Will Not Submitting GMAT Affect My Chances for HEC Paris Master in Marketing?

I'm from a Tier-1 college in India with a bachelor's in management (marketing). I have 1 year of full-time experience as a growth marketer, plus 6 months of internships in PR and advertising. My LORs are from my marketing professor and my current CMO. Since HEC says GMAT is optional, will applying without it weaken my application?

Asked by J Kumar 7 months ago

J Bajwa

Experienced Human Resources Specialist | Talent Acquisition | Employee Relations | HR Operations Expert

Skipping the GMAT for HEC Paris Master in Marketing is allowed, but only works if the rest of the profile is strong and well-documented.

HEC lists the GMAT as optional, not waived, so not submitting it won’t disqualify you—but you’ll need to compensate in other areas
Applicants without GMAT should show strong academics (above 70–75%) and relevant coursework like consumer behavior, statistics, or digital marketing analytics
Indian students without GMAT have been admitted when they had standout experience—like internships in brand strategy, work on live ad campaigns, or personal marketing portfolios (e.g., running a blog, building a brand’s social media from scratch)
Not submitting GMAT may weaken chances for merit scholarships, where test scores add weight

If you don’t have highly relevant academic or practical marketing work, submitting a GMAT Focus score (625+) is the safer route. But with strong internships and results-driven marketing projects, applying without it is still possible.

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