There is no recommended curriculum for undergraduate study, but we expect you to challenge yourself throughout your academic career and to do well. If you have earned academic honors, we give you the opportunity to list them in the application.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

Many applicants worry that we may not know that lower grades in one concentration (or university; or, for international students, educational system) may be equivalent to the strongest at another. We do.

However, it is not a grade point average (or rank in class, or actual grade) that is of greatest importance to us.

By focusing on your achievements within context, we evaluate how you have excelled within your individual academic environment and how you have taken advantage of the opportunities available to you in your school and community.

GPA Reporting for Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees

• If you attended a school that does not report annual and cumulative GPA, you should compute it yourself. Only classes that have counted (or will be counted) toward your degree are to be included in that calculation.
• If you attended a school that calculates grades using a 4.0 numeric grading system, report a grade point average (GPA) for each undergraduate year and a cumulative average of all undergraduate years attended, and (if applicable) report a GPA for your graduate degree.
• If you attended a school that reports grades on a scale other than a 4.0 numberic system, report that GPA or other classification and the grading scale used.
• Undergraduate GPA Reporting
  • In the Education section of the online application, in the box marked Undergraduate Cumulative GPA, include only those courses in calculating your GPA that counted toward your undergraduate degree.
• Graduate GPA Reporting
  • If you have multiple graduate degrees, report your graduate degree GPA on the application form for one degree only. Only courses that counted towards that degree are to be included in that graduate degree GPA.

Transcripts

• Do not mail an Official Transcript. We request an Official Transcript only after admission, and will notify you.
• Do not include transcripts from secondary school.
• Scan and upload a black-and-white copy of the front and back of your university transcript(s). The transcript may be unofficial.
• Confirm that your uploaded transcript is readable and that the name of the institution is on it. If your transcripts are illegible, it will delay your application.
• If you have difficulty uploading a copy or reducing the file size of your scanned transcript to 500 kilobytes (KB), you may use the self-reported transcript template provided in the online application as an alternative.
• If your transcript is in a language other than English, please include an English translation.
• Submit transcript(s) from each university you have attended for one full academic year (two academic semesters, three quarters or trimesters) or more, regardless of the number of credits received.
• Transcripts for units that were transferred from a previous institution are not required if the courses, units, and grades are included on your undergraduate transcript.
• Transcripts from year-abroad programs are not necessary if the grades are included on your undergraduate transcript.
• Transcripts should include degree conferred and conferral date, if applicable.
• Any discrepancy between the uploaded transcript and the official transcript could result in the denial of your application or withdrawal of your offer of admission.

Language Proficiency

Fluency in foreign languages is not required for admission to the MBA Program. However, the value of foreign language proficiency for a global manager is clear.

Language skills provide much more than business access. They expose you to new realms of cultures, ideas, and values. Languages provide not only an appreciation for a world outside your own, but also a new perspective on your own culture.

In the application, you can assess your proficiency for up to three languages (excluding English) using the following language proficiency levels and corresponding descriptions.

If you speak more than three languages, or speak a language that is not listed, please use the Additional Information section.

Level 1: Elementary proficiency

• Able to satisfy routine survival needs and minimum courtesy requirements
• Can ask and answer questions on familiar topics

Level 2: Limited working proficiency

• Can handle confidently, but not easily, most social situations, including casual conversations about current events, work, and family
• Can handle limited work requirements, but need help in handling complications or difficulties

Level 3: Professional working proficiency

• Able to participate effectively in formal and informal conversations on practical, social, and professional topics
• Can discuss particular interests and fields of competence with reasonable ease
• Would never be taken for a native speaker, but errors never interfere with understanding and rarely disturb the native speaker

Level 4: Full professional proficiency

• Able to use the language fluently and accurately for all professional needs
• Can understand and participate in conversations within own personal and professional experience with fluency and precision of vocabulary
• Would rarely be taken for a native speaker, but can respond appropriately even in unfamiliar situations
• Can handle informal interpreting from and into the language

Level 5: Native or bilingual proficiency

• Are fluent in the language, such that speech on all levels is fully accepted by educated native speakers in all of its features, including vocabulary, jargon, and pertinent cultural references

*These descriptions are based on the Interagency Language Roundtable scale developed by the United States Foreign Service Institute.

Awards and Honors

We want to learn about your accomplishments, specifically those for which you have received recognition. We are interested in your successes inside and outside of the classroom.

• Please list up to five awards and/or honors and describe the basis upon which you were selected.
• These may include academic, civic, or professional activities for which you received recognition.
• List each in order of importance to you, with the most important listed first.

updated 9 June 2011

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