GRE vs. GMAT – Which test is more suitable for me?

In the recent years, the scope of GRE and GMAT has become increasingly convergent, unlike a decade ago, when GRE and GMAT were viewed as quite divergent from each other.  Everyone knows that while the GMAT is the standardized test for Business Schools, the GRE is a standardized test for technical masters/PhD degrees from foreign universities. What many people do not know is that today an increasing number of B-schools have also started accepting a GRE score, as an alternative to GMAT.

With this increased scope of GRE scores, people, especially, working professionals often find themselves confused between the essential choice between the GRE and the GMAT. If you are wondering about which test is more suitable for you, this post is for you.

Get a clarity on the scope of the two tests

In order to get a diverse pool of applicants, a lot of management programs have started accepting GRE score as an alternative to GMAT score, including universities like Harvard and Stanford. However, the GMAT cannot be used in place of the GRE, so unless you want to a business school, do not take the GMAT. If you are sure that you want to do a masters/PhD in say, sociology, then, GRE is your only option. 

Check the admission requirements of each college

Just because B schools of the likes of Harvard and Stanford have started accepting GMAT scores, it does not mean that all the top B schools accept the GRE score as an alternative to the GMAT. Always check with the business/ management program to see which ones accept GRE scores. If most of your intended schools accept a particular test and only one or two give you a choice, maybe you should go with that test that will work everywhere.

Understand where do your strengths lie

When comparing the difficulty level of both the tests, there is no black and white conclusion, since it depends on who is taking the test. For example, those who struggle at math and quant, will find the GMAT quite daunting. GRE math is easier than the level of GMAT math. On the other hand, those who struggle with language, reading comprehension and vocabulary, the GRE would seem quite daunting. Understand which skills are you adept at. You can take an official GRE practice test and an official GMAT practice test to get a clarity on your strengths.

Get in touch with experts

Once you take the respective official practice tests, see what your results are. If you score significantly better on one, then the answer is clear. However if there isn’t much difference, you can consult GRE/GMAT trainers to get detailed and personal expert advice. We at Skill Maestro, provide personal counselling sessions by experts to aspiring candidates to help them analyse what option is more suitable for them based on their aptitude, inclination and profile.

We hope that this post cleared the essential differences between the GRE and the GMAT when making a choice to study abroad. Skill Maestro wishes you all the best for whichever option you think is more suitable for you!

About Skill Maestro At Skill Maestro, We guide prospective students about the entire application process as well as suitable universities as per their profile/test scores. We have consulted dozens of prospective students for MIS across the globe. We have a physical presence in Indore where we also help students prepare for GRE, GMAT & SAT Follow Us  on Google+!