Admissions Tips – Part 2: Grades, GMAT and Holistic Approach

Admissions to graduate programs are competitive in most universities due to demand, space and program size. JMSB’s admissions committees take a holistic approach to assessing applications; looking at all parts of an application.

Graduate programs are competitive. It is important to strive to surpass the requirements to apply for a program. Showing a consistent record of outstanding grades in an application for grad school helps admissions committees determine your level of commitment to your studies, your potential for success in a graduate-level program and your overall academic ability.

At JMSB, we accept students from all academic backgrounds (students are not required to have studied business previously to enter a graduate business program) into our programs. JMSB’s graduate programs invite students of all backgrounds and ages to apply. There are no restrictions on maximum age, maximum work experience or maximum qualifications or other degrees.  We accept students from all over the world in a variety of different professions, industries and backgrounds to come study at JMSB.

GPA & Previous Studies: JMSB’s graduate programs require a bachelor’s degree and a 2.7 or 3.0 GPA depending on program. If you’re below the required GPA for your program, the best thing to do would be to contact the Recruitment and Admissions office of the school you’re applying to discuss options in showing academic improvement and demonstrating potential for success before applying to graduate programs. For JMSB, you can contact Beth McKenna, Graduate Student Recruitment Officer (JMSB) at gradadvisor.jmsb@concordia.ca. In most cases, students with lower academic GPAs often take additional courses to show academic improvement and potential for success in a graduate or Masters Program.

If your studies are from another country that is not on a 4.0 or 4.3 grading scale for GPA, you can verify your international equivalencies to a Concordia 3.0 here: http://www.concordia.ca/admissions/graduate/requirements/minimum.html.

GMAT: The Graduate Management Admissions Test is an internationally administered computer-adaptive test—which gets harder with the more questions you answer correctly, easier with the more questions you answer wrong. Focused around four parts and running approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes, the GMAT tests analytical writing, verbal reasoning, integrated reasoning as well as a quantitative section. The GMAT is scored between 200 and 800, with the distribution of scores being on a bell curve (median = 550). Business schools vary on their required GMAT score, but the average score of accepted students can be well above the required minimum, depending on the school and competition for space in the program.

Required for many masters’ programs in business worldwide and at JMSB, this exam is one that tests thinking and reasoning, not specifically business skills—meaning students with a business major are not at any advantage in writing the GMAT over other students. It’s usually recommended that students plan anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months to prepare for writing the GMAT, using a variety of supports including online practice exams, test-prep tutors and GMAT prep classes, print guides, practice-question apps, online mock-exams and more.

Holistic Approach to Admissions: A holistic approach entails looking at the applicant from many different angles and considering their entire profile when making an admissions decision. This means looking at letters of reference, work experience (including career progression, growth and level of job experience), undergraduate grades (as well as grades from any additional studies aside from the undergrad), professional designations, statement of purpose, interviews and more.

In graduate programs, students can still be refused for admission to a program even if they meet all of the minimum requirements for a program. This is due to competitive admissions for limited spaces in a program. 

In an application, students should strive for strong GMAT, detailed letters of reference, clean and concise CVs along with a strong GPA to form well-rounded applications that show them at their best, highlight their strengths and show great potential for success at the graduate level.