Finding online MBA programs no GMAT can make the process of applying to a course and getting accepted much easier. The GMAT is usually seen as a good general guide to how business savvy someone is, but there are many professionals who have a lot of useful knowledge from working in the real world of business but those skills aren’t reflected by their scores in written exams. If this is your situation, we’ve come up with a solution for you by putting together a list of the best online MBA programs with no GMAT requirement for entry.
There’s another big reason you might want to dodge the GMAT: cost. Sitting the GMAT can easily set you back several hundred dollars – and even then there’s no guarantee you’ll get into the MBA program. And that’s just the dollar cost – there’s also the opportunity cost involved in the 100 plus hours you might have to put into studying for the exam itself.
Some graduates want to do a no-GMAT Master of Business Administration, but they have reservations because they worry it won’t be as respected in the job market. If this is what you’re thinking, don’t worry about it – you’ll notice as you read through this list that many of these are accredited MBA programs which are known and respected by employers around the US.
Best Online MBA Programs No GMAT Required
You might be surprised to learn how many top-notch universities don’t have a GMAT requirement for their MBA courses. Business schools have begun to recognize that the GMAT can deter potential students and that it’s often not particularly useful anyway. Here are just a handful of the better ones:
- Walden University
- Florida Tech
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Grand Canyon University
- Kaplan University
- Gonzaga University
- University of Southern California
- University of Scranton
- Regis University
- Capella University
- University of Florida
As you can see, many of these schools offering Online MBA programs without GMAT have reputations and academic credibility which are nothing to sneeze at. Regis University was one of the first business schools to start offering online MBAs and their program consistently ranks highly in lists of the top online MBAs in the US.
What is the GMAT and Why Does it Matter?
Well, to answer the second question first – why does it matter – the answer is that it doesn’t, really. It’s simple a guideline which some schools use to determine who is ‘cut out’ for their MBA program. Schools have a vested interest in making sure the people they accept into their MBA program are up to the challenge, because if they let just anyone in it will reflect badly on their pass rates, the success of their graduates – and eventually on the reputation of the school itself.
But there are many other criteria for determining who is qualified to enter into MBA degree study. In fact, it’s become pretty common these days for executive MBA programs to place little emphasis on the GMAT because they have other much more comprehensive criteria for entry.
Online MBA Programs No GMAT or GMAT?
GMAT stands for Graduate Management Admissions Test. It’s essentially a basic test of accounting and mathematics skills. It shows course administrators where your strengths lie as far as basic calculations go – but as we all know, there’s often a pretty wide gulf between the equations we learned at school and what we do in the real world. In that respect most schools running MBA programs recognize the GMAT is at best a guideline.
Of course, this isn’t to say that the GMAT is useless – far from it. The GMAT can be a valuable tool in getting you up to speed on the core concepts you’ll need to understand to succeed in your MBA course. It also lets you get back into the habit of studying if you’ve been in the work force for a while, before you actually start your ‘real’ MBA program. This is especially important if you’re going to study online, which requires a lot of self discipline. This sums up what you need to know about online MBA programs no GMAT.