Harvard to accept GRE scores too; MBA students to benefit

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
July 25, 2016
On May 19, Harvard Business School announced that aspirants may now choose to submit test scores from either GMAT or GRE for its two-year MBA program.

Harvard Business School's (HBS) recent decision allowing MBA aspirants to submit test scores from either GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test) or GRE (Graduate Record Examination) for its general two-year program has opened gates of vast avenues for students all over the globe. This decision is bound to bring about positive effects on the preparation patterns of the Indian student community.  

Deirdre Leopold, Managing Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, HBS, said, "We are pleased to widen our requirements to give all MBA candidates the option of submitting results from either the GRE or GMAT exams. Since many HBS applicants are also considering graduate programs besides the MBA, there is now no need for them to take the GMAT if they have already taken the GRE."

The change will apply to all those applying for admission to the MBA Class of 2012. It will also make the application process accessible to candidates from a broad array of academic backgrounds and the preparation process a lot simpler and easier. 

From India alone, every year numerous students appear for the tests either GMAT or GRE tests.  

Sulagna Bal, an MBA aspirant in USA, said, "After having worked as a software engineer for almost three years in India, I was planning to take both the GRE and the GMAT tests. Although I wish to get into a good MBA school, I don't want miss out on other universities offering a large array of post-graduate courses. I can now concentrate on just one exam. It's a huge relief. After HBS, I think more B-schools will follow suit and start accepting GRE scores for MBA programs." 

This decision has also answered the continuous efforts of the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to position GRE as a credible competitor to the GMAT in assessing MBA applicants' abilities. The ETS is an organisation that develops and conducts various standardised examinations like the GRE, TOEFL and SAT. While comparing GRE with GMAT, Leopold said, "We believe that both the GMAT and the GRE meet our expectations of what a standardized test can tell us about a candidate's ability to thrive in our MBA Program."

MBAUniverse.com had earlier reported on how the Harvard Business School started accepting GRE scores only from college juniors applying to the School's 2+2 Program. The 2+2 Program gives admitted students a guaranteed spot in a future HBS MBA class, depending upon their graduation from college and the successful completion of two years of approved work experience. But Harvard's recent decision to accept GRE scores for its general two-year MBA programs has put a smile across the faces of millions of aspirants worldwide.