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Is There an Entrance Exam for the Executive MBA?

Deciding to pursue your graduate degree in business is an important decision, and the entrance exam you take should match your experience and your priorities.

The Executive Assessment (EA) is the preferred entrance exam for professional b-school programs, including the executive MBA (EMBA), executive master’s, and professional MBA (part-time, online, flexible). Designed with the experienced professional in mind, the exam is easy to schedule, short in duration, and requires minimal preparation, which leaves time for the other essential parts of your life too.

"The EA put me back in the school mindset by helping me to schedule out my day so I could actually be effective at studying, be effective at work, and then be effective in my personal life.”
– Eliza, EMBA Student

Structure and duration

The EA assesses your readiness for b-school by measuring the skills that are critical both at work and in a business program, such as higher-order reasoning, critical thinking, analysis, and problem solving. In contrast with the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) exam, the test does not focus on your knowledge of school-based concepts like geometry or algebra, and there’s no Analytical Writing Assessment (essay) section. During your 90-minute exam you will complete just 40 questions across three sections: Integrated Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Quantitative Reasoning. Your official results will be provided to you and your selected schools within 24 hours, so you can promptly continue with your b-school application process. For more information about the EA, visit the exam’s FAQ page.
“I think the EA does a great job of assessing your knowledge as it is, and then I think it also, for me, gave me a couple areas where I needed to focus on.”
– Skip Calvert, Darden Executive Program

Convenient scheduling

The EA is delivered year-round in more than 600 test centers around the world giving you the flexibility to take your assessment close to home and at a time that’s convenient for you. You can view test centers near you with open seats, and choose from morning, daytime, or evening appointments that offer the least amount of disruption to your daily responsibilities. You can also reschedule your exam as many times as you need to, with no fees assessed for changes made up to 48 hours in advance of your appointment.
“I felt more prepared for my EMBA program after taking the Executive Assessment.”
– Jen, EMBA Student

Focused preparation

The EA was created specifically to measure the knowledge of established professionals who are looking to advance their positions in the workplace. Your exam will highlight the skills and expertise you’ve gained over the course of your career and hence requires minimal preparation. The assessment can also serve as a tool for sharpening your skills before your program begins and helping you to get familiar with concepts you may not currently use on a frequent basis. You’ll want to prepare enough that you feel comfortable responding to each question in just a few minutes. To get started, review sample questions from the Integrated Reasoning, Verbal, and Quantitative sections, and consider utilizing the EA Official Prep products.

When you commit to an executive business degree, you commit to your career and your future. Take a step in the direction of advancement: view a list of schools that accept the EA and register for the EA exam today.