Admitted students at Aalto University School of Business typically score in the GMAT 600 / Focus 555 / GRE 157V+158Q — obligatory in Admission Group 2 (any bachelor's from outside a Finnish university); not required in Admission Group 1 GMAT range.
| Admitted GMAT range | GMAT 600 / Focus 555 / GRE 157V+158Q — obligatory in Admission Group 2 (any bachelor's from outside a Finnish university); not required in Admission Group 1 |
|---|---|
| GPA | Recognised bachelor with ≥60 ECTS of business studies. Which admission group you fall into is decided by WHERE that bachelor's was awarded, not by your grades: a degree from a university in Finland puts you in Group 1 (no test); a degree from a Finnish university of applied sciences or from any institution outside Finland puts you in Group 2, where the GMAT/GRE is obligatory |
| Work experience | 0–2 years (not required) |
| MiMs we track admitting without a required GMAT/GRE | 75 of 118 |
The Aalto University School of Business MiM does weigh a test score (admitted students fall in the GMAT 600 / Focus 555 / GRE 157V+158Q — obligatory in Admission Group 2 (any bachelor's from outside a Finnish university); not required in Admission Group 1 range) — but if a test-free route matters, 75 of 118 MiMs we track (about 64%) admit without a required GMAT or GRE. See every European MiM you can apply to without a GMAT on our MiM without the GMAT shortlist, or read how GMAT waivers work.
Most European MiM programs, including this one, accept the GRE and often the GMAT Focus Edition or a school-specific test as alternatives, and weigh the whole application — academics, internships, essays, and interview — rather than the score alone.
Frequently asked questions
Does Aalto require the GMAT or GRE?
For almost every reader of this site, yes. Aalto sorts School of Business applicants into two admission groups, and the sorting rule is where your bachelor's was awarded — not your grades. Admission Group 1 is a bachelor's degree from a university in Finland, and Group 1 applicants are not required to take a test. Admission Group 2 is a bachelor's from a Finnish university of applied sciences or from any higher-education institution outside Finland, and in Aalto's own words the GMAT or GRE is 'obligatory' there, with one exception that is a Finnish-taught law option, not this programme. For International Management the Group 2 minimum is a GMAT 600 (10th Edition), a GMAT Focus 555, or a GRE 157 verbal and 158 quantitative; scores are valid five years and must reach Aalto direct from the testing organisation by the document deadline. There is one narrow bridge into Group 1 for this programme: an applicant with a bachelor's from an official Aalto School of Business partner university who spent an exchange at the School of Business between 1 August 2024 and 31 December 2026, completing at least 18 credits for a one-semester exchange or 36 for two, at a minimum 3.50 GPA in those exchange studies. That 3.50 is the exchange-studies rule; it is not a general GPA route into Group 1. Confirm the current cut-offs on Aalto's own GMAT and GRE page before planning around them.
Sources
- Aalto — International Management, MSc (Economics & Business Administration): tuition, duration, admission groups, English requirements, CEMS term, structure. RE-READ 2026-09-04, and the programme page is a cycle behind the central one: its "Application period" field still reads "1 Dec 2025 – 2 Jan 2026" — the window that closed for the autumn-2026 intake — while Aalto's Admission Services page publishes 7 Dec 2026 – 5 Jan 2027 for autumn 2027. Same read is the source for the Pekka Mattila Excellence Scholarships: a €3,000 relocation grant for fee-liable applicants to the Marketing and International Management programmes only, requiring a SEPARATE form after the programme application (due 20 March 2026 at 15:00 for the 2026 admissions; no 2027 date published yet), and "not compatible with the Aalto University Excellence Scholarship" ↗ — Aalto University
- Aalto — Scholarships and tuition fees (€15,000/yr; EU/EEA/Switzerland exempt) ↗ — Aalto University
- Aalto — Apply to master's programmes (autumn-2027 application window: 7 Dec 2026 – 5 Jan 2027, stated verbatim as "The application period for studies beginning in autumn 2027 will run from 7 December 2026 to 5 January 2027"). SCOPE CHECKED 2026-09-04, full schedule read the same visit: the page is Aalto's central Admission Services page and opens "The application period for Aalto University's two-year master's programmes is once a year", so this is a university-wide window covering all two-year master's, not a programme calendar — and it is the right source for this programme. Its "Master's admissions schedule" table carries four dates beyond the closing one: document deadline 12 Jan 2027 15:00 (UTC+2), evaluation Jan–Mar 2027, results published 30 Mar 2027, and the deadline to accept a study place 21 Apr 2027 15:00 (UTC+3). Also on the page: an applicant "may apply to a maximum of two study options" and must rank them, and the ranking cannot be changed once the period closes. Note the URL now resolves to /en/admission-services/apply-to-masters-programmes ↗ — Aalto University
- Aalto School of Business — Accreditations and rankings (AACSB/EQUIS/AMBA triple crown; first Nordic triple-crown school) ↗ — Aalto University
- Aalto — The School of Business turns 110 in 2021 (Helsinki School of Economics founded 1911) ↗ — Aalto University
- Aalto — Apply to master's programmes, section "Admission groups in the field of business and economics and GMAT/GRE". READ AT SOURCE 2026-09-10 and this is the source of the correction on this profile: "ADMISSION GROUP 1: Bachelor's degree from a university in Finland" and "ADMISSION GROUP 2: Bachelor's degree from a university of applied sciences in Finland or from a higher education institution outside Finland", followed by "In Admission Group 2, all applicants are required to have taken either the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Records Examination (GRE), except for the study option of Yritysjuridiikka (taught in Finnish)." The group is set by the degree that grants eligibility, i.e. the bachelor's, NOT by grade point average. The one bridge into Group 1 from outside Finland is stated verbatim for this programme: applicants to International Management and Sustainable Entrepreneurship holding a bachelor's from "an official partner university of Aalto University School of Business" who completed part of it on exchange at the School of Business "are not required to submit a GMAT or GRE test", provided the exchange fell between 1 August 2024 and 31 December 2026, carried "minimum 18 credits" for one semester or "minimum 36 credits" for two, and was completed "with a minimum 3,50 GPA" — which is where the 3.50 figure this profile previously misattributed to a general GPA route actually belongs ↗ — Aalto University
- Aalto — GMAT and GRE exams (minimum test score requirements table, read at source 2026-09-10). Aalto's own words: "In Admission group 2, the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Records Examination (GRE) is obligatory." The table gives, per study option, Admission Group 1 then Admission Group 2. INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT: Group 1 "Not required"; Group 2 GMAT (10th Edition) 600, GMAT Focus Edition 555, GRE 157 v / 158 q — the top band, shared only with Business Analytics, against 550 / 515 / 154v-155q for the other nine English-taught options. Also on the page: scores are "valid for five years after the test day" (for 2027 admissions the oldest acceptable test date is 7 December 2021); "The official test scores must arrive at Aalto University directly from the testing organisation by 12 January 2027"; the three tests are treated as equivalent; and "The GMAT/GRE is not a language test and therefore cannot substitute for a language test." NOTE THE ROUTE: the slug is /gmat-and-gre-exams — the guessed /business-and-economics-gmatgre-exams 404s, and Aalto serves a 12 KB 404 body that still contains the phrase "tuition fee" from its own navigation, so assert the status code and a string only the real page carries ↗ — Aalto University