NYU Stern will allow candidates to its full-time MBA programs (Full-time MBA program, Technology and Entrepreneurship MBA, Fashion & Luxury MBA) to apply by taking a shorter and easier test called the Executive Assessment.

That test, originally designed for applicants to Executive MBA programs, is shorter with fewer questions and lacks the GMAT’s Analytical Writing Assessment section. Instead of taking over three hours, a test taker would only have to sit for 90 minutes to complete the EA. Test prep tutors also say the math content on the EA is easier, with fewer questions on probability, statistics, and combinatronics. The quant portion of the EA poses just 14 questions versus the GMAT’s 31 questions, while the verbal section of the test also has 14 questions versus the GMAT’s 36 questions. The quant section of the EA takes just 30 minutes versus GMAT’s 62 minutes, while the verbal portion also takes just 30 minutes versus the GMAT’s 65 minutes. The EA’s integrated reasoning section is the same as the GMAT with a dozen questions over a 30-minute timeframe.

Stern’s Admissions Committee says it has no preference for the GMAT, GRE or EA; the choice of test is entirely up to the candidate. Stern will be the second major MBA program to accept an EA as an alternative to the GMAT or GRE after Columbia Business School.