In a another post, we discuss the differences between the GMAT and GRE. That background might be heIpful if you really want to understand the ins and outs of each test. If, however, you are just looking for general guidance on how to decide which test to take (or which one to take first), read on!
How Certain Are You That You Want To Go To Business School?
This is the first and most important question to answer. The GMAT is the traditional MBA admission test and is only accepted at business schools and a few other types of graduate programs. The GRE, on the other hand, is accepted not only by business schools but also by virtually all other types of graduate programs from Masters and PhD programs to Veterinary school and even to many Law schools (you can basically use the GRE for everything but Medical school). So if you are not sure that you want to go to business school and are considering other types of graduate programs (such as public policy or psychology or something like that) then you are definitely better off taking the GRE. Doing so will give you the flexibility to apply to other types of programs if you decide that an MBA is not the right choice for you.
Take an Official Practice Test
Assuming that you are nearly certain that you want an MBA, the easiest way to gauge which test is best for you is to take an official GMAT and an official GRE and compare the results. DO NOT rely on third party practice tests for this since they are not as accurate. You need to take official versions from the test makers’ websites. Follow the above links to access the tests.
Comparing the scores is a little tricky nowadays (this step used to be much more straightforward). First you can use ETS’s GMAT/GRE Score Calculator here to convert the GRE score to a “classic” GMAT score (the pre-2024 version of the GMAT). Then, on the GMAC Website, you can convert this “classic GMAT score” to a score on the current GMAT scale and then compare that to the score you got on the GMAT practice test (as of now the link for the conversion chart sits at the bottom of the GMAC page linked to above, but they keep moving it around on the site). How accurate is this method? Well, the ETS comparison tool is a bit old and GMAC has disavowed it, but here at RTP we ran a separate, extensive comparison using percentiles from both exams and the tool is actually pretty accurate.
A couple of additional things to keep in mind here. First of all, many people score similarly on both tests. If you take my GRE score and convert it to a GMAT score, it is the exact same score. So this exercise alone might not be enough to choose which test to go with. More factors that deserve consideration will be explained below.
Another thing to keep in mind is that it is not just the final score that matters in this initial comparison. You also want to think about which test you anticipate you would ultimately do better on. It might be that your GMAT score is initially higher than your GRE score, but there may be features about the tests that indicate that, with practice, you would be able to have a greater score increase on the GRE. For example, you may have run completely out of time on the GRE and not on the GMAT, but you may feel that with some practice you could easily have finished the sections on time.
Lastly, it’s wort mentioning that, at the time of this writing, the average GMAT and GRE scores of people accepted at many of the top business schools are not exactly equal! Generally schools seem to accept people with slightly lower GRE scores than GMAT scores. It’s worth looking at the published averages for the schools you are interested in, but at the time of this writing, if you run the average GRE and GMAT scores of accepted students at places like Harvard and Columbia through the score conversion explained above, you will see that the GRE scores are lower than the GMAT scores. This does not mean that you should just opt for the GRE. It’s probably the case that this discrepancy is partly due to the fact that the people submitting GRE scores are more likely to come from non-traditional backgrounds. But, if the delta between your starting GMAT score and the average for the schools that you plan to apply to is VAST and if the threshold that you need to reach on the GRE seems more manageable, then the GRE might be a better option.
Don’t Choose the GRE Just Because It Seems “Easier”
The most common misconception that we hear from people is, “I was told I should take the GRE because it’s easier than the GMAT.” Well-meaning friends, colleagues, and even business school admissions consultants often give this advice. But it is flawed for one main reason. At the end of the day you are competing against the same cohort of people no matter which test you take, and if the test is easier for you then it’s easier for everyone!!! Remember, your final score means nothing out of context – it is only important in the way that it compares to other people’s scores, so you still have to outperform the very same people no matter which test you take!
Let’s take an example. The GRE Quantitative section has a calculator whereas the GMAT Quant section does not. If you are someone who can’t do ANY Math without a calculator, then yes, having the calculator will probably benefit you MORE than other test-takers, and that is what matters. But what if you have pretty good mental Math ability? I tutor many people who tell me they are “bad at Math” and who fear the GMAT. But when I work with them it is clear that they have very good mental Math ability or at least better mental Math ability than most of the people they are up against. For these people, having a calculator might be a disadvantage because many or possibly most of the people they are competing against would benefit from it much more than they would. They might be better off taking the GMAT since they would be more likely to outperform their competition in an environment where there is no calculator.
Another point related to the above is that although the GRE Quantitative section is easier, you need to get far more questions right in order to have a high score. This is just another consequence of the fact that you are competing against the same cohort of people and that you need to outperform them: since most top performers don’t miss many questions on the GRE Quant section, you can’t either!
Finally, it’s worth pointing out that the GRE is not necessarily “easier” anyway. Yes, the Quantitative section is easier, but most people find the Verbal section of the GRE to be harder than that of the GMAT. At the end of the day, what determines which test you will do better on is really more about which test aligns more with your particular abilities. Again, if you have very good mental Math ability and don’t have as extensive a vocabulary (which is tested on the GRE), then the GMAT might be a better fit. If the reverse is true, the GRE might be the better option. But remember, some people end up with nearly identical scores on both tests – not everyone will perform considerably better on one than the other, so don’t stress the initial decision too much! More on that below…
What About Taking Both Tests?
Not a bad idea! Even if you don’t INTEND to take both tests, it’s not that big a deal to switch tests if at some point in the process you start to think that the other test would be a better fit. Obviously it would be better to just choose a test and stick with it, but sometimes it’s just a tough call as to which test to start with, and we have had many students who have ended up taking both. The tests are similar enough that it is really not that hard to prepare for one and then take the other. In fact, when we prepare people for the GRE, we often have them do a significant number of GMAT questions (for reasons that we won’t go into here), so ultimately the prep process for both tests is pretty similar.
If after thinking about all of the above considerations you still are on the fence and not sure which test to take, here is what I would suggest: prepare for the GMAT and if after some time you are not happy with your progress or if after taking the GMAT a couple of times you are not pleased with your score, pivot to the GRE. In our experience it is MUCH easier to go from the GMAT to the GRE than the other way around. Since the GMAT has a harder Quant section and since it does not provide a calculator, preparing for the GMAT puts you in a pretty good position to then turn around and take the GRE and we have had many students prepare for the GMAT and then take the GRE and get a great score, often without much additional prep. There are some additional concepts that need to be learned, some vocabulary that needs to be studied, an essay that warrants a little bit of attention, but the biggest thing is just getting used to the slightly different format of the test. In my experience even just a few weeks of additional prep is enough to go from the GMAT to the GRE.
Conclusions
Obviously it is preferable to try to decide which test would be better for you before embarking on a study regimen, but predicting which test you will do better on can be difficult, so don’t stress it too much. Again, many people perform equally on both tests, so it’s really not helpful to believe that there is a right and wrong choice that you can make here. And at the end of the day, studying for one test puts you in a good position to tackle the other, so if at any point you decide to switch tests it is not that big a deal.