Is It Possible to Earn an MBA Without A GMAT Score?
Tuesday, July 26, 2016 | 12:00 AM
What scares you the most…snakes? Flying? Public speaking? How about needles? Or is it taking a standardized test? If you have a fear of taking tests like the GRE or the GMAT, you are not alone. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports that children who have test anxiety suffer physical symptoms such as shortness of breath and nausea. As an adult, you may experience similar stress over the GMAT, the Graduate Management Admissions test.
Why MBA Some Applicants Dislike the GMAT
The GMAT, which is the national standardized test that is commonly used to measure prospective students’ eligibility for business school, is not only tough, but it requires months of preparation. People even pay large sums of money to GMAT preparation companies that offer a range of services from online courses to private tutoring starting at $115 per hour.
The score represents an applicant’s worthiness and years of preparation and schooling … all in one little number. Some feel this is not a good representation of an applicant’s readiness for business school — especially if test anxiety skews the score lower. An MBA without GMAT is an ideal situation for many with test anxiety.
What Happens When You Still Have Test Anxiety as an Adult but You Want to Apply to Business School?
While there are things teachers and parents can do to help a child with test anxiety, there is little you can do if you want to get a Master of Business Administration degree.
Until recently, that is. In the past, online MBA programs required applicants to provide a GMAT score, which was then used to determine eligibility for acceptance into the program. Now, an MBA without GMAT is entirely possible because some programs will waive that requirement.
Instead, these schools focus on an applicant’s experience in business, which of course speaks volumes about potential and ability. Admissions offices might also consider a strong undergraduate GPA, which is an indicator of how well the applicant might do in online MBA programs.
Yes, MBA Without GMAT Is Possible!
Forgoing national standardized test is a growing trend in higher education…not just in business schools. Some of the nation’s top online MBA programs and other institutions of higher learning now accept applications with no GRE, no GMAT, and no SAT. For people with test anxiety, that is a welcome relief and a promising development.
Learn about University of Texas Rio Grande Valley online MBA program.
Source:
http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/children/test-anxiety
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/331/6014/211
Have a question or concern about this article? Please contact us.
