GRE Vs GMAT For MBA: Which one to Take?

The difference between the GMAT and GRE is majorly for college admission. GMAT score is used for business school admissions, and GRE scores are used for graduate program(that includes business and law schools). In recent times colleges accept both GRE and GMAT scores.

GRE GMAT differences are based on 6 key parameters that are as follows:

• Fees
• Test duration
• Test design
• Test structure
• Scoring system
• The number of business schools accepting them.

So, here in this article, we discuss which test you should choose for your MBA.

GMAT Vs GRE Highlights

Here is the difference between GRE and GMAT. This will provide you with an overall idea regarding the two.

GRE Vs GMAT Syllabus

Most students wonder “Is GRE and GMAT syllabus the same?” Both GRE and GMAT comprise three main subject areas: verbal, quantitative (which includes the GMAT’s Integrated Reasoning section), and writing.

The major difference between the two are explained below:

GRE Vs GMAT: Verbal Section

GRE Vs GMAT: Quant Section

GRE Vs GMAT: Analytical Writing Section

GRE vs GMAT Score Comparison

GMAT GRE Conversion helps the candidate to check how much they are prepared for the upcoming GMAT exam and prepare accordingly. Here is a quick overview of the GRE and GMAT scores:

GRE Vs GMAT Score Conversion Chart

The given below table on GRE to GMAT score comparison is based on data provided by top business schools:

GRE Verbal Reasoning score	GRE Quant Reasoning score	GRE Score	GMAT Score	GMAT Verbal scaled score	GMAT Quant scaled score
170	170	340	800	46	53
169	169	338	790	45	52
168	168	336	780	44	50
167	167	334	760	43	49
166	166	332	740	42	48
165	165	330	730	41	47
164	164	328	710	40	45
163	163	326	690	39	44
162	162	324	670	38	43
161	161	322	660	37	42
160	160	320	640	36	41
159	159	318	620	35	39
158	158	316	610	35	38
157	157	314	590	34	37
156	156	312	570	33	36
155	155	310	560	32	34
154	154	308	540	31	33
153	153	306	520	30	32
152	152	304	500	29	31
151	151	302	490	28	29
150	150	300	470	27	28
149	149	298	450	26	27
148	148	296	440	25	26
147	147	294	420	25	24
146	146	292	400	24	23
145	145	290	390	23	22
144	144	288	370	22	21
143	143	286	350	21	19
142	142	284	330	20	18
141	141	282	320	19	17
140	140	280	300	18	16
139	139	278	280	17	14
138	138	276	270	16	13
137	137	274	250	15	12
136	136	272	230	15	11
135	135	270	220	14	9
134	134	268	200	13	8
133	133	266	200	12	7
132	132	264	200	11	6
131	131	262	200	10	4
130	130	260	200	9	3

Which is Easier GMAT or GRE? 

Candidates enquire about “Is GRE easier than GMAT?”, ”GMAT vs GRE which is easier?” , “Is GMAT tougher than GRE?” Well, GRE vs GMAT difficulty is subjective. Let us look at the level of depth involved in these test for various subjects and also the type of questions that are usually asked:

1. Verbal

There is a significant difference in this section for both tests. GMAT will test your grammar and comprehension skills to the hilt and wouldn’t care too much about your vocabulary. But in GRE, you will be tested with complex and uncommon words with less focus on the reasoning of sentence formation.

2. Mathematics or Quant

It is a fact that mathematics questions in both the tests are of the level that you study in high school, but there are still differences in the kind of questions asked in these two tests. GRE is more geometry-centric, while GMAT is more to do with numbers, equations, and derivatives. The data sufficiency part of GMAT is much more complex than that in GRE, simply because more engineers, accountants, and people with business educational backgrounds take GMAT more than students from humanities and other streams of education.

3. Writing

Since GMAT is for business school, the writing is also related to business and the economy. You have to write an analytical passage on a given problem offering a solution in your words. If you are good at the expression in terms of writing, GRE should be your preferred choice, whereas if you are good at analyzing an argument around economics, finance, and business, GMAT should be your preferred choice.

GMAT vs GRE For MBA

Since 2013, the GMAT has introduced all of the following products: Enhanced GMAT score reports ($24.95), remove canceled scores from GMAT score reports, candidates can cancel a score up to 72 hours after leaving the exam ($25), reinstate canceled scores ($50), New editions of the GMAT official guides released every year, release full practice tests ($49.99 for a set of two GMATPrep exams).

Despite certain B-schools not asking for GRE/GMAT scores, a tad bit more than 90% of candidates tend to incorporate their GMAT scores. Why?

• GMAT conducted by GMAC exclusively examines a candidate based on their managerial skills needed for an MBA degree - Therefore it is an MBA-oriented exam.
• GMAT is solely for MBA programs, therefore, faculties cannot determine the skills that an MBA aspirant possesses if they submit their GRE scores as GRE is meant for all kinds of masters/Ph.D. programs and not particularly for management.
• There was a survey conducted by Kaplan Test Prep that showed that 25% of B-schools prefer the GMAT over the GRE.
• It may happen that schools convert the submitted GRE scores to that of the GMAT, as the latter has been preferred by the schools for a prolonged time (in the case of business programs).

GRE Vs GMAT- Which One to Take? 

Many candidates get confused with the differences between GMAT and GRE. To take admissions in the best B schools for pursuing MBA programs, either GMAT scores or GRE scores are mandatory to be submitted.

You can go through the tips below to select the best-suited test for you:

1. Go through School Exam Policies: At first, you need to research the exam policies of the top B schools you’re interested in. Most of the schools will state which exam(s) they accept on their admissions page. But you can still contact someone from the admissions office directly and enquire if they prefer one exam over the other.
2. Take a Practice Test: The most necessary step to select which exam to take is to take a practice test for both exams (you can download the question papers for both the official GMAT practice Test and the official GRE practice Test).

Try to take the tests under as realistic testing conditions as possible: take in one sitting, with the same breaks you’ll get on the real test, and minimal distractions. Then, grade the exams and see how well you did. Compare your GMAT vs. GRE scores and you will find out which one to take.

Colleges accepting both GRE and GMAT Score

Many schools will accept both the GRE and the GMAT. You can be the one that best suits you. Here is the list of colleges that accepts both the exams with GMAT vs GRE score comparison: