Another Major Business School Drops Online MBA Test Requirements

Another business school has dropped the GMAT and GRE as an admissions requirement for its online MBA program.

Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business will no longer require the GMAT or GRE for admission into its tech- and data-centric online MBA program.

Jordan Holladay, director of graduate recruiting for the Harbert College of Business, told BestColleges in an email that dropping the requirement follows years of a successful GMAT/GRE waiver policy.

In doing so, Auburn joins a growing number of schools that have instituted test-optional admissions policies for their MBA programs in the years since the pandemic.

“Post-COVID, we instituted a GMAT/GRE waiver policy based on undergraduate GPA and years of post-undergraduate work experience,” Holladay said.

“Since then, Auburn University’s online MBA program has admitted more students without a test score than students who have submitted a test score, and we have had a few years to monitor the progress of those students in the program. The students admitted without a test score have been successful in the online MBA program.”

Holladay said online applicants will now be “holistically evaluated based on their resume/professional experience, personal statement, college transcripts, and recommendations.”

Applicants can still submit an official test score if they want, and Holladay said the scores will be reviewed as an optional component of the application.

Auburn’s online MBA program is built around flexibility and high-demand skills. The 13-class program — nine required core courses and four electives — allows students up to six years to finish at their own pace. However, Holladay said most students finish in 2.5 years.

Courses include instruction in areas projected for major growth over the next decade, like quantitative analysis, organizational leadership, and information technology.

Auburn also offers electives in a number of fast-growing fields like international business operations, business data management, financial engineering, supply chain planning, and more.

“Students in the online MBA program enjoy the flexibility the program provides,” Holladay said.

“Within the four electives, some students choose to specialize and pursue a graduate certificate alongside their MBA. Other students choose to take courses across a myriad of disciplines. Whether their employers want them to upskill in certain areas, gain knowledge in new ones, or the students are looking to make a pivot, the curriculum allows them the opportunity to take classes that will meet their needs.”

Students in the online MBA program average between seven and eight years of professional experience before enrolling, and Holladay said almost all students work full time while pursuing the online MBA.

A growing number of online and flexibility-focused programs — which often cater to working professionals — have dropped the GMAT and GRE as a requirement for admission in recent years.

The Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) Olin Business School’s new Flex MBA program, which debuted this fall, is among the recently launched programs that doesn’t require the GMAT or GRE for admission.

The University of New Mexico (UNM) Anderson School of Management announced earlier this year that it would permanently remove entrance exam requirements for its executive MBA program. The move, school officials said in a press release, would put a higher emphasis on “the value in the applicant’s career experience and the lessons each applicant has learned along the way.”

“Removing the exam as a requirement rewards that experience,” the UNM press release read.

The past two years have been transformative for graduate admissions tests. Not only have a growing number of schools moved to test-optional policies — the tests themselves have changed.

The GMAT and GRE have both recently been revamped to better address student needs and flexibility.

The new GMAT Focus Edition “was redesigned with a more efficient test-taking experience and flexible new features to better support and encourage more candidates on their business school journey,” according to a 2023 Graduate Management Admission Council press release.

The revamped GMAT features three 45-minute sections and focuses on high-demand areas like data analytics and problem-solving. The test can be completed in any order, and students can bookmark questions for later.

“The redesign makes the exam more focused, more accessible, and less daunting,” Rodrigo Malta, managing director of MBA recruitment and admissions at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business, said in a GMAC release. “But more focused doesn’t mean easier or less valuable. It just means smarter.”

The GRE likewise underwent an overhaul last year, cutting its test time in half.