The GRE vs. the GMAT: Which Test Should You Take For Your MBA Application?

The GRE and GMAT have become the test taker’s dilemma. Both GRE and GMAT are the buzz words among all aspiring applicants and the Ivy League business schools. Now a day’s every top business school has started adopting the trend of accepting GRE in addition to the GMAT, a reason to worry for the applicants. Almost every applicant is in a fix to decide which one test they need to take. Some premier B-schools worldwide prefer only the GRE and some others prefer the GMAT, making things a bit easy for the applicants, but what, if your dream school expects both from you? Which test should you take? 

The GMAT is a mandatory element of the admissions process for nearly all business schools but the GRE is used by graduate school programs to evaluate applicants. The GRE testing is basically for admission to non-business graduate schools, such as psychology, history, and engineering. A GRE vs. GMAT score comparison is intricate, but in general the GMAT is the harder exam. The requirement of GMAT or GRE will probably be determined by the necessities of the graduate programs. Many of the business schools have now added GRE to their list of essentials as it helps them widen their applicant pool. The business schools look for indicators of academic brilliance and performance and they generally find the GRE as a rational indicator of such applicants, as the GRE reaches a number of people that otherwise maybe wouldn`t have cleared the GMAT. A lot of people take the GRE when they’re ready to pursue business, a couple of years after their undergraduate studies. So, it`s just a nice option for such people.

Each assessment plays through a different set of skills. The GRE verbal is much more focused on vocabulary skills whereas the GMAT is mainly focused on grammar, logic and reasoning skills. On the mathematical reasoning side, the GRE is more focused on quick reasoning and problem solving skills, whereas the GMAT adopts a step by step approach for solving the problems. So, based on your expertise, your skills, your strengths and your background in math, this is going to be a pretty big decision for you in terms of which test you want to take. For some schools, GMAT still is a customary. It has great record behind it in terms of its predictive capability, and of how people will perform academically. But the GRE now is also great for dual degree people as well, people who are pursuing public policy as well as an MBA. It allows a person pursuing those dual degrees to be able to take one test and serve both the purposes which is nice for them as well. If you know you need to take the GRE and you want to take the GRE for MBA purposes, it would be best to take it at the earliest.

Here are some steps that can help making your things easy.
Prepare a list of schools that you are interested in.
1.    Call the admissions department from each of these schools.
2.    Ask them, whether they accept the GRE? Is this an option for you?
3.    If yes, take a practice test, one GRE and one GMAT.
4.    Ask them. What`s the corresponding score on the GRE?
5.    Familiarize yourself with the content on both exams and make out how you score on these practice tests. 

This will give you logic for where to go from there.