MBA without a gpa?

[chicago123]

Hi everyone,

I graduated from Thomas Edison University recently mainly via testing out and thus do not have a GPA. I am now finding it difficult to find MBA program which fits my needs and would admit me without a GPA.

I'm looking for an AACSB accredited program that is from a recognizable school. My definition of recognizable is either the flagship state university or the secondary one (ie Illinois or Illinois State) or a major private institution.

I would like to keep costs under $50,000 total. I have a lot of success within my field of work and have launched two successful businesses. The purpose of the MBA would be to become more involved in industry boards and take a leadership position within our category.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[bjcheung77]

Does it have to be an AACSB program? As TESU's program is ACBSP accredited.
I did a search and most programs are much more expensive for AACSB vs ACBSP.
Which state are you in? Have you looked at your local state universities?

For AACSB, here's some- Univ of Colorado, Colorado Springs Distance MBA
CSU - may require a higher GMAT score if you don't have a good GPA
Mississippi, Missouri, Fayetteville State Online MBA programs.

Most AACSB programs have the following General Admission Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution or equivalent
  
• Minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.75 or higher (or graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher)
  
• Minimum GMAT (or GRE predicted GMAT) score of 400; or a GMAT waiver
  

What if I don’t meet these requirements? You may apply for either Degree Seeking or Professional Development status. If you apply for Professional Development status, you can enroll in up to 12 credit hours (4 classes), which may be used to meet the GPA requirement and attain a GMAT waiver. These credit hours apply to your MBA program once you enter Degree Seeking status.

You can practically choose any one of the programs of your choice, the school of your choice, apply to them and ask for permission to take 4 courses (12 credits) and show them "how well you do" (just make sure you do a GPA of 3 or higher). Basically apply and get "conditional acceptance", enroll in courses until you've got into the program "unconditional acceptance", the rest is history after you've completed all the coursework.

[dfrecore]

Have you taken any courses through another source, like at a CC?

If you absolutely HAVE to have the degree that you stated, then you probably should have planned that in advance. It's hard to give yourself such a restriction after the fact.

At this point, you could always go back and get a second degree using more traditional sources in order to get the GPA - like a BALS or even an AA from one of the Big 3.

Or even get some graded credits from somewhere that doesn't lead to a degree, but that you can use just for a transcript with a GPA. Take some classes at one of the cheap schools here (Luna CC, NMJC, Rio Salado, etc.). Take some classes at a mid-range priced school like UofArkansas Self-Paced, CSU-Pueblo Indep. Study, Univ of Idaho IS, BYU Indep. Study. Or go a little more expesnive: LSU Distance Learning, APU, CSU-Global.

Or take Graduate-level courses from somewhere like APU or CSU-Global.

Or ratchet down your requirements, and get an ACBSP-accredited degree from ENMU or APU.

I just think getting a non-traditional degree, and then switching and saying that you want a super-traditional MBA which won't accept your non-traditional degree (because you don't have a GPA) is kind of strange.

[davewill]

Contact the schools' admissions department directly, don't just rely on web based info. If you have plenty of business experience and success, you should be able to find a program that will overlook the GPA issue.

[ggabriele26]

Please update this thread with your progress/ maybe lack there of. I have been curious about this for a while now. I am in a similar place where I am planning on being done with a TESU BSBA in a few months and also plan on pursuing an MBA. Most of my credits will be from Straigherline and Study.com, though, I will have 2 TESU business courses, one being Strategic Management.

Also, maybe this will help - Check out this link for a list of ALL schools that will accept ACEcredit. - http://www2.acenet.edu/crm/cup/

There may be a way to help circumvent the GPA issue if the school recognizes ACE and you have decent professional experience. The other admissions factors, GMAT, recommendations, essays, etc will more than likely need to be stellar, but it is an option I have been working on myself.

[sanantone]

Accepting ACE credits has nothing to do with the GPA requirement. Either a GPA is absolutely required or the school has other options to evaluate the student for admission.

[ggabriele26]

True, but I am not talking about a GPA requirement.

All I am saying is that a school that meets the original poster's standards may be listed on the ACE site I posted. And as such if the school accepts ACE as credible source he/she may not be completely elimated from the admissions process for an MBA.

[cookderosa]

Please update this thread with your progress/ maybe lack there of. I have been curious about this for a while now. I am in a similar place where I am planning on being done with a TESU BSBA in a few months and also plan on pursuing an MBA. Most of my credits will be from Straigherline and Study.com, though, I will have 2 TESU business courses, one being Strategic Management.

Also, maybe this will help - Check out this link for a list of ALL schools that will accept ACEcredit. - http://www2.acenet.edu/crm/cup/

There may be a way to help circumvent the GPA issue if the school recognizes ACE and you have decent professional experience. The other admissions factors, GMAT, recommendations, essays, etc will more than likely need to be stellar, but it is an option I have been working on myself.

AFTER the fact, you simply choose a school that does not ask for a GPA or is willing to let you petition for an exception. There are zillions of schools in this category.

Of course, since your target list is so narrow, the entrance requirements would have been easy to locate and this could have been met easily while completing your degree at TESU.

If you were my BFF, I'd tell you to apply anyway and see what happens - if you have the "rest of the package" meaning solid references, good work history, great GMAT scores, you're going to get in - cast a wider net within the category of schools you want to attend.
It's not like you can't get into ANY program, but it's possible you can't get into EVERY program - you only need one "yes."

[Kaskadian]

If you have any CC/B&M credits, that will apply towards your grad school admissions. I was accepted (and am currently attending) West Texas A&M which is an AACSB accredited university. I tested out of a lot of my credits (80 CR+) also through TESU, and I was admitted because the traditional classes I did take added up to a good GPA.