MBA in the USA: 65 MBA Colleges Waiving GMAT, GRE Scores in 2021

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Are you planning to do an MBA in the USA in 2021? If yes, then this article will be of much help to you. COVID-19 has led to the closure of several test centers. There are also concerns over the at-home versions of the GMAT and the GRE.

Hence, most of the top B-Schools in the US are now waiving these standardized tests for admission. Now one can easily pursue an MBA in the USA without submitting GMAT or GRE scores.

Nearly the top 65 Business Schools in the USA have now made these tests optional and encourage MBA aspirants to apply with test waiver policies. However, the admission standards have not been affected at all.

For MBA applicants, there just may be a silver lining to the pandemic. The vast majority of MBA programs in the U.S. are now waiving standardized tests for admission!Click To Tweet

Now the MBA aspirants are expected to prove their mettle to study MBA in the USA based on previous academic credentials.

Here we share names of 65 top MBA Colleges in the USA that are waiving the GMAT and the GRE 2021.

What Business Schools are Waiving GMAT, GRE Scores?

For the first time, due to COVID-19, many top 65 business schools are offering MBA in USA courses without GMAT or GRE scores.

The list of the colleges for pursuing an MBA in USA without submitting GMAT or GRE scores are mentioned below in chart:

Name of the B-School	Place	Criteria On GMAT or GRE Waivers
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT-Sloan)	Cambridge, USA	Submit educational documents and work experience of the candidates.
Darden School of Business-University of Virginia	Charlottesville, USA	The university might consider last year's SAT & ACT scores for a waiver.
Ross School of Business- University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, USA	Will consider waitlist Round 1 for MBA students.
Tepper School of Business-Carnegie Mellon University	Pittsburgh, USA	The university will ask for proof of preparedness in Maths through advanced quant classes.
NC Kenan-Flagler Business School	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	MBA aspirants must have a 3.2 GPA score in Economics or STEM or Business Analytics or advanced or terminal degree or at least five years of previous work experience in an analytical field
McCombs School of Business	Austin, USA	Test waivers will be given only to those who could not take the test due to Covid-19.
Emory University's Goizueta Business School	Atlanta, Georgia	In the same vein, Waivers will be only for the ones who are unable to take the test amid Covid-19.
Kelley School of Business at Indiana University	Bloomington, Indiana	The university will ask for a brief statement within 500 words stating why you deserve a waiver.
Scheller College of Business	Atlanta, Georgia	Aspirants need to submit an essay of 2,000 characters to support academic preparedness for a test waiver.
Rice Business (Jones Graduate School Of Business)	Houston, Texas	MBA aspirants need to have seven years of prior work experience, undergraduate degree, or STEM master’s, CPA or CFA, MCAT or LSAT
Owen Graduate School of Management	Nashville, Tennessee	Applicants will be shortlisted based on their analytical and quantitative subjects' performance, five years of prior work experience, CPA or CFA.
BYU Marriott School of Business	Provo, Utah	Waivers applicable only during the pandemic
Carlson School of Management	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Requires GPA of 3.2 in Bachelor’s and 5+ years of work experience, a CFA or CPA, or Master’s degree
Penn State Smeal College of Business	Harrisburg, USA	MBA aspirants must have a Ph.D., MD, or DO degree with 5+ years of military service, or other master’s degrees
Simon Business School	Rochester, New York	Needs Bachelor’s degree GPA of 3.2 or higher
Wisconsin	Madison, USA	Requires five years of prior work experience and a 3.3 GPA in Bachelor’s degree
University of Georgia (Terry)	Athens, USA	Current or previous military service is required.
University of Pittsburgh (Katz)	Pittsburgh, USA	Waivers with exceptional undergraduate or graduate credentials and significant prior work experience
SMU (Cox)	Dallas, Texas	GRE or GMAT is optional for Fall 2021 applicants
The University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal)	Richardson, USA	Waivers will be for the ones who face “logistical issues while taking the test as a result of Covid-19.”
Michigan State University (Broad)	East Lansing, Michigan	At least four years of prior work experience, a strong recommendation from a supervisor, and online prerequisites
Boston University (Questrom)	Boston, Massachusetts	GMAT or GRE Test is optional for Fall 2021 applicants
University of Maryland (Robert H.Smith)	College Park, Maryland	Industry certification along with Six Sigma, or CFA or CPA and 3.0 GPA at least in Bachelor’s, MCAT, or LSAT scores
Texas A&M University	College Station, Texas	Waivers for applicants with two years of prior work experience and a 3.7 GPA in Bachelor's degree
