<p>I’m in somewhat of a rough spot. I started my undergraduate career at a top 50 university. However, I ended up leaving about four years later. I had a lot of difficulty doing well, in spite of taking some time off beforehand. I was clinically depressed for a while, among other things. I left with about 90 credits, and a 2.0 GPA. I have a few Fs (mostly incomplete fails) and Ws on that transcript. I took a semester at community college, and managed with a 3.75. I ended up transferring to Rutgers, and I’m currently in my last semester before graduation. So in total, I spent two additional years trying to complete my degree. Including my time at community college, I’ve accumulated about 90 credits with an overall GPA of something like a 3.78. I’m double majoring in philosophy and computer science. How will graduate schools view my GPA? As of right now, I’m interested in either getting an MBA, or pursuing and master’s degree in engineering. Assuming the rest of my application is stellar, what are my chances of getting into top schools?</p>
<p>whatever got you into Rutgers will be what’ll get you into grad school.</p>
<p>Your graduate schools will see all transcripts - the ones from your first university, your community college semester, and Rutgers. So they will see the 2.0 GPA and the Fs and Ws…but they will also see an upward trend at the community college and Rutgers. If you can tactfully explain that you had medical issues that caused you do poorly and leave your first college, but that they are resolved and you are doing better now (or have a recommender write that). Your chances will really depend on whether you can convince the admissions committee that your 2.0 days are behind you.</p>
<p>If you’ve taken the majority of your computer science classes at Rutgers and your computer science and engineering pre-requisite classes (calculus and other advanced math, physics, whatever) are really high (mostly As, maybe a few scattered Bs) and, conversely, most of your lower grades are in GE classes like English, gym, whatever, then you have a good chance of the admissions committee overlooking your low grades and admitting you. If you have some rough spots in the foundational advanced math and pre-engineering classes, though, you may have some issues unless you made them up and replaced them with new grades at Rutgers.</p>
<p>Your undergrad GPA will matter less at MBA programs. If you want to go to a top MBA program your best bet is to get a good corporate job for 2-5 years and move up the ranks as rapidly as possible during your time there to a managerial level position. Very few people get into top MBA programs right out of undergrad, and if you did you’d have to have done a lot of great internships and campus leadership positions and have a near-perfect GPA.</p>