Business School Admissions: How Will Covid-19 Affect My Application?

Updated March 23, 2021 Updated March 23, 2021

Learn more about the coronavirus pandemic in our dedicated student hub

This page is being regularly updated with new information.

At this time of global uncertainty, you may be nervously wondering whether your application to business school will be affected.

Will you still be able to sit the GMAT/GRE or any other tests that are needed for your application to be accepted? Is your chosen business school still accepting international applications? Will you be able to study your degree in-person, or should you only be considering an online MBA?

To help answer any questions you have, we are reaching out to top business schools around the world to find out what their plans are for handling current and future applications. We will be updating this page regularly with new information as and when we receive it.

United States

The Wharton School

The MBA admissions team at Wharton is responding to COVID-19 and discussing how the changes will impact newly admitted students for the Class of 2022 and upcoming recruitment activities for prospective students.

Spring Welcome Weekend has been cancelled due to COVID-19, but the team are trying to prepare a virtual alternative that all admitted students will be invited to join.

Wharton has extended its Round 3 and Advance Access deadlines in order to provide applicants with more flexibility amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The new Round 3 deadline is on Wednesday April 15 and the new Advance Access deadline is on Wednesday May 27.

The school has also said you can submit applications without a GMAT/GRE score if your booked test was cancelled or you couldn’t travel due to social distancing rules.

Interview invitations will be released on April 16, 2020; however, in-person interviews may be replaced with virtual Team-Based Discussions and interviews.

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Stanford Graduate School of Business won’t be extending its Round 3 deadline – keeping it at April 8 2020 at 2pm Pacific Time. Stanford says the needs of all applicants must be met as Round 3 includes defer-eligible applicants and applicants who wish to enroll directly in September 2020.

All On-Campus Information Sessions, Class Visits, Stanford GSB Tours, and in-person Chats with Students have been canceled until further notice. There are online alternatives for Information Sessions and Campus Tours, and new online offerings will continue to be added.

MIT Sloan

MIT has issued guidance prohibiting travel and in-person activities. All of MIT Sloan’s in-person recruiting and conversion events have been cancelled until further notice, but the business school is coordinating with stakeholders to create virtual events, giving you the opportunity to engage with Sloan’s community. You can register and attend one of the virtual events and find recordings of past events on their website.

The MIT Sloan MBA admissions criteria, process, and timeline remains the same. MBA Round 3 applications must be submitted by April 9 (all interviews will be via Skype), and final decisions will be released on May 7.

MBA Early Admission applications have been extended to June 2 (all interviews via Skype in mid-June), and final decisions will be released on July 15.

Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School has extended its application deadline for the 2+2 program by two months to June 1. The school has also noted it will maintain a larger waitlist than normal, as with COVID-19 it expects a smaller number of international admits will be able to start school this fall.

Chicago Booth

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago Booth has decided to postpone all school-sponsored events and gatherings through May. Plans for June events are TBD.

This year, the entire Spring Quarter will be moved to online/remote learning, and the start will be delayed by one week, from Monday, March 30, to Monday, April 6. Because of delayed start, the Spring Quarter will have nine weeks of remote instruction.

No deadline or procedural changes at the moment.

Haas School of Business

UC-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business has said they have added May 4 as a Round 4 admissions deadline, with decisions released on June 4.

If you don’t have a GMAT/GRE score yet, you’re encouraged to apply in the later round and utilize the ‘GRE at Home’ and forthcoming GMAT online options.

Kellogg School of Management

Applicants to Kellogg School of Management can submit application materials without standardized test scores, but the test scores will be needed for admission later in the year.

The Kellogg Future Leaders deadline has been pushed back two months from April 2 to June 3. The new decision date will also be pushed back two months to July 29. GMAT and GRE scores are optional for current Northwestern students that already qualify for Kellogg Future Leaders.

Columbia Business School

CBS’s application deadline has been extended to June 1. The business school is accepting delayed test scores, but no decision will be made until the GMAT/GRE has been submitted.

All CBS classes will be remote from March 11 until the end of the semester. Visit ITG's Teaching, Learning, and Working Remotely page for information on how to access school IT resources remotely.

Columbia Business School’s Admissions’ office will be closed to walk-in visitors until further notice. Visit the school contact page for more info.

UCLA Anderson

The March 20 deadline for paying spring tuition and fees has been extended to April 10.

Yale School of Management

Yale has chosen to extend the Round 3 test score submission deadline to April 24, as well as including a Round 3 extended deadline of May 27.

Fuqua School of Business

Some of the steps The Fuqua School of Business has taken:

In-person classes are being moved to a virtual format until further notice

The Duke Chapel, Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Nasher Museum of Art, Duke Lemur Center, Rubenstein Arts Center, Athletics Hall of Fame, and Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center are all closed to visitors until further notice

All on-campus events – including Admissions tours, Chapel services, events at the Museum and Duke Gardens, and all athletic events – have been cancelled

Resources for teaching and learning from a distance and working remotely have been put in place.