UC-Irvine	Irvine, California	In the same vein, Requires four years or above prior work experience and a “strong academic performance
UC-Davis	Davis, California	You will need a 3.2 GPA or more in a quant subject, five years of prior work experience, or CPA, or CFA certification, or four more years of military duty, or a Master’s degree.
University of Tennessee	Knoxville, Tennessee	Requires current or past military service
George Washington University	Washington, D.C., United States	GMAT or GRE not required anymore
University of Miami	Coral Gables, Florida	Test optional due to Covid-19
University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Alabama	In the same vein, Test optional due to Covid-19
North Carolina State University	Raleigh, North Carolina	You will need a 3.6 GPA in Bachelor's, a graduate degree, ten more years of prior work experience, military service, or above nine credit hours in an AACSB MBA.
University of Arizona	Tucson, Arizona	Needs 3.0 GPA or above in Bachelor's, Peace Corps volunteers or terminal degree holders
Northeastern University	Boston, Massachusetts	Those without test scores ‘will not be penalized or be at a disadvantage.’
Babson College	Wellesley, Massachusetts	Will consider past academic background, written and verbal communication, and career potential or graph through a resume and references.
Boston College	Newton, Massachusetts	Requires three years or above prior work experience, 3.0 GP in Bachelor's degree, or MBA, or Ph.D., or CPA, or CFA.
University of Colorado-Boulder	Boulder, Colorado	Test optional due to Covid-19
William & Mary	Williamsburg, Virginia	In the same vein, Test optional amid Covid-19
Fordham University	New York City, New York	Similarly, Test optional amid Covid-19
University of Connecticut	Storrs, Connecticut	Waivers for applicants with an SJD, JD (Juris Doctor), MD, PharmD, or Ph.D.
Pepperdine University	Los Angeles, California	Needs three years of prior work experience at a “management level position” and a 3.0 in a Bachelor's business degree
Rutgers Business School	Newark, New Jersey	Priority is given to Bachelor's degrees from Rutgers, outstanding Bachelor's degree record along with leadership qualities and diversity.
Texas Christian University	Fort Worth, Texas	Needs 3.0 GPA in Bachelor’s degree, four years of experience, evidence of quant or analytical skills or CPA or terminal degree
Case Western University	Cleveland, Ohio	Test optional in 2021 due to Covid-19
Auburn University	Auburn, Alabama	Waivers for 3.5 GPA and 2+ years of experience or 3.0 GPA with six years of work experience
Baruch College	New York City, New York	In the same vein, Waivers only for applicants with a GPA of 3.3 or higher in a Bachelor's degree or graduate program
Buffalo-SUNY	Buffalo, New York	Will accept expired GMAT, GRE, SAT, or ACT scores.
UC-San Diego	San Diego, California	Waivers will be provided for FlexEvening and FlexWeekend MBA programs only.
Iowa State University	Ames, Iowa	MBA aspirants must have at least a 3.0 GPA, a graduate degree, or B grades in two graduate courses & 3 more years of prior work experience
University of Massachusetts-Amherst	Amherst, Massachusetts	Waivers will be given to those who have a GPA of 3.2 or higher with five or more years of prior work experience, a master’s degree, and two years of experience.
Syracuse University	Syracuse, New York	Test waivers available in 2021
Rollins (Crummer)	Winter Park, Florida	In the same vein, Waivers for those with graduate degrees
University of Kansas	Lawrence, Kansas	Similarly, Waivers for those with terminal degrees
University of Kentucky	Lexington, Kentucky	Waivers for those with managerial or technical work experience, good academic record, CPA or CFA
University of Denver	Denver, Colorado	Test scores optional until Fall 2021
Chapman (Argyros)	Orange, California	Requires a Bachelor's degree in a quant subject with a 3.2 GPA, or a graduate degree, or a CPA or CFA
Clemson University	South Carolina	Limited waivers available
Texas Tech (Rawl)	Lubbock, Texas	Waivers available for all due to Covid-19
University of Houston	Houston, Texas	Waivers will be given to those only who have prior work experience or proof of quant and analytical knowledge.
Florida State University	Tallahassee, Florida	Waivers for 3.4 GPA or higher, eight years of managerial experience, a master’s degree with a 3.0 or higher
University of Louisville	Louisville, Kentucky	No GMAT or GRE scores are needed.
Rochester Institute of Technology	Rochester, New York	Waivers for Bachelor's degrees from RIT with a 3.25 GPA or higher, plus terminal degree
Clarkson University	Potsdam, New York	GMAT and GRE for all applicants
University of Oregon	Eugene, Oregon	MBA aspirants must have a strong academic record along with an internship, past work experience, military service, volunteer service, leadership qualities, or other relevant experiences
Oklahoma State University	Stillwater, Oklahoma	Limited waivers available amid Covid-19
Tampa (Sykes)	Tampa, Florida	Test waiver will be provided to candidates with a master’s degree or students unable to take a test due to the pandemic.

