All of this can also add up to a hefty price tag for students. Depending on the delivery method, taking the GMAT costs at least $275, and many schools charge just as much to submit to apply to their programs. 

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But for better or for worse, there are seemingly a thousand exceptions to each admission requirement. Among them are test waivers—which, if students qualify, can help save hundreds of dollars and hours of time studying. 

Recently, many top-ranked business schools have been increasing their waiver flexibility to accommodate students who can prove their MBA readiness in other ways. 

When looking at programs where graduates make the highest median annual salary, only a few offer substantial test waiver eligibility. Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and Virginia’s Darden School of Business are among the only institutions that house programs where graduates earn the top median base salaries of $175,000—tied with Harvard, Stanford, and UPenn—yet have substantial test waiver programs. While there’s no direct correlation, it does provide context toward the program’s views on standardized testing for some applicants as well as the success of graduates.

Uncertain tech landscape

More than 230,000 tech workers lost their jobs in 2023 so far, according to Layoffs.fyi. In the wake of this, many MBA programs began offering test waivers earlier this year to lure students and provide them an easier pathway to transform their career. 

At Tuck, this is the first year the test waiver will be offered for all three application cycles.

“It’s a question about recognizing that there is a small subset of the applicant pool who has a really substantive quant background, by which they can provide some substantive evidence of their ability to be successful in the classroom,” says Lawrence Mur’ray, Tuck’s executive director of admissions and financial aid. “We don’t need that test to make that determination.”

Tuck is ranked No. 15 among Fortune’s 2023 ranking of best MBA programs. In order to qualify for a test waiver, prospective students must be aligned with the school’s values and admissions criteria, have minimum two-years post-graduate professional work experience, and meet English language proficiency waiver requirements for non-native English speakers.

Mur’ray says students should conduct a hearty and honest self-assessment to figure out if they may qualify.

Small but mighty

Tuck only has one MBA program—a full-time one—as compared to similarly-respected schools with part-time, online, and/or executive programs.

With less than 300 students admitted each year, Mur’ray says the smaller, on-campus experience provides students a unique way to learn from expert professors, bond with each other, and engage with recruiters. 

“Nearly all resources are marshaled to that particular program and a small class size where you’re going to make very genuine and authentic relationships that are definitely going to blossom and bloom through the two years of the business school, but well beyond,” Mur’ray tells Fortune. 

Along with finance, consulting, and healthcare—three of the largest sectors of industry experience for “Tuckies”—students will get exposed to growing fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Mur’ray says students can leverage growing fields, especially ones that are new to business school settings. 

Even though Tuck offers an Ivy-league business education, it is important for prospective students to keep in mind that the total cost of an MBA program can reach well over six-figures in tuition alone. Moreover, the cost of living in New England tends to skew higher than the national average.

But, again, with a median annual salary of $175,000 for graduates, paying back your tuition could be achievable in just a few years. And for those with already a few years of experience behind them, a few hundred bucks can be saved by applying for a program with testing waiver programs. It’ll also keep you from having to relive your days of standardized testing.