No GMAT, No Problem: How These Schools Help MBA Applicants
There’s little joy in agonizing over less-than-stellar GMAT scores, wringing your sweaty hands over a looming GMAT appointment, and/or simply trying to sidestep the standardized nightmare, full stop. Slow down! Go easy on yourself!
For starters, there are plenty of schools that offer GMAT/GRE waivers or weigh other parts of your application more heavily than what you were able to half-remember one random Saturday morning.
Many schools acquiesce that it’s difficult parse out the ideal applicant from a test score and they eliminate many worthwhile candidates in the process. So, are there students who might do just fine in the application process skipping the GMAT rigmarole altogether?
If you have 5-7 years of high-quality work experience, it will certainly carry a lot of weight for applicants without GMAT scores, as will exceptionally high undergraduate GPAs. Applicants who can demonstrate aptitude in a related field can likely get away without GMATs. Candidates with post-graduate degrees in an unrelated field can also have the GMAT waived—let us know your secret for avoiding standardized tests all across the board, by the way.
On the flip side, if you don’t have significant work experience, didn’t graduate cum laude, and can’t demonstrated related (or unrelated) aptitude, you may have to claw tooth and nail to pass that GMAT with flying colors.
For those applicants with the right stuff, let’s take a deeper dive into five Metro-covered schools that don’t require GMAT for admissions:
Suffolk’s Sawyer School of Business
Sawyer School of Business applicants sans GMAT need not fret. Full-time MBA candidates with three years’ work experience and part-time MBA candidates with 5-7 years of experience can apply for waivers. Here are the other potential credentials that can take the place of a GMAT. In all cases documentation is required:
- If you’ve passed the CPA; CFA, Level 1; or the FRM, Level 1 exams
- If you’re a second-semester senior business or economics major or Berklee College of Music music management undergrad with a cumulative GPA of 3.3.
- If you have 2 years of relevant full-time professional work experience and a 3.4 undergraduate GPA; a 3.3 GPA and four years of experience; or 3.2 and six years of experience.
- If you have a MSA, MSF, MSBA, or MST from an AACSB-accredited b-school.
- If you are an ABA-approved law school graduate.
- If you’ve completed any SBS graduate certificate programs with a cumulative 3.3 GPA.
DePaul’s Kellstadt School of Business
If you apply to the Kellstadt School of Business in Chicago without GMAT scores, here are some alternatives that will help you make the cut. Along with an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution, Kellstadt applicants that do not take the GMAT need:
- Five years’ consecutive work experience that demonstrates management and quantitative aptitude.
- JD, MD, Ph.D., MSF degrees.
- 160 LSAT Score.
- Pass the CPA and/or PE exams.
- Any alumni from DePaul’s Driehaus College of Business with 3.2 GPA or higher and two years’ work experience.
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Rutgers Business School
Holders of a Ph.D., MD, JD, and PharmD, as well as applicants with 3.0-plus undergraduate GPAs are not required to present GMAT scores. Rutgers Business School part-time MBA and Professional Accounting MBA applicants with 10 years’ full-time experience (or 8 if they have a Master’s degree) can apply for GMAT waivers. Other related degree paths that do not require GMAT or GRE scores: The MA in Taxation, the MA in Governmental Accounting, and the MS in Supply Chain.
Pace’s Lubin School of Business
Prospective Pace Lubin School of Business MBAs with a 3.50-plus cumulative undergraduate GPAs or those already in possession of business-related post-graduate degrees can request GMAT waivers. CPAs, CMAs, or practicing lawyers can request GMAT waivers if they apply for the MS in Taxation. Applicants with three years of managerial human resources experience can request GMAT waivers for the MS in Human Resources Management.
Golden Gate University’s Ageno School of Business
The following Ageno School of Business candidates may apply for a GMAT waiver:
- Master’s degrees in unrelated fields.
- Applicants with professional licenses earned by passing a nationally recognized US exam e.g. CPA, CMA, CIA.
- Applicants with cumulative 3.50-plus undergraduate GPAs.
- Applicants with five years’ managerial experience.
- Practicing CFAs, physicians, or attorneys
The Many Dual MBA Options at the Rutgers Business School
The benefits of an MBA education can often go far beyond just the business world. From medicine to law, a number of industries and professions can utilize and benefit from the skills of an MBA graduate. At the Rutgers Business School, Newark and New Brunswick, there are a number of degree programs that can be paired with an MBA, giving students the chance to take their business training into a variety of fields. Below, we provide a snapshot of the many Dual Degree programs available for Rutgers MBA students.