The above top MBA colleges in the USA focus more on last year's coursework, experience, and certificates.

To Sum Up

Since most of the B-Schools offering MBA in the USA have provided the opportunity of test waivers to the candidates, it does not mean that getting admission is now a cakewalk.

While shortlisting aspirants for an MBA in the USA, the focus is on minimum GPA in the undergraduate courses, total professional work experience, other graduate degrees, or a professional certification like a CPA or CFA.

For instance, at Michigan Ross, the management focuses more on undergraduate or graduate coursework, candidates' full-time work experience, and professional certifications while shortlisting the most eligible candidates.

While some B-schools like the University of Texas' McCombs School of Business give special privileges to those affected directly by the COVID-19 pandemic, we can say that the top 25 schools have opened the gates to candidates without producing GMAT scores or GRE scores in a nutshell.

Many top B-Schools like MIT Sloan and UVA Darden have adopted test-optional admissions.

All the MBA aspirants planning to pursue an MBA in the USA can refer to these universities' official websites to know more about GMAT and GRE test waiver options.

Have you ever thought about getting an MBA?

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What Business Schools are Waiving GMAT, GRE Scores?

Name of the B-School

Place

Criteria On GMAT or GRE Waivers

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT-Sloan)

Cambridge, USA

Submit educational documents and work experience of the candidates.

Darden School of Business-University of Virginia

Charlottesville, USA

The university might consider last year's SAT & ACT scores for a waiver.

Ross School of Business- University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, USA

Will consider waitlist Round 1 for MBA students.

Tepper School of Business-Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, USA

The university will ask for proof of preparedness in Maths through advanced quant classes.

NC Kenan-Flagler Business School

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

MBA aspirants must have a 3.2 GPA score in Economics or STEM or Business Analytics or advanced or terminal degree or at least five years of previous work experience in an analytical field

McCombs School of Business

Austin, USA

Test waivers will be given only to those who could not take the test due to Covid-19.

Emory University's Goizueta Business School

Atlanta, Georgia

In the same vein, Waivers will be only for the ones who are unable to take the test amid Covid-19.

Kelley School of Business at Indiana University

Bloomington, Indiana

The university will ask for a brief statement within 500 words stating why you deserve a waiver.

Scheller College of Business

Atlanta, Georgia

Aspirants need to submit an essay of 2,000 characters to support academic preparedness for a test waiver.

Rice Business (Jones Graduate School Of Business)

Houston, Texas

MBA aspirants need to have seven years of prior work experience, undergraduate degree, or STEM master’s, CPA or CFA, MCAT or LSAT

Owen Graduate School of Management

Nashville, Tennessee

Applicants will be shortlisted based on their analytical and quantitative subjects' performance, five years of prior work experience, CPA or CFA.

BYU Marriott School of Business

Provo, Utah

Waivers applicable only during the pandemic

Carlson School of Management

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Requires GPA of 3.2 in Bachelor’s and 5+ years of work experience, a CFA or CPA, or Master’s degree

Penn State Smeal College of Business

Harrisburg, USA

MBA aspirants must have a Ph.D., MD, or DO degree with 5+ years of military service, or other master’s degrees

Simon Business School

Rochester, New York

Needs Bachelor’s degree GPA of 3.2 or higher

Wisconsin

Madison, USA

Requires five years of prior work experience and a 3.3 GPA in Bachelor’s degree

University of Georgia (Terry)

Athens, USA

Current or previous military service is required.

University of Pittsburgh (Katz)

Pittsburgh, USA

Waivers with exceptional undergraduate or graduate credentials and significant prior work experience

SMU (Cox)

Dallas, Texas

GRE or GMAT is optional for Fall 2021 applicants

The University of Texas at Dallas (Jindal)

Richardson, USA

Waivers will be for the ones who face “logistical issues while taking the test as a result of Covid-19.”

Michigan State University (Broad)

East Lansing, Michigan

At least four years of prior work experience, a strong recommendation from a supervisor, and online prerequisites

Boston University (Questrom)

Boston, Massachusetts

GMAT or GRE Test is optional for Fall 2021 applicants

University of Maryland (Robert H.Smith)

College Park, Maryland

Industry certification along with Six Sigma, or CFA or CPA and 3.0 GPA at least in Bachelor’s, MCAT, or LSAT scores

Texas A&M University

College Station, Texas

Waivers for applicants with two years of prior work experience and a 3.7 GPA in Bachelor's degree

UC-Irvine

Irvine, California

In the same vein, Requires four years or above prior work experience and a “strong academic performance

UC-Davis