University of Michigan Ross School of Business

Ross will keep its original Round 3 deadline on March 30 but has added an application extension date of May 29.

NYU Stern School of Business

NYU Stern School of Business’ Fall 2020 application deadlines of April 1 and May 15 will remain the same.

If you have a unique case in which an extension to June 1 will make a significant difference in your ability to apply for this Fall, email [email protected].

USC Marshall

All classes through to the end of the spring semester will continue in an online format. Similarly, all university-sponsored on- and off-campus events at USC Marshall have been canceled or postponed through to no earlier than May 1.

Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt’s MBA program is waiving application fees and accepting self-reported test scores for applicants applying by its Round 3 deadline on April 6. An additional Round 4 deadline has also been added and is accepting applications on a rolling basis up to June 1.

A weekly Admissions 101 webinar is being streamed by the university to answer any admissions questions, while you can also visit their website to visit the campus virtually.

University of Georgia

In-person events and webinars will be held online.

All applicants to be able to submit valid GMAT/GRE scores, however, the university is no longer accepting international applications.

The round 5 deadline has been extended until August 1.

The University of Texas at Austin - McCombs School of Business

MCombs is providing the opportunity to petition for a special test exception if you haven't been able to take your GMAT/GRE/TOEFL/IELTS because of COVID-19.

Criteria for Requesting a COVID-19 Test Exception:

You are unable to take an exam at home due to technology or other test-taking requirements (device availability or compatibility, internet connection, testing environment)
You or a family member have been diagnosed with or directly affected by COVID-19 (personally or professionally)
Virtual testing is not available in your current country of residence

United Kingdom

London Business School

Due to COVID-19, LBS has suspended all non-essential school community events, and the policy will be re-evaluated at the end of April.

Many recruitment and on-campus events will be held online, you can check their events page to find out more.

LBS is accepting applications to programs without a GMAT/GRE score if you are unable to take a test in your location. The business school is being updated by GMAC and ETS, the providers of the GMAT/GRE test, regarding test center availability.

Judge Business School

All students, faculty and staff are working from home, and all programs will be delivered digitally over Easter Term.

Executive Education has also suspended face-to-face teaching. Online programs continue to run as planned, alongside program development activities.

All events and conferences have either been moved to webinars, postponed or cancelled – event/conference organizers will be in touch.

Saïd Business School

Saïd Business School is allowing applicants to apply without standardized test scores, but admission is dependent on submitting the missing GMAT/GRE score by a future date (yet to be announced).

The fourth and final deadline on April 3 remains the same (can apply without GMAT/GRE provided all other application components are complete upon submission).

Interview invitations will be decided based on other aspects of your profile, and stage 4 interviews will be conducted online.

Imperial College Business School

If potential students meet the standard academic requirements for the MBA, they don’t need to include a GMAT/GRE test score, but it would be made a condition of any offer made. If an applicant can’t take a test, they are advised to not delay the application, but keep preparing so they are ready when the test centers re-open.

Online interviews will also be available.

Candidates unable to take up their place at Imperial due to the impact of COVID-19 would be able to get their deposits back.

University of Edinburgh Business School

There is an extended deadline to apply for the Pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes programme to 15 May 2020. This course will be delivered online, and has increased capacity.

A decision has also been taken to accept pre-sessional English courses provided by BALEAP-accredited UK universities for 2020 entry, for students who are unable to access the University of Edinburgh pre-sessional course. A full list of accredited universities is provided on the BALEAP website: Accredited universities

They are putting into place longer deadlines for the submission of university transcripts and English language certificates, as well as working on ways to be flexible if necessary when deadlines are closer.

University of Surrey, Surrey Business School

All public events are postponed until the end of May.

Prospective students can join the first virtual postgraduate afternoon event on Wednesday 20 May. Book your place.

If you are unable to enrol due to Covid-19, your deposit will be refunded. The deposit refund policy has been changed and your deposit will be refunded in full if you request a refund by 1 July 2020. Please email [email protected] if you would like to request a refund.

Applications for postgraduate research starting in October 2020 are currently being processed as normal.

Australia

Melbourne Business School

All teaching and assessment will be conducted online from March 23 until further notice. Several of the short courses are being rescheduled, with Melbourne Business School finding ways to actively develop ways to deliver these online as well.

A number of events have been rescheduled. Staff will be working remotely from March 23 – and these changes will be regularly reviewed.

La Trobe Business School

Academic staff will be working hard to ensure that all relevant learning materials are loaded as quickly as possible, including live streaming or webinar at the scheduled class time or pre-recorded content.

Alternative assessment tasks will take place instead of face-to-face exams this semester. The alternative assessment period will be held between Friday 12 June and Thursday 2 July.