The Best York Schulich School of Business Dual MBA Options
Getting a joint degree is a great opportunity, particularly for students who were already planning to pursue higher education in two fields. A dual degree streamlines the process and also saves students’ money and time. Obtaining a dual MBA gives grads the edge of having both business administration experience and extensive industry-specific training when they enter the workforce. This could be of huge benefit to future leaders with management aspirations within a specific field. For those who wish to pursue a dual MBA just half an hour from downtown Toronto, York University’s Schulich School of Business may be just the place. We’ve laid out the dual MBA options for Schulich students.
MBA/JD
Osgoode Hall Law School and Schulich School of Business team up to offer students an opportunity to earn a Master of Business Administration/Juris Doctor. According to U.S. News, getting a JD/MBA may have considerable rewards. The article states that 46 of the Fortune 500 CEOs hold JD degrees. Additionally, having an MBA and a JD affords professionals flexibility should they choose to switch careers. MBA training could also make new lawyers more likely to move up the ladder at their firm, due to leadership and analysis training.
Students with an interest in business law will be pleased by the comprehensive nature of Schulich’s program. This dual degree would shave a year off of the five years it generally takes to earn a JD and an MBA separately. Schulich boasts that this track provides students with the space and resources to, “… learn to manage complexity, ambiguity and change as you examine business and legal issues in a global environment.” B-schoolers who’ve pursued this degree at Schulich have gone on to prestigious careers at companies like Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Stikeman Elliott.
MBA/Financial Engineering
The MBA/Financial Engineering track is an opportunity to earn a concurrent Graduate Diploma in Financial Engineering. Students pursuing this program take courses at Schulich and York University’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics. The combination of an MBA and diploma in Financial Engineering will open doors to fields like derivatives trading and valuation and risk management in banks and investment firms. These degrees will also improve students’ odds of succeeding in financial analysis in brokerage houses, consulting firms and financial institutions. MBA/Financial Engineering students must complete the requirement for the Graduate Diploma within one term of finishing their MBA requirements.
MBA/MFA, MBA/MA
Schulich offers unique joint degrees in either Business Administration and Art. This track is an excellent opportunity for anyone aspiring toward a management career in the culture and arts sectors. Schulich has partnered with the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD) Graduate Studies to create this noteworthy program, which takes full-time students three years to complete. The MBA/MFA includes education in Visual Arts, Theatre, Film and Dance, whereas the MBA/MA includes Art History, Dance, Music, Film and Theatre Studies. According to Schulich’s website, students with these joint degrees have gone on to achieve titles like Theatre Director, Corporate Communications Manager and VP of Strategy.
Interview With The Dean: SMU Cox School of Business
Since 1997, Albert W Niemi, Jr. has served as the Dean of the Edwin L. Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University (SMU Cox) in Dallas. He is also currently the Cox School’s Tolleson Chair in Business Leadership, as well as the William J. O’Neil Chair in Global Markets and Freedom.
During his tenure, the Cox School has undergone many changes. He has helped to expand the degree offerings at the business school—expanding the school’s offerings to include four specialized master’s programs as well as multiple interdisciplinary program opportunities and a new Fast-Track MBA—and has also grown the school’s endowment from $78 million to more than $200 million.
This past August, Dean Niemi announced his intention to step down as Dean after serving the Cox School for more than twenty years. He will continue to remain in his faculty position, but will pass on his administrative responsibilities to Matthew B. Myers, a global marketing and strategy expert with expertise in Latin America who currently serves as dean of the Farmer School of Business at Miami University, Ohio.
To mark the occasion, we took the opportunity to interview Dean Niemi about his tenure as Dean and to gain his insight into what the future of the Cox School could look like. Continue reading…
Your Guide To The University Of Washington Dual MBA
Dual MBAs or concurrent degrees provide students the opportunity to earn an MBA—and the strong foundation of business knowledge that comes with it—while earning an additional degree. With the chance to pair MBAs with a wide range of degree programs from law to healthcare, dual degrees can save students time, money and give graduates the industry-tailored knowledge which will give them a competitive edge in the job market.
Dual MBAs You Need To Know At The Paul Merage School of Business, UC Irvine
If you are thinking about pursuing an MBA or any advanced business degree, you likely have a good idea about how and why you want to further your education. If that’s the case, you’re not alone—a 2016 GMAC survey found that 71 percent of prospective MBA students already have a single industry in mind for postgraduate employment; even before applying. Yet thanks to the broad base of knowledge an MBA degree provides, just what that industry is and each desired career path can vary wildly between individuals. And sometimes, careers move in unpredictable paths. To be ready for the varying trajectories that may pass, dual MBAs may cover your bases.
