Since 90% of business schools have started accepting GRE scores from applicants wishing to be a part of their MBA programs, one would think the MBA application process has become much easier. The truth, however, is the opposite.
Where a student wishing to be an MBA graduate had to just go get a GMAT score before, they now have to decide between taking a GMAT exam or the GRE. And this choice can very well shape their future.
With so much at stake, how do you decide which exam is right for you? For that, you will be required to know both the exams thoroughly. Fortunately, you don’t have to prepare for them to understand them. There is a simpler way.
A few things about the exams can help you decide on this dilemma.
GRE vs GMAT for MBA Admission: Key Differences & Which Exam Should You Take?
Although both GMAT and GRE share a few sections like the Quant, Verbal and the AWA, they can’t exactly be considered similar.
Before we dive into the details of how the format and scoring of the tests are different, let’s take a quick look at a comparison of the tests side-by-side.
| Criteria | GMAT | GRE |
|---|---|---|
| Test duration | 3 hours 30 minutes | 3 hours 45 minutes |
| Sections& Questions | Quant: 31 Verbal: 36 IR: 12 AWA: 1 Quant: 20 | Verbal: 20 AWA: 2 Unscored or Research: 20 Composite score 800 340 |
| Scoring algorithm | Adaptative per question | Adaptative per section |
| Validity | 5 years | 5 years |
| Fee | $250 | $205 |
| Mode of conduction | Computer | Computer and Paper |
As you can see, the GMAT and the GRE have only one different section. The GMAT has the Integrated Reasoning section while the GRE has the Unscored or Research section.
As the name suggests, you get no scores for the GRE Unscored or Research section, whereas, the IR section on the GMAT carries much less weightage than the Verbal and Quant sections, it does matter to business schools.
Other than that, the GRE is also conducted through two mediums, computer, and paper. The Paper conducted GRE is only rarely available and is not up to the test taker’s discretion to choose.
The difference in the scoring algorithm of the GMAT and the GRE lies in the parts that they are adaptive in. Both GMAT and the GRE are Computer Adaptive Tests. This means that the next question that a test taker will be presented with will depend on whether or not they answer the current question right. A right answer means the difficulty level of the next question would be more than the current question and a wrong answer means the difficulty level would be less.
However, the GRE isn’t adaptative per question. The test analyses your performance on a complete section, and the difficulty level of the complete next section is decided through that.
As you must have noticed, there are a few other differences in the table above. We will be discussing these at length further in the blog.
Difference between GMAT and GRE Exam Structure
GMAT VS GRE QUANT
Both the GMAT and the GRE have similar quantitative sections and do not test high-level Math concepts like derivatives, limits or continuous functions. In the case of the Quant sections, GMAT takes the cake. It is believed that the Quant section on the GMAT is much harder than the Quant section on the GRE.
How so? After all, they test similar concepts.
The GMAT is known for being a tricky test to navigate. It is known to contain tricky worded questions and Quant on the test is especially affected by it. But that isn’t all. It also has questions based more on critical thinking and analyzing the problems, especially in the Data Sufficiency segment.
The GRE Quant also asks you to solve only 20 questions in 35 minutes, i.e. an average of 1 minute 45 seconds per question. Whereas GMAT Quant requires you to solve 31 questions in 62 minutes, giving you full 2 minutes on an average to solve each question.
This is why a lot of students that want to portray their Quantitative prowess to business schools, choose to take the GMAT instead of the GRE.
GMAT Quant
The GMAT Quant section tests a students’ capabilities to solve quantitative problems, analyze and interpret data and reason mathematically. The difficulty on the Quant section on the GMAT is based in the analytical skills required for a particular question rather than the concept it is asking about.
It has two question types.
Problem solving:
These are pretty straightforward questions asking a test taker to solve a Math problem and selecting the correct answer from the answer choices available.
Data sufficiency:
Data sufficiency is where the Quant section gets a little trickier. These questions provide a part of a question, two possible conditions that may or may not help in solving the question and then 5 answer choices. The answer choices ask the test taker whether one or both or none of the two possible conditions can help in solving the previously placed incomplete question.
GRE Quant
GRE Quant is much different from the Quant section on the GMAT due to its decision to stick to purely testing Mathematical concepts. The section places more emphasis on the test-takers’ knowledge of the various concepts rather than testing their analytical skills. This is why GRE Quant doesn’t have a question type equivalent to the Data Sufficiency on the GMAT Quant. It does contain Word Problems though.
The concepts tested on the GRE Quant are from the four major topics; Arithmetic, Algebra, Data Analysis, and Geometry. It tests all concepts from these topics.
The concepts tested on the GRE Quant are from the four major topics; Arithmetic, Algebra, Data Analysis, and Geometry. It tests all concepts from these topics.
GMAT VERBAL VS GRE VERBAL
The Verbal section is one of the sections that both the GAT and the GRE have in common. The prevalent belief is that the GRE Verbal section is harder than the GMAT Verbal section due to its usage and testing of highly challenging vocabulary and grammar.
