So, you've decided to go to business school?
Before you make any other decisions, you need to do some research and decide whether you should start studying for the GRE or the GMAT (or both!). Read on for a few insights into what should affect your decision.
Is one road a dead end?
There’s no need to look from one path to the other in bewilderment. Every business school will accept the GMAT, and it’s been the standard for a long time. However, a growing list of schools will also accept the GRE. It’s more flexible, so it might be your path if you want a dual degree or if you’re uncertain whether you actually want an MBA. Make a list of your target schools and call up their admissions. Ask if they accept both tests or if they have a preference between the two. Take the one that your ideal school recommends.
Advice from someone who knows the roads...
Dee Leopold, the admissions director at a top business school, says it’s about establishing your capability:
“An engineer with top grades who’s been doing highly quantitative work doesn’t need a high GMAT/GRE-Q to convince us he/she is capable of doing the quantitative work... But an English major whose transcript shows no quantitative coursework and has not done anything quantitative professionally or in post-college academics would be helped by a strong GMAT/GRE quant score. The corollary is true too: candidates who don’t have a background that demonstrates extensive practice in reading and writing may be helped by strong verbal subscores.”
So, you need to figure out what skills are lacking in your portfolio nd then figure out how to showcase those to your advantage. That way, you can embark on either your GMAT or GRE test prep.
Which road is more compatible with your natural abilities?
You know you’re in pretty good shape, but there are different obstacles and terrains on the different paths. What kind of athlete are you? You need to discover if you have a natural aptitude for one test. The key is to jump in mostly cold. Knowing too much about the test will not tell you about your innate skills, but rather your learned skills. Spend (no more than!) an hour or two familiarizing yourself with each test’s format.
On Monday, learn about the GRE on the ETS website. Look at a few practice questions. Then, download their Powerprep software and take their free practice GRE. On Tuesday, go to the MBA website and do the same for the GMAT. Download their GMATPrep software and take their free practice test. If one set of scores is higher by a significant margin, you probably know which way to go. But if your scores were really similar, now what?
Take a closer look at your specific skills.
Maybe you know that you have lots of upper body strength. But should you choose the path that requires you to climb a steep rock face or the path that has you cross a raging river? Both the GMAT and the GRE measure intelligence and thinking skills, but they don’t go about it in the same way.
Rumor has it that the GMAT is harder mathematically whereas the GRE is harder verbally. But that’s not the full picture. What kind of verbal skills do you have and what kind of quantitative skills? Here’s where taking that practice test matters. Even if your scores were close, did one kind of math make more sense to you than the other? With more study and practice, will you excel at certain verbal questions?
The GMAT quant has a focus on word problems and “data sufficiency” questions, like this:
The GRE quant leans more toward number manipulation and comparisons, like this:
On the verbal side, the GMAT has more of a grammar focus. If you’re good at patterns and applying them in different situations, that may be your test. The GRE leans more towards vocabulary in context. If you’re a word person or if you’re really good at memorization, it might better showcase your verbal competency.
A few miscellaneous travel tips…
- You can take either test multiple times. The GRE costs $195 and the GMAT is $250, so it might stretch your wallet a bit.
- You may send in a score for each one, but that’s a lot of test preparation. Maybe if one test highlights your verbal skill and the other highlights your quant skill, you might consider it.
- The GMAT takes 3 ½ hours and the GRE is slightly longer, at 3 ¾.
If you still find yourself looking at both paths in bewilderment, heed Gandalf’s words to Bilbo on the edge of Mirkwood: “There are no safe paths now…[but you are] in for all sorts of fun wherever you go.” Neither path will be effortless, but if you study hard, you’ll come out the other side alive!
Here at WVU, we know that preparing for the GRE can be a stressful and overwhelming. That’s why we’ve put together a resource to make the preparation process just a little bit easier: The GRE Cheat Sheet — A Guide to Acing the GRE.
