PRESENTED BY ETS


It’s inevitable. If you plan on earning an MBA or specialized master’s degree (e.g., Master’s in Finance), you’ll most likely have to sit for another standardized test. But you don’t necessarily have to set your sights on the GMAT®. A growing number of business schools accept either GRE® or GMAT® scores. So which test should you take? Well, we spoke with the folks at ETS to get the lowdown on the differences and why the GRE® General Test might actually be a better option.

Is there a benefit to taking the GRE® General Test over the GMAT®?

Some people view the GRE® General Test as more advantageous because of its versatility. Simply put, the GRE® General Test is the only graduate admissions test that can be used to apply to a range of MBA, specialized master’s in business, master’s, JD, and doctoral programs. This provides you with more options and the ability to apply to more programs around the world.

Just as critical, the GRE® General Test is section-level adaptive, which allows test takers to preview and review questions, skip and then return to questions, and change answers, all within a section. As a result, they can use more of their own test-taking strategies.

Test takers can also use an on-screen calculator during the Quantitative Reasoning section, which allows them to focus their attention on reasoning rather than on calculations.

Additionally, those who sit for the GRE® General Test can take advantage of the ScoreSelect® service option. This enables people to sit for the test more than once and send only their best scores to the schools of their choice. 

Do you find MBA programs view GRE® General Test scores and GMAT® scores equally?

Most MBA programs indicate that they view GRE® General Test and GMAT® scores equally. In fact, according to a Kaplan survey, nearly 8 out of 10 MBA programs reported that they don’t have a test preference. 

Does the GRE® General Test offer anything comparable to the enhanced score report from GMAT®?

The FREE GRE® Diagnostic Service helps test takers understand their performance on the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections of the test they took. Test takers are privy to the types of questions answered correctly and incorrectly, organized by skill area, as well as the difficulty level and time spent on each question. This makes it easy for individuals to assess their strengths and weaknesses and highlights where they should target their test prep before retaking the exam. The service is available to test takers for up to six months after they take the exam.

If you want to learn more about the GRE® General Test and the best way to prep for this exam, please visit:  https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/mba.

ETS, the ETS logo, GRE and SCORESELECT are registered trademarks of ETS. GMAT is a registered trademark of Graduate Management Admission Council, which does not endorse or approve this Comparison. 

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