Hi.

Does anyone have any tips for what schools an international student with a 2,2 GPA (with A=4.0) could apply too? Preferably in CA of FL? I have not yet taken the GMAT.

Thanks in advance!

These are very popular states to study in, so average GPAs are not low there. Try:
University of Central Arkansas (AR)
University of Arkansas--Little Rock (AR)
Indiana State University (IN)
Delaware State University (DE)
University of North Texas (TX)
University of New Orleans (LA)
Texas A&M University--Commerce (TX)
Clark Atlanta University (GA)
Stephen F. Austin State University (TX)
Francis Marion University (SC)

Start with the programs that Duncan listed. Your GPA puts you at a disadvantage when applying to higher-tier programs. The average GPA at second-tier programs like Boston - Carroll and Rutgers is still over 3.0 - and there is not a lot of wiggle room along these lines.

A couple of things you can do:

Get a great GMAT score. Admissions commissions will examine your application holistically, and a strong GMAT score will do a lot to ease their fears that you will not be a strong student.

Show how far you've come. In your application essays, try to mitigate your low GPA by demonstrating that you've gained more perspective and maturity since your undergrad years. A strong work history with demonstrable advancements will go a long way.

Take some classes. A few pre-MBA courses might be beneficial, and would look good on your applications.

But keep in mind that top schools don't often let students in with lower GMAT scores. The low end of the GPA range at schools like Cornell - Johnson and Emory - Goizueta tend to go down only to about 2.8 or so.

Thanks for the answers guys. Helps a lot!

However I seem to have done the conversion from Norwegian to US GPA all wrong. The final GPA using the correct conversion is actually higher, around 3,0.

I don't know if this makes me more eligible for better schools or if higher ranked schools is still out of reach for me. Any thoughts?

That would still be below the average GPA at the schools I listed above.

I think that Ezra's advice still stands.

Top US business schools have very narrow ranges of admitted students' average GPAs - usually hovering around 3.5. So at Stanford it's around 3.7, at Yale it's 3.5, NYU Stern is 3.4, etc.

With a 3.0, you'd sneak in at the very low end of the range of admitted student GPAs at some schools, like Chicago Booth, Darden, Duke, and Columbia, for example.

However, since that is essentially the very low end of the scale, I'd consider these reach schools for you, and you'd have to make up for this with a stronger-than-average GMAT score, among other factors. The average GMAT of admitted students at Columbia, for example, is about 715 - so all other things equal, I'd aim for 750+ for this to be a sure bet.

Start with the programs that Duncan listed. Your GPA puts you at a disadvantage when applying to higher-tier programs. The average GPA at second-tier programs like Boston - Carroll and Rutgers is still over 3.0 - and there is not a lot of wiggle room along these lines.

A couple of things you can do:

Get a great GMAT score. Admissions commissions will examine your application holistically, and a strong GMAT score will do a lot to ease their fears that you will not be a strong student.

Show how far you've come. In your application essays, try to mitigate your low GPA by demonstrating that you've gained more perspective and maturity since your undergrad years. A strong work history with demonstrable advancements will go a long way.

Take some classes. A few pre-MBA courses might be beneficial, and would look good on your applications.

But keep in mind that top schools don't often let students in with lower GMAT scores. The low end of the GPA range at schools like Cornell - Johnson and Emory - Goizueta tend to go down only to about 2.8 or so.