For non-native English speakers, GMAT is considered to be the safer route to take.
In addition to the language and testing differences on the two tests, the Verbal sections of GRE and GMAT also differ in volume. While GRE only asks its test taker to answer 20 questions in 30 minutes, the GMAT gives a student 65 minutes to solve 36 questions. This brings the average time per question on the GRE Verbal to 1 minute and 30 seconds, and on the GMAT to 1 minute and 48 seconds.
Although it might not seem significant, the additional 18 seconds could be helpful especially if accumulated towards the end to use on tricky questions.
GMAT Verbal
The GMAT verbal section tests applicants on three things; Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, and Sentence Correction. It tests your ability to analyze written material and your knowledge of grammar rules.
Reading Comprehension:
Test takers are required to answer questions regarding the conclusion and arguments from a passage provided in the test.
Critical Reasoning:
Very similar to the Reading comprehension questions, Critical Reasoning contains shorter passages and requires test takers to use the data provided in the passage.
Sentence Correction:
In layman terms, Sentence Correction can be called the grammar section of GMAT Verbal. It requires the test taker to follow certain grammar rules to find the errors in a sentence and rectify them by picking the grammatically correct option choice.
GRE Verbal
The GRE Verbal section test applicants on their skills of analyzing, concluding and summarizing passages and excerpts. It also tests the test takers’ vocabulary indirectly. The questions on this section are divided into roughly three types mentioned below
Reading Comprehension:
Similar to the Reading Comprehension on GMAT Verbal, the GRE Reading Comprehension will also test students on their analysis of the passage presented to them. The difference, however, is the presence of more challenging vocabulary in this section.
Text Completion:
This part of the GRE is very different from anything on the GMAT. Text completion requires you to read a passage, roughly 5-7 lines long, and then fill in key information in the blanks present in the passage. This tests your analytical skills to interpret missing information in a passage by reading the rest of it.
Sentence Equivalation:
This is text completion in a single sentence. Here is where the ‘challenging vocabulary’ element of the GRE Verbal comes into play. The blanks in a sentence need to be filled by selecting two answer choices, out of the six given to you, that might not mean the same but would complete the sentence.
GMAT VS GRE AWA
The GMAT and GRE essays are quite similar except for the fact that GRE contains an additional essay. Where you will be given 30 minutes to answer only one question on the GMAT AWA section, you will be allotted 60 minutes to attempt 2 questions on the GRE AWA section.
Although the GRE has two essays for twice the time that GMAT allots, it only brings the total time of the GRE up to the total time of the GMAT.
If you have a flair for writing or have confidence in your essay practice, the two essays on the GRE won’t be much trouble. However, if you’re dreading writing an impromptu essay on the test, GMAT would save you a lot of trouble.
GMAT AWA
The GAT AWA provides an author’s statement to a student. The student is required to elaborate on the same but not by presenting their own opinion.
Instead, they are asked to understand the statement that the author made and do a SWOT analysis of the same. Students need to poke holes in the author’s opinion by pointing out the weak arguments or facts and provide options for improvement on the same.
GRE AWA
The GRE AWA also provides a similar question to the GMAT AWA> it provides students a statement or an opinion. The two question types in this essay are:
Analyze the Argument:
This is the same as the question on the GMAT AWA except, the student is also required to provide critique on the argument.
Analyze the Task: This type of question on the GRE AWA requires the student to explain their own opinion on an argument. You will be provided with an argument like all the other questions, but rather than pick apart that argument, you will be required to provide where you stand in regards to it.
WHAT DO BUSINESS SCHOOLS WANT – GRE or GMAT?
No business school outright talks about which exam they have a preference for either the GMAT or the GRE. However, students aiming at business schools still tend to pick the GMAT over the GRE. One of the biggest reasons for this choice is that the GMAT is meant purely for testing an applicant’s acumen for business school.
The GMAT isn’t just a test of Quant or Verbal, but it also tests your executive decision-making skills through your algorithm. Scoring high on the GMAT is very dependent on your strategies to pace, or to take guesses. Every time you decided to guess on a question rather than spending a minute or two trying to solve it, you make an executive decision to spend more time on some other question that might be of value.
Another show of executive decision-making is that taking the GMAT means you can’t apply to anything but business schools. You’re proclaiming that you know your future path and have made an informed and focused decision.
However, Admissions committee member Diane Eytchesen of the Fuqua Business School does say that the school converts GRE score to GMAT score before evaluating your profile.
WHAT DO RECRUITERS WANT?
Very few applicants realize that top recruiters for MBAs follow the lead of business schools while hiring fresh graduates. Like I mentioned earlier, although you’re not given a score for it, the GMAT tests your readiness for the business world. This means it holds value to recruiters as well. While many companies do not rely on GMAT scores to make any decisions regarding who they recruit, you’re still not in the clear if you hadn’t taken the GMAT. Before I tell you why, let’s look at what recruiters said when GMAC asked them whether they used GMAT in recruiting during the Corporate Recruiter’s Survey 2018.
