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Is Work Experience a Necessity for Taking GMAT 2023?

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Rituparna Nath

Content Writer at Study Abroad Exams | Updated On - Apr 5, 2023

GMAT Work experience is mostly considered mandatory to pursue an MBA abroad. Students in this competitive scenario don’t ignore the opportunities to take their careers to the next level in the management hierarchy. A good GMAT score with work experience can provide admission to top MBA colleges across the globe. For a few colleges, it is necessary to have at least a minimum of 4-5 years of work experience before procuring an MBA.

Why is GMAT Work Experience Mandatory?

GMAT work experience is considered vital GMAT eligibility for securing admission in a renowned business school because:

  • B-schools curate the ones who have ample knowledge about the contemporary business sphere and its functions;
  • An experienced candidate having practical knowledge will find it effortless to talk about businesses, startups, and the whole corporate sphere;
  • B-schools demands candidates having experience in diverse industries like engineering, commerce, science, humanities, and more

List of Top B-schools with their GMAT Work Experience Requirement

Most of the candidates are on the lookout for the famous B-schools and their work experience for GMAT requirement, this is a list of the same:

Business School Average GMAT Score Average Work Experience
Stanford Graduate School of Business 733 4 Years
California Business School 715 3-7 years
Harvard Business School 700-760 Not mentioned
MIT Sloan School of Management 670-760 4-9 years
Wharton, University of Pennsylvania 620-790 5-6 years between graduation and joining the MBA
London Business School 701 2-11 years
HEC Paris Business School 600 Minimum of 3 years
University of Cambridge: Judge Business School 640 1-2 years
Victoria University of Wellington 500 5 years
University of Canterbury 600 5 years

How to get an MBA without work experience?

Along with the GMAT score, the admission committee checks your wisdom, competencies, and skills. It is important to have work experience to get admission to top business colleges worldwide. However, in the current dynamic scenario MBA programs are modifying their courses to cater to the requirement of youth managers and to meet the managerial job challenges.

You can attempt the GMAT without work experience. In that case, you need to keep in mind that most of the top B-schools would look for candidates with a minimum of 4–5 years of experience. The GMAT scores are valid for 5 years and hence you can attempt the exam, gain a few years of work experience and then start the application process.

Advantages of pursuing an MBA without work experience Disadvantages of pursuing an MBA without work experience
One develops the right networking skills that help them in getting a good start to their professional career
One gets academic and professional experience (internship) at a young age
MBA graduates need not take a break from their professional life to gain management and business skills
Without practical knowledge, MBA graduates may not able to relate to the knowledge they gain in the B-school
The quality of networking of freshers would not be the same as those who have already gained work experience

GMAT accepting Colleges in World without Work Experience

There are many leading B-Schools in the world that offer you the option to get admitted into an MBA without work experience. Here, is a list of GMAT colleges without work experience:

Here is a list of USA Universities without work experience requirement:

List of colleges to study MBA in the UK without work experience:

List of colleges to study MBA in Germany without work experience

List of colleges to study MBA in Australia without work experience

List of colleges in Canada where you can study an MBA without work experience:

MBA without GMAT and Work Experience

Some of the top business schools across the globe offer MBA abroad without GMAT and work experience. The program they offer has few categories that are as follows:

  • Online MBA programs
  • Some lesser-known full-time MBA programs
  • Some top executive MBA programs

List of Institutes that offer MBA abroad without GMAT and work experience:

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.

Ask your question

Answered Questions

DP

Daksh Prajapati

20 Apr23

TAPMI’s WAT includes questions that are mostly related to general knowledge and current affairs. WAT is basically how strong you are in written skills. Try reading current affairs topics from there only. It's all about how you tell them. Write clearly point to point and do not use jargon or bug words. They don't fetch any more points. Just make your point clear.

PI mostly has questions derived from your past experiences, academics, and sometimes current happenings around the world. If you’re aware of and following at least one news source for around 4 months before your PI, you are good to go.

Read the form that you filled out. That's the first thing they are going to ask. Be confident and do not try to beat around the bush. If you do not know something it's ok as long as you say it. But that being said, do not go completely blank.

...Show More

BS

Bhavya Singh

18 Mar21

Several factors affect the chance of a candidate getting a seat in ISB Hyderabad. Not only the GMAT score, but also the application profile, essays, and performance in the interview combined together decides whether a candidate should get a seat or not in such an elite institute. The points listed below are some important aspects to consider for admission to such institutes.

  • There is no fixed cut-off for ISB Hyderabad, as declared by the institute. There are examples of people with a GMAT score of 720 not getting a seat from the interviews. On the other hand, there are candidates with a score of 700-710 but are successful in getting a seat in ISB Hyderabad.
  • GMAT score is not the only criteria for getting a seat, but the door to get an interview call. The quality of essays written by the candidate, his/her application/ profile, and the performance in the interviews are also considered.
  • For candidates with an average profile, a GMAT score of 720+, along with a complete application and a good essay can be considered to have high chances to receive an interview call. After having a call, the rest depends on how the candidate will perform in his/her interview.

This is the overall scenario for admission in ISB Hyderabad, for a student with an average profile.

...Show More

AV

Arvind Verma

30 Jun22

ISB Hyderabad accepts both examination scores. So, you can opt for either of GMAT or GRE. Your chances of selection or rejection will remain the same. Go through the examination pattern and syllabus and choose the one in which you feel that you will be able to score better. Ultimately having a good score is what matters during admission. As per the recent trends, ISB Hyderabad cutoff for GMAT is 600, while for GRE it is 311. 

...Show More

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