What You Need to Know about the Difference Between the SAT and the GRE

Remember taking the SAT?

It was probably the first standardized test you’ve taken that had a big impact on your future. The ever-evolving test is a rite of passage for most high school students, and you’re probably glad that experience is far behind you. But now that you’re in college (or a recent college graduate), you’re probably thinking about next steps.

If graduate school is a possibility for you, then another standardized test is in your future: the GRE.

You may know that the GRE and the SAT are two different tests, and how well you did on the SAT does not predict what your score will be on the GRE. Once you begin to prepare for the GRE, you’ve taken harder classes, learned more, and expanded your knowledge and critical thinking skills since your high school days, which has helped to equip you for GRE test prep without even knowing it! But in order to adequately prepare for the GRE, it’s important to understand the key similarities and differences between the two tests, so that you will feel encouraged and prepared to tackle this next step in your future.

Similarities between the SAT and GRE

Both the SAT and GRE are broad-based tests designed to measure your math, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing skills. The questions complement your education level, so you’ve most likely learned all these skills in your college classes.

For the GRE, you’ll see familiar, albeit more sophisticated questions. Like the SAT, the GRE’s Verbal Reasoning section will test you on analogies, antonyms, sentence completions, and reading comprehension questions. The Quantitative Reasoning section will give you questions that test your skills in statistics, data analysis, geometry, and algebra. It’s stuff you’ve likely learned already, but it’s best to brush up on it depending on your college major. The Analytical Writing section, which comes first in the GRE, tests your ability to write clearly and give reasoned claims to support your arguments. It’s a lot like the SAT in that you need to backup your statements with reasoned research for an optimal score, not your own experience or feelings.

Also, here’s some good news: like the current version of the SAT, the GRE does not dock you points for wrong answers. So you’ll stress less over the risk of losing valuable points for incorrect answers.

Differences between the SAT and GRE

The SAT and GRE have a lot in common, but they do have quite a few differences that you should know about while preparing for the test.

The SAT is offered about seven times a year, and you’re required to sign up for the test well in advance to reserve your spot. If you didn’t get the score you hoped for, you only had a few other chances to retake the test. But the good news is that the GRE is much more flexible. You can sign up to take the test just a few days in advance (depending on seat availability), and you may have multiple test center options available to you. Plus, you can take the computer-delivered GRE once every 21 days, up to five times a year! So you can hold off on signing up until you’re ready to take the test. (But don’t use this as an excuse to procrastinate!)

While we’re on the topic of test-taking, you may be wondering about how the GRE is scored. The GRE scores Verbal and Quantitative reasoning from 130 – 170 in one-point increments and the Analytical Writing section from 0 – 6 in half point increments. You have the option to send only your best scores to schools (ScoreSelect for GRE).

Finally, another key difference between the two tests is that the writing section is optional for the current SAT. But the GRE requires you to complete the Analytical Writing section. Make sure you don’t skip over this section in the GRE just because writing is not your best subject!

So how do I study for the GRE?

There are a variety of test preparation materials and sample tests to get you ready for the three hour and 45 minutes test. Definitely take advantage of a few practice tests to get your test-taking stamina up, because it’s probably been awhile since you’ve sat for an exam this long.

Also, in college, you’re probably taking a lot more classes associated with your major instead of the broad curriculum you had in high school, so you’ll likely need a refresher on one or both of the sections. Find out where your weak spots are and work on them. Read some nonfiction essays, buy some math-specific study guides, or write a few analytical writing pieces of your own for a professor to review. This laser-focused studying will help get you the results you want and prepare you for graduate school applications.

It’s important to understand how the GRE is both similar and different from the SAT before beginning the studying process. And while preparing for the GRE can be stressful and difficult at times, there are many resources available to prepare you for a successful score. Do your research and utilize what’s available to you in order to get the GRE score you want!