Expanded GMAT Fee Waiver Program Launched by Graduate Management Admission Council

New Program Enables Business Schools to Provide Free GMAT Registration to Applicants Unable to Afford Testing Fee

MCLEAN, VA--(Marketwire - March 16, 2010) -  Hundreds of business school aspirants around the world will have the opportunity to take the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) at no cost under a new program from the nonprofit organization that created and administers the exam. The initiative builds on an existing program that helps people cover the cost of taking the GMAT.

The new fee waiver program permits business schools that use the GMAT to offer free access to the standardized entrance exam to a limited number of prospective students whose financial situations prevent them from paying the $250 fee on their own.

The fee waiver program is underwritten by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), an international association of business schools that created the GMAT more than 50 years ago expressly to meet the unique requirements of management education programs. Participating schools will determine rules to select people to receive the fee waivers.

"The world needs talented managers," said Julia Tyler, executive vice president of member services and school marketing for GMAC. "The fee waiver program reflects GMAC's commitment to helping people with talent enter management education, whatever their financial circumstances."

The GMAT is unmatched in its ability to predict how well prospective students will perform in business school. The exam is used by thousands of MBA and other graduate business programs at nearly 1,900 schools on six continents to objectively assess verbal and quantitative skills in applicants. Prospective students took the GMAT a record 265,613 times during the testing year that ended June 30, 2009.

Details about the GMAT fee waiver program are available at http://www.gmac.com/gmac/TheGMAT/GMATFeeWaiverProgram/GMATFeeWaiverProgramFAQs.htm. Send questions about the program to feewaivers@gmac.com.

The Graduate Management Admission Council (www.gmac.com) is a nonprofit education organization of leading graduate business schools worldwide dedicated to creating access to and disseminating information about graduate management education. GMAC is based in McLean, Virginia, and has a European office in London. The GMAT was created in 1954 and is used by more than 4,700 graduate management programs at nearly 1,900 business schools around the world to assess applicants. The GMAT -- the only standardized test designed expressly for graduate business and management programs worldwide -- is currently available at approximately 500 test centers in over 110 countries. More information about the GMAT is available at www.mba.com.