I have recently been contemplating whether should I apply for MBA or not. With that contemplation, also comes the dawn of the fact that one has to study and take the GMAT, which honestly is not the toughest but also is not the easiest.
With the ongoing turbulence in the global socio-eco-political plane due to Covid-19, it has become a conduit for powering up the looming bulb of possible doom over the head of applicants applying to B-Schools worldwide, in respect of ability to travel, study, get a job, procure visa and permit to work and stay, amongst other uncertainties.
It was only recently while talking to a friend who is also preparing for his GMAT, I was recently informed that some of the top-tier B-Schools are dispensing the requirement for GMAT/GRE for the current enrolment in their respective MBA courses due to the pandemic gripping the world.
Some of the B-Schools that have taken this recourse in the present times are: -
Wharton, University of Pennsylvania
Kellogg, North-western University (applicants falling under Future Leader Program)
McCombs, University of Texas
London Business School
Said School of Business, University of Oxford
Judge Business School, Cambridge University
(The list is not exhaustive, and dispensing with GMAT is up to certain level of selection, stage or time)
Looking at it from a myopic applicant’s point of view, yeah it is undoubtedly great that one can avoid giving a not so easy test.
Whereas looking at a more realistic picture, not having GMAT as a measure to curate possible candidates from the thousands of applicants, I assume will start to hinder the opportunity of those applicants which do not have a great deal of experience behind them and are counting on a Standardized Adaptive Test which might help them secure a seat in these prestigious B-Schools.
I’d like to know your views and opinions on this…
Warning - Haven't spell checked or proof-read. Please pardon any errors.
Okay, I might be peculiarly well placed to answer this.
A little background - I have been working in this industry for about 4 years now - started as something i did on the weekends and has metamorphosed to launching floatinggmat.com. We have since risen to become India's most successful institute - in terms of both GMAT coaching and admissions counselling- by a significant margin.
Now, to understand the repercussions of changes to admission policies, especially scores, you must first appreciate that b-schools want to push their applicant numbers up. The motivations include talent, diversity, and , well, moolah. Now, with Covid, fewer than usual 'elite' talents are applying to b schools because, well, they are smart enough to know that the coming depression would hit this graduating batch in 2021, but help the graduating batch in 2022(also the 2 year programs) - call me if you want to know why, the analysis cannot be explained in text but I assure, this research comes from some genius quants and economists, and can be trusted. With this diminishing number of qualified candidates, schools must ease their entry requirements. So, the schools who hadn't received enough applications must find good candidates, hence easing exam requirements among others. Please note this isn't a reflection on the school's pedigree- just chance.
As far as the impact on those with less experience or a weaker profile is concerned, it in fact helps. My experience shows that those with a weak profile usually end up with a weaker score in the exam as well, all else being equal - the exam is quite well designed. Hence, with the exam requirement waived, and the best applicants removing themselves from the pool, this is the perfect time to apply for those with a good but not exceptional profile. Of course, any decisions on the country you go to, the course and the school - note, this must be the order of importance- must be made very wisely.
To sum up, schools want talent and money. The best applicants see through it, the poor applicants make the mistake of applying everywhere and get rejections. The smart opportunists can make the best out of this confusion with some good decisions. As always, the best sail, the worst suffer and the smart grow. Life.
This is a very interesting concept coming up, thank you for sharing. I think that a little digging is required into how these B-schools with their crazy volume of applications are dealing with their admissions. Do share if you have any material on this, I'll try to figure this out too.