My husband is being transferred to the UK for at least 3 years and I'm tagging along. I was thinking about doing a 1-year MBA but I didn't want to go through the trouble of doing the GMAT. Is there any decent MBA program in the UK that wouldn't require a GMAT score? What about Bath, Durham, Birmingham? What are the job prospects for their graduates? I'm a lawyer (need to pass QLTS to practice in the UK), with 7 years' experience... good grades on my undergraduate.

Is not taking the GMAT worth $300,000 to you?

The UK programmes which don't make the GMAT compulsory have graduates earning USD $95k or less after three years. Those who do are earning $104k or more. That difference will widen year after year for most alumni.

The GMAT is not impossible. I'm a theology and philosophy undergrad with no special talent for numbers. I studied 40 hours for my GMAT and got into London Business School.

Is that effort, or twice, three times -- even ten times it -- worth $300,000k to you?

If so Durham, Lancaster, Bath and Strathclyde are worth considering.

I got the point. GMAT ain't that difficult and it significantly enhances one's post-MBA earnings potential... Thanks for the tip!!! I guess I ought to give a stab at it... 40 hours (or maybe even 200 hours) don't sound too bad... HOWEVER, if I were to fail (and get a low score), which of the four schools you've listed would be the best choices? I gather from the few rankings I've seen that Bath and Durham would be my best bets reputation and employability-wise.

Strathclyde is your best bet, and after that Bath.

Where is your degree from? If your first language is English and your undergraduate degree is from a UK-recognized university, Lancaster won't require you to take the GMAT.

Strathclyde performs better than Lancaster in the rankings, and Glasgow is a lot easier to get out of if she wants to visit her husband.

Agreed and agreed, I suggested it simply because "NO GMAT" seemed to be a high priority.

Thank you both for the replies.

FYI, I don't qualify for the GMAT waiver at Lancaster...

If I may, can you please give me your thoughts on the following: I was thinking about doing the MBA because I'll be in a country where I cannot practice as a lawyer. I could, maybe, instead of undertaking such a heavy burden like the MBA (at least money-wise) study to pass the QLTS assessments and qualify as a solicitor in England & Wales; and, then, look for a job. However, it is not clear to me what the best course of action is to find a job. Should I focus on the legal market (i.e., pass the QLTS and get a job as a lawyer)? Should I go for the MBA (even if I end up at a no-GMAT school - such as Bath or Strathclyde)? Will the MBA give me a better chance at landing a job than becoming a fully qualified solicitor?

Nocando

you need to create your own set of goals. If that is to work as a solicitor I dont think the MBA is going to help you in that direction.
May i just disagree with some of the things written above. Strathclyde is a very good school. However I do not like their approach towards the MBA Market, they have many partners around the World. Now if you can have an MBA degree from Strathclyde in Athens, Dubai, Singapore, then why bother and go to Glasgow. Don't get me wrong this is the trend in many schools around the World however, its different to concentrate in two markets rather than in 7 or 8. Still Strathclyde is a great school and maybe one of the best in Strategy around the World.
For me Bath is now the best second - tier MBA in the UK. It performs strong for the last years both in the FT as well as in the Economist rankings.
Other schools like Aston, Birmingham, Bradford, Edinburgh (which is highly regarded) are out of the rankings for the last two years and Durham seems to have it ups and downs.

Still all programmes are good in my opinion you just need to know what you want to do with an MBA.

I know you're right but I've been struggling to figure that out... I think I'm a good lawyer and kind of like it... but I'm afraid it might just be too damn difficult to land a job in the UK with my legal background... So I thought I could maybe go for a career shift and use the MBA to widen my employability prospects and array of choices.

Other than LBS, MBS, Imperial, Oxbridge - all of which I might give a shot at if I don't flunk in my GMAT - which are the best schools to increase one's employability chances (considering I'm not a UK national; although I am a EU national).

That depends heavily on the sectors/functions you want to work in. For example if you want to work in the Finance sector then there are some great programmes in the UK, Cass, Warwick, LBS. If you want to work as a Consultant then Cranfield would be a great choice. So it depends on your goals. If you would have some of them in your mind then you could search to see which schools have good penetrations in these sectors and then create a short list of schools to apply to.

The schools you mentioned along with Warwick, Cranfield are the best schools in the UK in General, every year ranked with great outcomes for their graduates.

For non GMAT schools I think the best have been mentioned above. Have you searched which schools attract people with your profession (if there is a trend)? This could be a great way to start from. Then try to approach these people by LinkedIn, I think hearing their story might give you some way out