Online teaching has been introduced for the remainder of semester 1. At this stage, it is planned to recommence on-campus teaching in semester 2.

For Semester 1, 2020, if you unsuccessfully attempt a subject (i.e. you are enrolled in a subject and fail due to your grades) a fail result will not be recorded on your transcript and your course Weighted Average Mark (WAM) will not be affected.

If this happens to you, instead of a fail grade you will see: ‘V – No result recorded due to extenuating circumstances’ on your transcript and no numerical grade will be recorded.

Asia

CEIBS

The start of CEIBS’s 2020 MBA program has been pushed back to October 12, and the program duration has been cut down to 16 months from 18 – but the school says the student experience will remain the same.

CEIBS has introduced a Round 4 deadline on May 13, with decisions due by June 10. Candidates can also apply without GMAT/GRE scores, with offers conditionally made with an admission test submitted at a later date.

Applicants can apply for virtual 1-2-1 sessions with CEIBS admissions staff.

Europe

HEC Paris

HEC Paris has temporarily discontinued campus visits and in-person information sessions worldwide. However, the business school invites candidates to join virtual coffee chats or online one-to-one information sessions.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, many GMAT/GRE examination centers have been closed, and so HEC has offered for candidates to complete the process as scheduled but submit their test scores later in the year.

An interim online option for the GRE test is available and there will be an interim solution available for the GMAT around mid-April.

IE Business School

IE Business School has extended the date for the delivery of online classes, for all programs, until Tuesday, April 14.

Exams and student evaluations, for all programs, will occur remotely. Program Directors will provide their respective students with detailed information about upcoming evaluation dates and exams.

Extracurricular activities will be rescheduled on the Madrid and Segovia campuses.

ESADE

Until April 15, any event or meeting of more than 150 people (students, teachers and staff) has been canceled.

All ESADE campuses have been closed since March 16 until further notice. ESADE shifted the face-to-face courses of 4,200 students into online mode.

SDA Bocconi

Because of COVID-19, all scheduled events at SDA Bocconi will be canceled until 5 April, to be rescheduled in the coming months. Similarly, all travel for work by faculty and staff members is suspended until further notice.

All teaching activities will continue remotely until the end of the semester, similarly, the next exam sessions scheduled for April-July will also be held remotely.

IMD

Due to the COVID-19 virus, many test centers have closed and so applicants who were unable to take the GMAT/GRE/TOEFL/IELTS, IMD encourages them to apply without test results for the May 1 deadline. The admissions team will process applications and will make conditional offers until test centers reopen.

Copenhagen Business School

Copenhagen Business School’s campus will be closed up to and including Monday April 13, and CBS will conduct all exams online. Classes continue to be held online for the foreseeable future.

Business trips and study trips are suspended.

Erasmus (RSM)

All classes have been cancelled until March 31.

EUR has set up this Wellbeing Platform for all students.

The business school will reassess these scheduled assignment deadlines with faculty as changes will realistically occur in the course outline and assignments.

Nyenrode Business School

The last event ‘Experience Weekend’ has been cancelled and there will be no alternative due to the upcoming application deadline.

Exams haven't been cancelled.

Nyenrode will look at individual cases unable to take an English-language test due to test center closures to find a suitable solution with the applicant. Please note that the language test can be taken after the Admissions test & interview. If needed, Nyenrode could offer a postponement until the TOEFL/IELTS test centers reopen.

IÉSEG School of Management

Candidates unable to take an English-language test will be able to submit their applications for review by the Admissions board without English Test scores temporarily, but test scores will need to be submitted by May 25 2020.

The Admission and Recruitment team still receives and processes applications, and no restrictions are being placed on international applicants. The accommodation process (apartment/ residence reservations) will start in May.

Sustainability Management School

SUMAS will still accept students whose examinations have been cancelled based on previous and current transcripts, predicted grades and school/university certificates. This can be done at a later stage on an exceptional basis and we can still accept candidates.

A late arrival on campus will be permitted due to delayed visas, and the business school is still accepting applications with no restrictions.

Global

INSEAD

There are a number of changes to INSEAD’s international campuses because of the COVID-19 virus.

Online teaching has started for the MBA program. The second week of the GEMBA Europe module will be rescheduled when in-person instruction is available. GEMBA participants are advised to return to their country of residence ASAP.

Executive Education programs taking place at the Europe Campus until 17 April 2020 are cancelled.

Following San Francisco’s Shelter in Place order, INSEAD’s San Francisco Hub for Business Innovation’s programs are on hold until further notice.

Until further notice, all MBA campus exchanges are cancelled. This is in response to government regulations and government-imposed closed borders. Given the current state of the COVID-19 crisis, our advice to MBA students is to stay where you are.

Asia Campus Residences will continue to operate as usual. Europe Campus Residences will be closed until further notice.

The business school has created new online events including Info Sessions, Panels, 121s, application workshops and registrations for the first Online Masterclasses will open soon.