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Question: I'd like to earn an MBA online but most seem to
require the GMAT. I'm VP of Marketing in the real world, but my
GMAT scores stink. Nothing I've done, including an
expensive test prep program, has raised my GMAT. Cay you suggest
any top ranked distance MBA that doesn't require this exam or
that other exam, the GRE?
- J. Holliday
Ticonderoga, NY
Answer:
- Vicky Phillips
Chief Education Analyst
Low scores on the GMAT (Graduate Management
Admissions Test) or GRE (Graduate Record Exam) hurt a lot of
older (age 30+) business school applicants. Fortunately a legion
of reputable, distance learning business schools do not require
the GMAT or GRE for admission.
In fact, GetEducated.com’s higher education
researchers track and profile 90 online MBAs which are
accredited by recognized agencies and which do not require the
GRE or the GMAT.
One surprising fact: 11 of the 50 AACSB-accredited
online MBA programs GetEducated.com rates and ranks do not
require the GMAT or the GRE.
One example: Northeastern University, in
Boston, Massachusetts. This university offers a part-time
executive MBA that is now available 100% online. Northeastern
recommends, but does not require, the GMAT for admission.
Northeastern’s B-School is top-tier, fully
accredited by the AACSB. The campus version of this same
Executive MBA is competitively ranked among the top 20 part-time
MBAs nationwide by U.S. News & World Report.
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Editor's Choice |
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You will, however, need to show at least five
years of career management experience to apply for the
Northeastern distance MBA.
Because online graduate degree programs cater
to older, working adults many of them are abandoning the GMAT
and GRE as measures of academic preparedness. Career experience
is increasingly seen as a better indicator of success in the
business world than old-school academic measures, such as the
GMAT.
Colorado State University’s distance MBA, also
100% online and AACSB-accredited, requires the GMAT, but will
accept petitions for GMAT waiver from applicants with at least a
3.0 undergraduate GPA on the last half of their bachelor’s
degree plus at least eight years of professional experience.
CSU’s high-quality MBA, offered through
distance learning since the 1970s, appears on GetEducated.com’s
ranking list of Best Buys in AACSB-Accredited Online MBAs
http://www.geteducated.com/rankings/best_mbaaacsb.asp
Some graduate business schools offer
specialized MBAs aimed at highly educated professionals. For
example, Auburn University (Alabama) offers a special
Physician’s MBA through distance learning. This distance MBA,
which is open only to physicians, does not require any formal
admission exams.
Similarly, Oklahoma State University’s AACSB-accredited
online MBA for Dentists requires no GRE or GMAT. (You’ll have
to graduate dental school prior to seeking admission, however.)
Regionally
Accredited Online Business Schools - Majority Require No Tests
Even more regionally-accredited, distance
business schools -- 64 of 88 surveyed by GetEducated.com -- have
abolished the GRE/GMAT requirement.
Consult GetEducated.com’s full listings Table:
90 Online MBAs That Do Not Require the GRE or GMAT: Table of
Choices,
http://www.geteducated.com/articles/tbl_mba_nogre.asp,
for a veritable smorgasbord of options.
Baker College Online (Michigan), Excelsior
College (New York), and Upper Iowa University (Iowa) are a few
of the regionally accredited B-Schools that offer Top Ranked
Best Buys in Online MBAs,
http://www.geteducated.com/rankings/best_mbareg.asp
According to GetEducated.com’s National Survey of
Online MBAs none of these graduate business schools routinely
require the GRE or GMAT.
Upper Iowa University only requires the GMAT
for applicants with undergraduate GPAs below 2.75. Utica
College, in New York, places a similar restriction on MBA
applicants. At Utica, if your GPA is below 3.0 you’ll have to
sweat out the GRE or GMAT. Those with 3.0 (B) or above entrance
GPAs are spared any formal admission exam.
Nationally
Accredited MBAs Never Require GRE or GMAT
For complete barrier free
admission, try any of the distance MBAs accredited by the minor
national agencies, like the Distance Education and Training
Council (DETC), which accredits distance-only universities, or
the ACICS, which accredits career colleges.
According to GetEducated.com’s
National Survey of Online MBAs, none of 12 DETC-accredited
distance MBAs require the GRE or GMAT for admission.
You’ll find 168 accredited
graduate business schools offering 390 online MBAs fully
profiled in the free downloadable PDF guidebook, GetEducated’s
Best Distance Learning Graduate Schools, Business & Management &
Online MBAs
http://www.geteducated.com/guidebooks/bdlgs_bm.asp
Check out the ADMISSIONS section
of each school’s profile for details. Even when the GRE or GMAT
are required some online MBA programs require competitive (high)
scores, while others accept applicants whose scores fall within
the average range. Check out the admissions criteria for each
MBA program to find one that matches your level of performance
on any standardized exam.
Related Resources
90 Online MBAs That Do Not Require the GRE or GMAT: Table of
Choices
Best Distance Learning Graduate Schools, Business & Management &
Online MBAs - Free Downloadable Guidebook to 390 accredited
distance MBAs from 168 universities
Top Ranked Best Buys Online MBAs (USA) Regionally Accredited
Top Ranked Best Buys Online MBAs (USA) AACSB Accredited
Ivy League MBA Online?
Online MBA: National Survey Fast Facts
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