California’s Online Executive, Accelerated, and Traditional MBA Programs with No GMAT or GRE Requirements

Let’s face it, no one loves standardized tests.

As a measure of your skill and competency, there’s nothing that could be further from actual real-world job duties. Contrived scenarios, gotcha questions, elaborate math problems that never arise in the real world… it’s hard to imagine how the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the slightly less popular Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) accurately assess your potential to accomplish great things in the corporate world.

Ultimately, what standardized tests really measure is your ability to take tests.

The wisdom on the street, though, is that a standardized test of some form or another is a must-do item on your MBA application checklist. Even the colleges that claim it’s optional, say the internet pundits, will favor applicants that file a score over those that don’t.

This puts a lot of students in a doom loop. They may go through endless practice tests for years. They agonize over the fact that their scores are inconsistent, or worse, below the averages of the most recent crop of admitted students to their number one pick.

The reality, though, is that well over half of all MBA programs in California don’t require a GMAT or GRE score with your application. Some of those don’t even offer up a school code for test score submission. And a number of others, if you really dig down into their application standards, may offer waivers even when a standardized test shown as a requirement.

So you can save yourself some agony by turning to the schools on this list when filing applications for California MBA programs.

Why Standardized Tests Like the GRE and GMAT Are Falling Out of Favor in Business School Admissions in California

Not only do standardized tests not accurately reflect real-world business duties, but they have been found to be problematic in other ways.

First, they are another expense on top of what is already bound to be an expensive degree. While each test is fairly reasonable on its own, hovering around $200-$250 domestically, many students will take them multiple times to ensure a solid score. That really adds up.

To get that score to elite levels, many will also take prep courses and practice exams through third parties. Those materials and instruction can quickly rise into the thousands for proven providers.

Second, the focus of the exams is relatively narrow compared to the universe of business problems that actual executives are faced with.

This leads to a third issue, which is that the predictive validity of both GMAT and GRE tests has been called into question recently. Studies have found that undergraduate GPA is actually more highly correlated with academic graduate success than either exam score.

Finally, both exams have been accused of cultural bias and show consistency lower scores among Hispanic, Black, and female test takers. This amplifies disadvantages those populations already face in terms of cost and work experience in MBA admissions. And overseas candidates, an increasingly large number of MBA applicants in California, often face accessibility as well as cost issues for standardized exams.

California’s Business Schools Are on the Leading Edge of Holistic MBA Admissions Practices

More and more, California’s best business schools are coming around to agree with that overall assessment. Even major T20 schools like UCLA and UCSD are making GRE or GMAT scores optional rather than mandatory.

This fits in with an increasing focus on holistic admissions processes that value the entirety of your skills, experience, and capabilities. Universities are starting to realize that, while quantitative analysis and language skills are important, they may not be all that important… and certainly not in isolation.

It’s a quintessential California value to look at the individual and not the numbers, which is exactly what is happening at business schools with no GRE or GMAT requirement.

What often is recommended is that you strongly consider taking the GRE or GMAT for submission if you don’t have other academic or business experience that demonstrates your quantitative reasoning and analytical skills. That can still be important even applying to one of these schools if you are coming in with relatively little business experience or from a field without traditional management responsibilities.

So these are schools that are at the tip of the spear in what is likely to be a larger and more in-depth re-evaluation of standardized testing in college admissions. And if there’s anything you should know about what MBA programs are the best choice for your business career, it’s that cutting edge is always better than trailing the pack.

If you’re looking for an MBA option in California that not only makes your life easier, but gives admissions teams a better picture of your overall skills and abilities, this list is where to start.