✅ 2026-2027 Deadlines CONFIRMED

Round Deadline Decision
Round 1 September 10, 2026 December 10, 2026
Round 2 January 7, 2027 March 25, 2027

Essays confirmed. Essay 1: Personal history/belonging. Essay 2: Career goals + Haas. Video Essay: “What makes you feel alive?”

Berkeley Haas MBA Admissions can be tough.

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Berkeley Haas MBA Application Deadlines

2026-2027 deadlines coming soon — check back in May/June!

 

 

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School name Accept Test Waivers? Request BEFORE submitting application, or DURING the application itself?        Notes?
Harvard No    
Stanford No    
Booth Yes, but VERY limited   If you are a University of Chicago current student or graduate, you may be eligible for a GMAT/GRE waiver if you have a 3.5 GPA in at least four (4) 200- to 400-level BUSN classes and have no BUSN grades lower than a C+.
Kellogg No   Previously granted waiver for laid-off tech workers, but that policy does not seem to have been extended to 2023
MIT Sloan Yes, but VERY limited DURING If your current situation prevents you from being able to submit a test score, you may request a test waiver explaining the situation; the Admissions Committee will take your request under advisement and let you know if the waiver has been approved. If the waiver is approved, and you are admitted, the Admissions Committee reserves the right to offer conditional admission such as, but not limited to, receiving a certain score on the GMAT or GRE or taking a supplemental class. To request a test waiver, please start your application and navigate to the Test Scores section; you can submit your request there. Once submitted, you will receive a response by email as soon as possible. (NOTE: there is a rumor that applying with a waiver does signifcantly damage one's admissions chances, though of course no school will want to admit that, since they want to drive up the # of applications as high as possible!)
CBS No   They DO accept the "Executive Assessment" ("EA") which might be easier, but most importantly, will NOT damage their OVERALL average GMAT score, so this could be an option if you don't want to take the GRE
Yale No    
NYU Stern YES BEFORE The Koo 1-year Tech MBA does *NOT* require a test, but the 2-year FT and the Fashion MBA programs *DO* need a test (or a waiver). You MUST have the waiver granted PRIOR to applying. They ask that you please submit the request at least 3 weeks prior. The form can be found here (you need an application account to be able to access it): https://apply.stern.nyu.edu/apply/?sr=2e8947e5-9889-4690-929d-53a157ea3bca&_ga=2.21955123.982474036.1690844709-2037345265.1690844709
Michigan Ross YES DURING You "may submit a complete application without a test score. Instead, you must submit an essay that supports your case and alternative evidence of your readiness." Examples given include: a graduate degree in something analytical or quantitative; undergraduate performance in analytical / quant coursework; analtical / quanty work experience (that is, even if you didn't study this stuffin college, are you doing quanty-stuff now?) ; performance on a now-expired GMAT / GRE, or performance on the "Executive Assessment" ("EA") test
Cal Berkeley Haas NO, but...   ...while a test waiver isn't granted, you can SUBMIT an UPDATED test score to them *two weeks prior* to the notification deadline for that round... e.g., late November for Round 1 (list of dates can be found by scrolling down on this page: https://mba.haas.berkeley.edu/admissions/gmat-and-gre )
Duke Fuqua No   They used to offer one, but do not appear to any more? (please let me know if I'm wrong!)
Dartmouth Tuck YES BEFORE THEY SET DEADLINES for the waiver request to be about SIX WEEKS before there Round 1 deadline (ie, early August), and about TWO MONTHS before their Round 2 deadline (ie, early November!): https://apply.tuck.dartmouth.edu/register/?id=74903ced-2287-4ce7-8ce1-969697f4a326&_gl=1*1h7uhl4*_gcl_au*MTU2ODM0NDU2MC4xNjg3MTYwOTM4 -- to find the exact dates, go to this link, select "GMAT or GRE scores" and then scroll down a bit from the main description of how to submit scores, etc... there will be a little table with the deadlines for the waiver applications: https://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/applying-to-tuck#navigate
Cornell YES DURING Candidates who have demonstrated analytical and/or quantitative abilities through their academics, work experience, etc. can request a waiver within the application form ... NOTE, however, that if they do NOT accept your reasoning for a test waiver, they will THEN ask you for a test score, in order for your application to be considered "complete"
Virginia UVa Darden YES BEFORE They ask that you please request your waiver (which can be found inside of their applicaton form) "10 - 14 days prior" to submitting an application. Note that you can submit previous tests (e.g. the SAT), other graduate-level tests (LSAT; MCAT); or even the "Executive Assessment" ("EA") as proof of academic readiness
USC Marshall YES DURING You will need to do 2 steps: 1) Fill out the application form and write an additional explanation as to why your previous academic / work experience is enough and then 2) email [email protected] ; the subject line should read “Test Waiver Request – Application Submitted.” Please include your First Name, Last Name, Date of Birth, and USC CAS ID# (located in the top right corner of your online application) in the email, so that we can easily locate your file.
Carnegie Mellon Tepper YES BEFORE They say "Upon submission of your application, the waiver request will be reviewed, and you will receive a response to the waiver request via email within 10 business days of the application deadline." -- so this, to me, signals that they would like for your waiver request to be submitted MORE than 10 days prior to an application deadline! (since we can assume that everyone else will wait until the "10 days before" the deadline and thus they will be SWAMPED with requests on that 10th day!!!!
Emory Goizueta YES BEFORE They want to get the waiver request about 2.5 weeks prior to the deadline (e.g. Sept 15 for the October deadline; Dec 15 for the January Deadline): you will find the test waiver application as part of the normal application (it opens on August 1)
UCLA Anderson YES DURING Need to submit an essay explaining how previous background = readiness for the program
UT Austin McCombs YES BEFORE Submit your test waiver application at least 7 business days prior to the application deadline: https://utexas.app.box.com/v/mba-test-waiver
U Washington Foster YES DURING Can apply as "test optional" -- provide a 150-word essay explaining academic readiness
Indiana Kelley YES BEFORE Need to take 2 steps: 1) submit their general "information request" form here: https://kelley.iu.edu/programs/full-time-mba/info.html and 2) email mailto:[email protected] the following things: a current professional resume, your unofficial or official undergraduate transcripts (and graduate school transcripts, if applicable), and a brief statement (300 words or less) summarizing why you believe you qualify for a waiver.
UNC Kenan-Flagler YES BEFORE They provide deadline dates by which to submit the waiver application-- it seems to be ROUGHLY TWO WEEKS prior to the deadline (the "Waiver application" consists of filling out a few of the application form modules around academic background, PLUS submitting a separate downloadable PDF where you explain your quantitative background). Check out the deadlines here: https://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/programs/mba/full-time-mba/admissions/requirements-deadlines/
Georgetown McDonough YES BEFORE Need to apply for the waiver prior to submitting full application "expect at 1 to 2 week turnaround for notification" -- as with some other schools, you first need to also complete some of the application form first.
Rice Jones YES BEFORE They simply say that you need to have the waiver approved PRIOR to submitting your full application, but I don't see an indication of how long that should take... so let's say 3 weeks prior to the application deadline, to be safe?

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