Summary: An Online MBA with no GMAT requirement influences top-tier schools to stop stressing the importance of the standardized test and look to other assessments.
Online MBAs With No GMAT Requirement Influence Top Universities
Professionals wondering about why online MBA programs have a no GMAT tendency might be surprised to find out that MBA programs have been reducing this requirement steadily for years. As online MBA programs become more respected, they have actually gotten to a point where their policies are influencing the oldest schools around. Top-tier business schools have been gravitating away from the GMAT since 2006 when Stanford and MIT dropped the requirement; just last year, Harvard followed suit.
The GMAT, or Graduate Management Admission Test, is a standardized test that looks at how likely a student is to excel in their business studies courses. It is usually considered in conjunction with other, some would say more important, qualifiers for MBA programs such as a resume, prior degree, applications essay and letters of recommendation. To better understand why some schools elect to require applicants to take the GMAT and score at a specific level, consider some of the pros and cons of the aptitude test.
Pros and Cons of GMAT Standard
For students who have been out of an academic setting for a while, the GMAT is a good way to refresh their verbal, mathematical and analytical writing skills. The total score possible on the GMAT is 800, and many of the top-ranked schools require a score between 600 and 700 for admission. The test is revered because it indicates how likely a student is to excel in beginning business classes, and it is thought that those who score low may not be able to keep up. However, many schools have overlooked a low GMAT score because of impressive experience or references, which is perhaps why the test first started being doubted by admissions teams.
The GMAT costs professionals $250, which isn’t bad if the desired score is achieved the first time. But multiple attempts can prove costly for businesspeople seeking an MBA online.
Benefits of Programs Without GMAT Requirement
Aside from saving the cost of the pricey exam, online MBA programs with no GMAT requirement offer a number of benefits to professionals who are seeking the best program to help further their careers. Business Week ranked the top 25 MBA programs, and 50 percent of them do not require the GMAT (http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_32/b3946109_mz056.htm). This signifies how schools are moving toward more analytical understanding of their applicants without using broad test standards to disregard qualified students.
Online MBA programs have risen in respectability due to technological advancements that have made them more practical, affordable and beneficial than traditional MBA programs. As online MBAs allow professionals a flexible schedule, the benefit of maintaining the same level of devotion to work during a business day is a significant factor contributing to the rise of online admissions. No GMAT score can compare with the amount of experience and knowledge professionals earn in the field, which is much harder to enumerate and compare, but admissions teams are willing to take on that challenge more and more.
The qualitative assessments that make up the MBA admissions requirements for Marylhurst lead to candidates who better fit the student body and school programs, rather than those with just a good standardized test score. As the quality of the classes improve, the opportunity for networking in the online MBA programs will continue to improve as well.
The Department of Education in a recent study found that students in online education programs actually performed 9 percent better in assessment tests following their studies. With enrollment numbers skyrocketing, and testimonials from graduates standing up for the integrity of these programs, online MBAs are positioned to continue climbing the ranks of best programs in some of the business industry’s most respected publications.
Ultimately, standardized tests have been under scrutiny by educators for years because they neglect the specialized learning environments that online programs are so keen to promote. In an online MBA program with no GMAT requirement, students will find flexibility and increasingly enhanced curriculum while improving their use of the technology that is growing more important in business as well as in social activity. As online MBA programs ascend to the level of prestige that top-tier business schools enjoy, it’s likely their influence will be seen on these very schools along the way.
