Penn State has made a major change to the application process for its highly ranked online MBA.
Applicants are no longer required to submit either their GRE or GMAT test score when applying to the Penn State Online MBA, which is led by the internationally ranked Penn State Smeal College of Business and offered online through Penn State World Campus. To level the playing field for all prospective students, the application to the program will not provide a place for applicants to submit scores as optional.
The change takes effect immediately. The next application deadline is November 1 for enrollment in Penn State’s spring 2023 semester, which starts in January.
“After a thorough assessment of performance data from our current students and alumni, we have strong evidence to show that a GMAT or GRE score is not a factor that predicts successful outcomes in the Penn State Online MBA,” said Stacey Dorang Peeler, the managing director of the Penn State Online MBA.
Dorang Peeler said the MBA faculty team spent a significant amount of time analyzing what makes students successful before requesting approval from The Graduate School at Penn State to drop the requirement.
The program’s administration also sought to eliminate the test score requirement to make the application process equal for all prospective students.
“We hope that eliminating the tests from our application will remove barriers for those who underperform on standardized exams but who will provide value to their colleagues in other ways,” Dorang Peeler said.
Dorang Peeler said the MBA program will continue to evaluate applications based on an applicant’s academic record, professional experience, and fit with the team-based program. She said the team also updated the application’s essay questions to focus on the program’s values and the factors determined to be important to student success.
In the 48-credit Penn State Online MBA, students can customize their degree to fit their professional needs. They are able to choose a course of study from one of more than 25 concentrations, which include traditional business topics and those tailored to other industries like health care, IT, engineering, and more.
Learn more about the Penn State Online MBA that is offered through Penn State World Campus.