Is HYPS really worth it...

gellino
Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:56:57 +0000

You should go where you will be inspired to do your best work and also be ranked in the top 20% of the class. The gpa is a very important data point for graduate schools. They generally do NOT adjust a 3.1 at Cornell to a 3.5 at UNC. The gpa is generally taken at face value, and many graduate schools have informal cutoffs at 3.4 or 3.5 that require some significant other achievements to overlook.



Your decision should encompass much more than where your class rank is likely to be higher, especially since at this point there are so many determining factors that will go into it that you are completely unaware of at this point. In addition, because the average student is smarter at Cornell than UNC, the avg GPA at Cornell will be higher as well. The avg GPA at Cornell may be ~ 3.25, but a 3.25 GPA at UNC could be much closer to top 25%, so you can’t just look at GPA in a vacuum. An MBA is definitely not a degree with an informal cutoff anywhere near that high as even the top grad schools have an avg GPA of ~ 3.5.