OnLine MBA with no GMAT Requiement Help please!

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by JoePan, Mar 28, 2005.

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  1. JoePan

    JoePan member

    Can someone please help me find other alternatives for the best online MBA choices that have no GMAT requirement. I have a disability which keeps me from attedning a testing location to take the test. I have a GPA of 3.89 from the UOP and will be finishing in the next 6 months.

    I am aware of Texas A&M Commerce. Can you all please let me know if there is any other options I have?

    I would prefere an AACSB school, but am open for all my choices.

    Thank You,

    Joe
     
  2. Joe,

    If you have a disability that prevents you from attending a testing location then I would:

    1) Contact the Graduate Management Admission Council. On their bulletin found at http://www.gmac.com/NR/rdonlyres/56720992-C772-4FCE-A552-549EFC8000FF/0/BulletinJuly2004.pdf there is a section called "Test Takers With Disabilities"

    The e-mail is [email protected] or their phone # is 609-771-7780.


    2) Contact potential universities and see if they are willing to waive the GMAT based upon your disability, perhaps if you were to conditionally enroll with formal matriculation occurring after you take two courses successfully.


    Otherwise, there are definitely online MBA programs that do not require the GMAT, especially with a GPA as high as yours.

    Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Mark
     
  3. intro2life

    intro2life New Member

    JoePan,

    I too am physically disabled and understand how hard testing can be on those of us who have a disability. When I have gone to the many tests I’ve taken for WGU, simply being able to go to the testing center is difficult, sitting through tests while in pain can prove a trial of endurance, and there can be so many other limiting factors. I don’t know the nature or extent of your own disability, but I am quite pleased to read that you are looking into earning a masters degree. Guitarmark2000 is right; you can alert a prospective school as well as the testing organization and a local specific testing center to your circumstances. It has been my experience that they will usually take any reasonable measure to accommodate your circumstances as long as it won’t compromise the integrity of the exam. After all, an institution cannot factor in aspects of an applicant’s merits and history of which they are not made aware.

    Considering only schools that offer a masters program without the GMAT or GRE requirement will reduce your pool of potential education providers and serve to exclude some excellent institutions and MBA programs from your list of choices. Consequently, if there is any way possible to prepare and sit for the GMAT, or have concessions made, it might be in your best interest to explore those possibilities.

    Good luck in your educational journey.
     
  4. Rob L

    Rob L New Member

    Joe,

    The only schools that I know of that offer an MBA and do not require the GMAT are for-profit schools like University of Phoenix, AIU Online, Jones International, Capella, Strayer, etc.

    I am a graduate from a for-profit school and am generally happy with the utility my degree has given me. But, if you are against the idea of a for-profit college or want a college with better name recognition, I would suggest finding a way to take the GMAT.
     
  5. spmoran

    spmoran Member

    Bellevue University has an MBA with no GMAT, and it is available online. They are not-for-profit and priced reasonably. About 10K for MBA (plus books).
     
  6. 9Chris

    9Chris New Member

    Touro also does not require the GMAT. They are 100% online, no books (everything is on CD) and they are priced at about $13,200.
     
  7. unixman

    unixman New Member

  8. aic712

    aic712 Member

    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 28, 2005
  9. JoePan

    JoePan member

    I also found The University of North Alabama has an on line MBA program that does not require the GMAT test.

    For those who are woundering I currently suffer from Panic Disorder, this makes it very hard for me to go to a testing site and be at peace as well as able to take the test. I get severe Anxiety and is very disabling. This is why I am taking DL courses to right now. While I go through my therapy to get better I want to keep moving forward in my education.

    I apreciate everyones wisdom and help. I am still looking for the best AACSB MBA online program that requires no GMAT test for admission.

    I am looking for a good well recognized named school.

    If anyone else has any other suggestions or ideas or school please let me know. I am still liking Texas A7M - Commerce the best so far. I do not know much about The University of North Alabama but I will look into it a little further. But I am open to any suggestions you all may have thank you!

    Joe
     
  10. -kevin-

    -kevin- Resident Redneck

    Joe,

    I can provide some insight into UNA. You may also do a search on the forum. ACBSP accredited but a good school with a solid reputation. DVDs are being updated for some courses so you might get a course without benefit of the DVD lectures. For grins you can do a Google search on "MBA, University of North Alabama" and find some professors with the UNA MBA in some pretty good schools.

    UNA has enough Management classes available online to get the 18 graduate hours needed to teach the subject. So far I am well pleased with the material.

    Depending on where you are at with your career an AACSB accredited school may not be that much of a benefit.

    You can also go to www.geteducated.com and download the freebies which will provide some additional info on admissions to various MBA programs.

    Good luck on your search and congrats on your effort at UoP.


