The Full-time MBA program at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business will pilot a GMAT/GRE test optional admission process for Fall 2021 enrollment.
Scheller presented its proposal to the Institute Graduate Curriculum Committee (IGCC) earlier this month. With the support of the IGCC, Scheller is now allowing MBA candidates to apply without a standardized test score during the 2020 to 2021 admissions cycle.
Addressing the decision, Katie Lloyd, Associate Dean of the Full-time and Evening MBA programs shared, “We have many tools and data points at our disposal in the application review process. We can predict a candidate’s potential for success in and beyond the MBA program without reliance on the GMAT or GRE. Basing decisions on previous academic experience, work history, and interview evaluations has been an effective admissions approach for our Evening MBA program, which began accepting candidates without a test score in 2018.”
Dean Maryam Alavi says the move reinforces Scheller’s strategic goal to foster a diverse, inclusive, and innovative community of students. Scheller’s diversity has been increasing across all its graduate programs over the past few years. According to Alavi, “ Beyond the complications Covid-19 has introduced in terms of access to exams, an overreliance on standardized test scores in MBA admissions decisions puts underrepresented minorities, individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and first-generation college applicants at a disadvantage. We move forward confident the change in this year’s admission process will attract our most diverse, qualified, and successful MBA cohort yet.”
The timing of the decision coincides with a talk Alavi hosted with Dr. Beverly Tatum, President Emerita of Spelman College earlier last week. In her remarks, Tatum spoke about necessity as the mother of invention in relation to how Covid-19 has sparked new approaches in the college admissions process. Tatum said, “While we may not call our admissions policies racist in intent, they may have been racist in outcome in the sense that they did not give equal opportunity for all students to demonstrate what they know how to do and what they can be successful at.”
Learn more about the Scheller Full-time MBA test optional policy for Fall 2021.