcripts.  I had a W, and I and several Ds - completely out of character compared to the rest of the transcripts.

When I applied to the university where I finished my last 36 hours and who awarded me a BBA Cum Laude (for which I am super proud of myself), I was never asked about the time at a univ before there.  In fact I had a transfer student scholarship for 1/2 the tuition and when I asked how, they said my good acedemic standing -- I nearly fell over.  You see my last 2 semesters prior to this were riddled with a few Ds.

When I questioned an advisor about my ability to take so many courses, his response was your transcripts tell me you are capable.   When I was worried about taking a certain class, he said you took Calculus classes, this is a piece of cake.  I suppose the support was really what I needed and you get that at a small university.

If you have the potential and just have not been showing it, then let it shine.  And possibly in an essay you will have an opportunity to expand on your academic change.  Other than transfering and getting a clean slate, you can only do your best and hope for the best.

You will have to exceed mins on the GRE or GMAT.

You might not get into the first choice grad school, but that should not be the end of the world.  There are quality programs that are not in the top that are still well respected.