    Kevin
     
  11. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    RA vs NA

    The options you've been given in this thread are excellent. I add the following only for the sake of completeness, and not necessarily because I'm recommending that you actually do it...


    The DETC-accredited, privately-owned (by PCDI), for-profit (but remarkably inexpensive) Ashworth College also offers a completely D/L MBA with no GMAT (or any other graduate-level standardized testing) requirement. After a down payment of $99, it's just $99/month for 48 months (yes, even if you complete the program in only 24 or 36 month), plus a final payment of $38... for a grand total of $4,889 (and, of course, you can pay it off at any time... and there's no interest in any case).

    Of course, the potential problem is that Ashworth's MBA is DETC- (nationally-) accredited rather than regionally-accredited... and neither is it, as you requested, AACSB-accredited. While I would argue that in terms of overall quality national accreditation is as good as regional accreditation, clearly a regionally-accredited MBA has more utility in the marketplace than does a nationally-accredited one. Moreover, if AACSB accreditation -- on top of regional accreditation -- is your true interest, then an MBA with national accreditation, such as Ashworth's, is likely to be less attractive to you.

    That said, you did write, after all, that even though you preferred AACSB, you were open to other options. A DETC-accredited (and clearly one of the least expensive of all) MBA program(s) like Ashworth's is most definitely an option -- an objectively good one, I might add... depending on how you intend to use it. As many here have (in my opinion, correctly) pointed-out, it might be difficult to get, for example, a teaching position at a regionally-accredited school if you have a nationally-accredited MBA such as that from Ashworth; and if you and your nationally-accredited MBA were sitting in a job interview waiting room surrounded by AACSB-accredited MBA holders, I strongly suspect that you'd be highly unlikely to get the job... unless, of course, you had other required qualifications that so overwhelmed the DETC-acctredited status of your MBA that it wouldn't matter... and I would argue that, as a practical matter, that would be the case more often than many probably believe (or want to believe), but that's just my opinion.

    Still... only (roughly) forty nine hundred bucks; the ability to complete the coursework any ol' time you wanted and completely on your own schedule; and the ability to take up to five years to complete... all while making a measely $99/month payment for four years (or paying-off faster, if you wish) with no interest; and then, when it's all over, still being able to legitimately -- even in Oregon -- put "MBA" after your name on your business card just like any other MBA holder (including AACSB-accredited MBA holders)...

    ...that's gotta' be attractive -- maybe even irresistable -- to someone!

    I forget... will the government hire a nationally-accredited MBA holder, or must it be regionally-accredited? I mean, after all, both accreditations are approved by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and its Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). You'd think the govenment would honor and respect both kinds of MBAs more or less equally. Also, as long as I'm askin' about the feds, does the government place any kind of premium on AACSB-accredited MBAs? Does anyone know... off the top of their heads, I mean, so I don't have to go look it up?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 29, 2005
  12. mbatobe

    mbatobe New Member

    texas a&m - commerce -- AACSB. No GMAT if undergrad > 2.75 GPA
     
  13. -kevin-

    -kevin- Resident Redneck

    Gregg,

    just so you don't have to look it up. It depends. Some positions will require a specific number of credits (normally 24) in a specific business area, i.e. accounting, business law. In some instances I have seen where RA (not AACSB) was the requirement. As a rule NA degrees can be and are accepted within the Federal government with the following exceptions: Engineering positions (normally require ABET accreditation even if not stated), Attorney positions (normally require ABA accredited even though may not be stated). Architecture, need I mention medical, etc...

    This requirement seems to follow the professional accreditor's policy.

    In all instances NA degrees can be included on the application but may not be the qualifier if one of the above criteria is specified.

    The reason I mention "even though not stated" is that each agency can determine the content of the announcement.

    The Federal government will eventually catch up with the commercial world in looking at the value of business degrees with additional accreditation but honestly the only place I know of where a graduate business degree is required would be in the academic areas (military schools, scientists, etc...).

    Premiums in government hiring are placed on political affiliation. Oops, wrong answer. The placing of a premium based upon school and accreditation is real subjective and would be based upon the hiring official's knowledge or preferences all other things being equal. I work in an office where we have a Harvard grad (both AB and JD), a Georgia Tech grad, a Princeton grad, and an Auburn grad. I get bragging rights because of the football standings. I think that if you apply to NIST, DARPA, or the military/government schools you will see a pattern of selectivity (premium). And in fact the NA degree would not be accepted for the teaching positions, not because of the government but because of the accrediting body.

    In those instances where a positive education requirement exists the type of job will dictate the type of degree accepted, in all other instances both NA or RA degrees will suffice.

    As an aside I also have a NA MBA and haven't had any issue with the acceptance by either HR or management. But, I have always been active in continuing education so they don't really pay me any attention anyways.

    Kevin
     

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