AboutKeith Berman Expertise I can answer questions regarding any part of the college and graduate school application process, such as:
1.) What are colleges looking for in an essay? If I wrote on [a given topic], would that help or hurt me?
2.) Should I include a portfolio of music in an application? How should I do it?
3.) Does applying for financial aid affect my chances of admission?
4.) Should I get a recommendation from a sophomore year teacher as opposed to a junior year teacher? Why?
5.) How much does the SAT/ACT matter in the admissions process at [a given school]?
6.) What are my chances at [a given school]?
Experience 2005 - Present, President, Options for College, Inc. (www.optionsforcollege.com), New York, NY
- Have worked with approximately 500 families and students on the college and graduate school admissions process
- Have trained over 200 guidance counselors in NY, California, and India
- Quoted in US News and World Report's America's Best Colleges: 2009, Boston Magazine, Boston Globe, Yale Daily News, Harvard Crimson, Columbia Spectator, and others
- Have published various articles on topics related to college admissions
2004-5, Interviewer, Harvard Undergraduate Admissions Office
2001-3, New York City Teaching Fellow
2001, American Institutes for Research
- worked on issues related to developing the Voluntary National Test
2000, Interviewer, Yale Undergraduate Admissions Office
Organizations AICEP, NACAC, IECA
Publications Publication list available upon request. Most common sources are US Department of Education and Education Update.
Education/Credentials 2007 - Present, Certified Educational Planner, AICEP
2006 - Present, NACAC, Voting Member
2006 - Present, IECA, Voting Member
2006, C.A.S., Harvard Graduate School of Education
2005, Ed.M., Harvard Graduate School of Education
2003, M.S.Ed., Bank Street College of
2000, B.A., Yale University
Awards and Honors Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Grant (2006-7)
Received award/stipend for project entitled An Experimental Intervention: Assessing the Value of Personalized College Counseling for Low Income, High Merit Students. Award covers tuition. Project also received Mellon Foundation support.
Roy E. Larsen Award (2003-2004)
Received award that provides full tuition and fees plus a stipend to first-year doctoral students at Harvard Graduate School of Education in the field of research. Also received identical HGSE grant of same amount for the 2004-2005 school year.
New York City Teaching Fellowship (June 2001 - May 2003)
Selected participant in alternative certification and teacher recruitment program. Awarded $3,000 stipend and full tuition for an M.S.Ed. at Bank Street College of Education.
AmeriCorps (2002 and 2003)
Received two annual $4,725 educational awards for completing national service in education.
Past/Present Clients Yeshiva University HS for Boys, Rudolf Steiner School, Christian Unified Schools of San Diego, Merrill Lynch, NYU Family Life Center, Princeton Review ACS - India
Question I am an MBA Graduate in Finance from an African University and is interested in pursuing PHD in a university in the United States. Could you please furnish me with the list of Business Schools that do not require GMAT or GRE for admissions.
Answer Don,
Actually, the answer to your question is not particularly straightforward, but that is a very good thing. US universities may, at their discretion, waive test requirements based on where you are from, how much work experience you have, the caliber of your MBA, your TOEFL score, and your publications.
I would advise the following:
1.) Choose where you would ideally like to go first. If you are going to go through the trouble of understanding each individual admissions process, choose universities where you'd like to study.
2.) Write to, or call the admissions office, and explain that it is difficult to find administrations of the test. Ask them what the alternatives are. You will be surprised; even schools that "required" the GMAT or GRE may make an exception for an African national, as that is a very hard pool of students to recruit. In addition, your calling will help make you more competitive in the application process.
3.) Concentrate on your application, and get some expert advice on how to proceed with it.
In other words, while I could give you a list (which would be quite small) of colleges that advertise no requirement, I would instead suggest trying to tailor the admissions process to your needs. Universities may very well waive the requirement for you whether or not their websites say that they "require" a test score.
