Did you hear a Ka-Thunk, Ka-Thunk, Ka-Thunk sound in 2020? That was the sound of GMAT and GRE standardized exams being dropped. During the 2019-2020 admissions cycle, as the pandemic grew, testing centers closed, and online testing caused some headaches, many business schools decided to go test-optional for the first time.
Here at Austin GMAT Review, we heard the Thwap, Thwap, Thwap of GMAT prep books slamming shut, as some students decided to take their chances without exam scores. A few of my clients decided to go ahead and apply specifically to business schools that had gone test-optional. Some of them had never gotten the chance to take the GMAT, while others had been working on raising their test scores. With the GMAT no longer an obstacle, they felt they had nothing to lose.
We don’t have detailed information on how many schools decided to waive the GMAT during that time – of all U.S. business programs, including part-time programs and non-MBA programs, 56% waived admissions exams.* We don’t know how many people decided to apply without test scores. But we do know that now waivers are not so easy to come by from the top full-time MBA programs (although most part-time MBA programs are more generous granting waivers to tried-and-true executives). From that fact alone, we can see that although the application reviews are indeed holistic, the MBA admissions committees seem exceedingly reluctant to do away with standardized exam requirements for full-time MBA program applicants.
So, today let’s attempt to answer the question: If you have the option, should you still take the GMAT or GRE, or take that waiver as an easy way out of testing?
Who will do better as an MBA student … someone who earned a 3.9 GPA and a kinesiology degree from Rice University, a 3.5 GPA in the Plan II Honors interdisciplinary program at the University of Texas in Austin, or a 3.0 GPA in the petroleum engineering program at Texas A&M?
Such apples-to-oranges comparisons are made by MBA admissions committees every year, especially because not everyone who applies holds a business-type major (nor do admissions officers want homogeneous classes). This is precisely why the admissions folks use the GMAT exam to assist them in identifying applicants who can sail through the first-year core courses, or at least not become road kill.
For this reason, I recommend that each applicant evaluate, first, whether he or she has a good chance of acceptance without submitting a test score; and second, whether he or she is introducing unnecessary risk into the MBA admissions process, based on what the school is signaling.
I believe that the more barriers that a school sets up to granting GMAT/GRE waivers, the fewer waivers they probably want to hand out. Most schools emphasize the need for you to prove your quantitative academic readiness. Some schools also place strict conditions upfront on approvals for waivers, typically a combination of significant work experience, high GPA, and/or advanced degree or professional certifications.
The admissions requirements of full-time MBA programs such as Cornell Johnson, Michigan Ross, NYU Stern, Texas McCombs, UCLA Anderson, and USC Marshall also require an applicant to write a short essay, statement, or detailed rationale justifying admission without a standardized test score.
A solid GPA of 3.0 or above is usually required to win a waiver, and UCLA Anderson and UNC Kenan-Flagler ask for an even higher GPA of 3.2+ in a quantitative- or analytical-oriented degree such as business, economics, or STEM. Darden, Georgetown McDonough, NYU Stern, Texas McCombs, and UNC Kenan-Flagler also require that waiver applicants submit transcripts in advance to show grades in applicable classes, which Georgetown identifies as finance, accounting, statistics, calculus, advanced math, engineering, computer science, or physics.
I would go further and recommend that if your GPA is below 3.5, you really should pursue a high GMAT or GRE score to put your candidacy on a stronger footing.
The schools that still offer GMAT/GRE waivers also tend to prefer applicants who have proved their academic abilities with a master's or advanced degree, preferably in analytical discipline. Such a degree program would presumably require a standardized exam score (usually the GRE) for entrance, and would also demonstrate your academic performance as a graduate student. This is in part why programs like UCLA Anderson and Texas McCombs encourage test waiver applicants to submit expired GMAT and GRE scores (over five years old). Most waiver-offering schools also will consider a CPA, CFA, or other quantitative professional certification as representative not only of your quant skills but your ability to study diligently over time and retain difficult financial concepts.
To a lesser extent, completing MITx MicroMasters, Wharton Business Foundations, MBAMath, or other relevant coursework has always been taken into consideration for test waivers as supporting evidence of an applicant's capacity to learn quant subjects. Texas McCombs also requires that students admitted with test waivers take a one-week "Accelerated Foundations Program," and most MBA programs insist that admitted students who come from non-business backgrounds take math classes prior to the first day of school.
Finally, and not surprisingly, considering that reputable MBA programs only bring in students who have substantial professional work experience, all business schools who offer waivers for the GMAT or GRE require 2-3 years of full-time work experience. However, these schools usually specify that the work experience must be in an analytical or quantitative function. UNC Kenan-Flagler asks for 5+ years of professional experience in a quantitative or analytical field; counter-intuitively, this strong emphasis on experience may indicate that Kenan-Flagler would seriously consider experience as an acceptable substitute for the test score.
Remember, if the default is “submit a GMAT score,” then some large percentage of people will, of course, submit their scores. You are competing against those people. They can prove that they are academically ready for MBA core courses: Can you?
Test waiver applicants are usually asked to provide the following, if possible:
Admissions officers very fairly believe that if an applicant has spent hours and hours studying for a difficult standardized exam, that applicant may be reluctant to spend additional 100+ hours preparing for the GMAT exam. Undoubtably true! However, business schools known as “quant” schools really seek hard, quantifiable evidence in applications. When they ask you directly for test scores, take them seriously. In my opinion, if you are able to take the GMAT, GRE, or Executive Assessment, just go ahead and do it, and don’t try to get by with substitutions, ancient scores, or (worse) nothing at all.
