Are There Good Online MBA Programs That DON'T Require GMAT or GRE?

I’d like to earn an online MBA, 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. Can you suggest any top-ranked distance MBA that doesn’t require this exam or that other pesky exam, the GRE?

—Jack
Ticonderoga, NY 

One example: Northeastern University, in Boston, Massachusetts. This university offers a part-time Executive MBA 100 percent online. Northeastern recommends, but does not require, the GMAT for admission.

Northeastern’s online business school is top-ranked and accredited by the AACSB. The campus version of this same MBA is ranked among the top 20 part-time MBAs nationwide by U.S. News & World Report.

You will, however, need to show at least five years of career management experience to apply for the Northeastern distance MBA.

Because online graduate programs cater to older adults, many are abandoning the GMAT and GRE as measures of academic preparedness.

Colorado State University’s distance MBA—also 100 percent online and AACSB-accredited —requires the GMAT, but CSU 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. To petition for a waiver you must be able to document at least eight years of professional career experience.

Some graduate business schools offer specialized MBAs aimed at highly educated professionals. For example, Auburn University in Alabama offers a Physician’s MBA through distance learning. This MBA, which is open only to doctors, doesn’t require any formal admission exam.

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.)

Even more regionally-accredited business schools—64 of 90 surveyed by GetEducated.com—have abolished the GRE/GMAT requirement.

Consult GetEducated.com’s Online MBA Guide for links to regionally, nationally and AACSB-accredited online MBAs that do not require the GRE or GMAT.

For complete barrier-free admission, try any of the MBAs accredited by national agencies, like the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), which accredits distance-only universities, or the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), which accredits career colleges.

According to GetEducated.com’s National Survey of Online MBAs, none of 13 DETC-accredited distance MBAs require the GRE or GMAT for admission.

You’ll find 172 accredited graduate business schools offering 406 online MBAs fully profiled in GetEducated’s database of online business schools.

Check the ADMISSIONS section of each school’s profile. 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.