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As deadlines approach, business school applicants might be wondering: “Can you get into business school with a low GPA?”

To answer this question, we asked three of our Former Admissions Officers: John Lyon from Wharton, Stanford, and NYU Stern, JoAnne Goldberg from Stanford, and Aviva Legatt from Wharton.

When presented with the question above, John answered, “Yes! A great GMAT score can help you get away with a lower GPA. But GPA is more important than people think and a low GPA is pretty unacceptable at the very top (i.e. HBS and GSB). Your GPA reflects your performance over time, while your GMAT reflects how well you test on a given day.

It will also depend on what your major is. A low GPA in hard sciences or math is more acceptable than in social sciences or humanities.

It also depends on the grading system of the school. For example, some Korean universities are notoriously very tough graders. A lower GPA in that instance is almost expected.”

Drawing upon her experience as Assistant Director of Admissions at Stanford Graduate School of Business, JoAnne added, “Always provide an explanation if there is a specific reason that the GPA is lower, especially for recent graduates. There are a lot of reasons why someone’s GPA might not reflect academic ability—tough major, working while attending school, family crisis, illness, etc.”

Instead of letting admissions officers come to their own conclusions about why your GPA is low, get ahead of their thought process and provide them with a strategic answer. In crafting this explanation, be sure not to make excuses or make people feel bad for you; rather, show what you learned from this experience and how that will help you moving forward.

JoAnne continued, “If the applicant has been out of college for a while, then it's possible to play the ‘I was less mature and was too interested in extracurriculars to focus on school’ card, but the achievements post-graduation had better be pretty strong in that case!

I would also say that people from highly privileged backgrounds are held to a higher standard. If you went to prep school and cruised through Princeton with a 3.0, I'm going to wonder about your motivation. If you come from a less privileged background or had a rough upbringing, and then you somehow managed to get into Princeton and earned a 3.0—well, that is a different scenario, and I'm pulling for you because of your gutsiness and willingness to take risks. So short answer is: it depends!”

Aviva from Wharton added, “I agree with Joanne’s points, and add that a high score on its own will not be a pivotal factor in the admissions decision.”

There are many MBA admissions factors that contribute to admissions decisions and a lot of ways to compensate for a low GPA in the business school application process—outstanding leadership experience, impressive accomplishments, a high GMAT score, interesting personal stories, etc.

So, can you get into business school with a low GPA? Yes!