Business schools that go test-optional or offer waivers aren't doing it for purely altruistic reasons. They seek to pump up the application volume to mitigate their own risk of having an unimpressive, less accomplished MBA class, and as soon as they see that risk has been reduced, they quickly pivot. You, too, need to make your plans with a risk-management viewpoint.
Schools that went test-optional back in 2020 had increased application volumes – suggesting that if you apply to a test-optional school, you will face more competition. For example, Stanford GSB and Harvard Business School, which both maintained their testing requirements, had relatively flat application volumes. In comparison, after dropping test requirements, Kellogg reported a 56% increase in applications, MIT Sloan had a 22.1% increase, and Wharton (which went test-optional only in Round 3) had a 21% application increase. Rice Business provided test waivers to disadvantaged applicants and saw a phenomenal 63% rise in applications, despite setting up stringent criteria for the waivers.
Today, I believe that if you prepared seriously to apply to a top-tier MBA program, additional entries from people taking advantage of a “test-optional” allowance or GMAT/GRE waiver do not pose serious competition to you. They are white noise. At the same time, I do recommend that you submit a high GMAT score to stand out from the crowd.
Do you like living really dangerously? Then apply to Michigan Ross, UCLA Anderson, USC Marshall, or Cornell Johnson without test scores. These test-optional business schools do not pre-approve test waivers; instead, as part of your MBA application, in lieu of test scores, you will submit a statement describing why you are ready to succeed in a rigorous academic program, with the hope that the Admissions Committee concurs.
Admissions teams repeatedly warn that consulting firms and investment banks are still asking for GMAT scores as part of their hiring processes.
As it turns out, “test-optional” and exam waivers do not necessarily equate to “easier” and certainly not “better chances.”
Hard Truth 1: When some applicants have GMAT scores to evaluate, and others don’t, the ones without scores will face harder scrutiny in every other aspect of the application, especially the undergraduate school transcript. If your GPA is on the low side, you took few-to-none business, finance, accounting, or statistics classes, or you bombed them, “test optional” is not a good option for you. The GMAT exam is your chance to prove yourself to the admissions committee.
Hard Truth 2: Certain business schools have always weighed your GMAT score a little more heavily in application evaluation. With rigorous academic standards and prestigious reputations to maintain, the likelihood that they will reinstitute the GMAT and/or GRE as a requirement is very high. “Test optional” may be, quite suddenly, dropped. This is actually a good thing because unless you are a legacy admit or coming from an elite "feeder" school, you want the merits of your application to be quantitatively evaluated.
Hard Truth 3: To overcome the lack of a GMAT score, you must prove, without the shadow of a doubt, that you are MBA material. Two of my clients applied for and were granted GMAT waivers, one from Texas McCombs, the other from Indiana Kelley. Both applicants had common characteristics:
In addition, one client completed an online course that counterbalanced a business class that he had done poorly in as an undergraduate. The other client, who is in finance, directly addressed the fact that he would have to take the GMAT for his future career. Both networked with the schools’ students and alumni; they didn’t just appear from nowhere.
Both were accepted, the one at McCombs, the other at Kelley.
On the other hand, a developer client who was just establishing himself as a part-time entrepreneur decided to take his chances and apply to Kellogg without a test score at the height of the application rush in Round 2. He was ultimately denied, and had to complete his test before reapplying.
Don’t build your application plans on the premise that a top-ranked school that allows test waivers will stay that way. That’s like building a house on sand – whoosh, the next round might sweep it away.
There are many examples of the admissions officers of top-ranked full-time MBA programs ultimately deciding that the ability to study and achieve a decent score on a standardized GMAT and GRE exam is a valued characteristic in a potential MBA student – and suddenly taking test waivers off the table.
For most of the pandemic-plagued 2020-2021 admissions season, Kellogg allowed applicants to apply without scores for Rounds 1 and 2 – with the expectation that they would take the GMAT (or GRE) if accepted – and then reversed course. Kellogg Round 3 applicants had to take the exam to complete the application. MIT Sloan continued to allow full-time MBA applicants to try for test waivers all the way through 2022-2023, but after that such waivers were limited to people who could not submit a test score due to some specific situation.
Georgetown McDonough warns that when they review a test waiver request, "we could require additional proof of quantitative acumen, course syllabi, or request that you complete additional quantitative coursework, which could include requiring a standardized test score."
In short, if you are really banking everything on a test waiver, you are making a risky move that is unnecessary, in my opinion.
We have all learned a lot about the value of having a good GMAT score. Although some business schools took the GMAT exam out of the equation, the result actually ended up proving the true importance of standardized testing in the admissions process. The test-optional and test-waiver route is a self-limiting, risky choice for most North American applicants and a real option only for those who are truly disadvantaged. A better strategy is to take your GMAT preparation seriously and land a high GMAT score early, so that you can focus instead on manuevering your way into an excellent business school.
*2020 Application Trends Survey by GMAC: 325 schools offering 525 MBA programs participated in the survey – 204 schools were based in the United States, representing 372 MBA programs.
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