Question for Alex - Alt Transcript

[reed.parker]

Hi Alex,

I posted on this forum 5-6 months ago and found your comments very helpful. I applied this year to HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg and Columbia. I got interviews from Stanford and Wharton (and obviously Kellogg) but unfortunately no admits. I feel I still have a strong profile. I graduated in 2005 and I am 25 and a CPA who works for a Big 4 accounting firm doing fraud investigations. My ECs are good and I have good leadership in and out of the work place. My GMAT was 710 (Q - 48 (84%) V - 41 (92%)). However the huge black eye on my app was my UG GPA. I majored in accounting and I have a 3.1 cumulative GPA. In addition to the low GPA I got a C in calculus my freshman year.

I wan to apply R1 next year as a re-app to Stanford and Wharton bc I feel like I was close this year. I will add some other schools that may be more realistic for me.

My question is what classes should I take? Obviously I will take a cal class, but what else? How many classes should I take? I have heard of people using the alt transcript to prove their quant abilities, but can it also be used to make a 3.1 UG GPA more competitive? In addition to calc should I take stats or maybe a soft class like Org Behavior (got C+ in college in it)?

I feel like I was really close this year and need to address this glaring issue, any adive would be appreciated.

Thanks

[reed.parker]

One addition to the my questions above. Does it matter where I take the classes? I am located in the SF Bay Area, and trying to see what will work with my schedule. I can take online classes through local community colleges or try for the UC Berkeley Extension program. I obviously know that Berkeley Extension is a better name, but does community college vs. Berkeley extension matter to the b schools?

Thanks!