Covid-19: Top business schools waive off application fee

The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic has forced several top business schools to suspend their standard requirements for new admissions like waiving off application fees. Students who do not have a GMAT score are also being considered by some prestigious institutions such as Oxford, Imperial and London Business School.

While many universities are not expecting students to take GMAT, some such as Oxford and LBS say the students will have to submit the missing test scores at a later date. Universities have also extended the deadline for the submission of applications and some have also announced waiving off application fees.

An education counsellor Karan Gupta told ToI that foreign universities are taking up several measures to ensure quality students to join their courses for the August and January terms. “The pandemic has affected the number of enrolments and universities are ensuring all ways to get qualified students,” he said.

Carey Business School issued a statement that said that the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School has made changes to its MBA admissions process owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Carey will accept incomplete applications for the Round 3 deadline and will work with applicants individually to complete their applications. Carey has added a Round 4 with a deadline of June 1. Following Round 4, applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through July 15. Carey is offering GMAT/GRE waivers moving forward,” it read.

UC-Berkeley is now admitting last year’s undergraduate students for MBA programme without GMAT score or work experience. The Harvard Business School has been holding discussions to increase the class size. Those with an active GME or GMAT score are eligible for application fee waiver at the Penn State Smeal College of Business. University of Bath has also waived off application fee and does not require GMAT score, which was anyway never a mandated criteria but was recommended. Aston, Exeter and Nottingham universities also do not require GMAT for their MBA programme for the new academic year.

Source: Times of India