GMAT and GRE Overview: For admission to MBA programs, the GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test) is getting increasing competition from the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) as an application requirement.
The Issue: The Educational Testing Service (also known as ETS, and popularly called The College Board) lost its rights to the GMAT. In a rearguard action, ETS responded by lobbying business schools to accept the GRE (which it still owns) as an alternative to the GMAT. Cynics might respond that, after over 50 years of pushing the GMAT, ETS has a credibility problem on its hands.
Acceptance of the GRE: According to the 1/4/09 issue of The New York Times, about 115 programs were giving applicants the option of using the GRE as an alternative to the GMAT. They included several leading institutions, such as MIT, Stanford and Johns Hopkins.
The 9/28/09 issue of the Financial Times indicated that the number of programs accepting (or planning to accept) the GRE had grown from 150 in 2007 to 268 as of their article. The difference in figures cited appears to result from a global perspective in the FT versus a U.S.-only one in the NYT. The FT article indicates that 7 of the top 10 programs in its ranking now accept the GRE:
- Wharton
- Harvard
- Stanford
- IE
- Ceibs
- MIT
- NYU Stern
The FT article also mentions Tuck (Dartmouth), Yale and Darden (U. of Virginia) as notable additions to the roster of schools accepting the GRE.
Availability: The GRE is available in 165 countries, versus 110 for the GMAT. Also, the GMAT now is administered via computer, while the GRE offers a paper test in countries where computer availability is low.
Statistics on the GMAT: According to an ad run in September 2010 by the Graduate Management Admission Council, which owns and administers it, some key stats on the GMAT are:
- Required by nearly 5,000 programs at approximately 1,900 business schools worldwide
- Taken by 265,613 persons in the 2009 testing year
- Non-U.S. citizens are 51% of test takers
- Citizens of Asia-Pacific countries are 30% of test takers
- Available in over 110 countries
- Continuous testing available at 530 centers worldwide
- Testing time is 3.5 hours
- Scores are valid for 5 years
- Nearly 400,000 persons had their scores reported to management schools in 2009
- Schools receive scores within 5 days on average, and always within 20 days
Bottom Line: Applicants can save money by taking the GRE (about $150 testing fee as of September 2009) instead of the GMAT ($250). However, you should know in advance what is accepted by the schools to which you intend to apply. Since the GMAT is still the exam of choice, accepted by about 1,900 business schools, you probably should take it rather than the GRE if you want to maintain maximum flexibility in sending out applications.
