GMAT or the GRE: Which exam should an MBA applicant take?

Over the last two decades, most online business schools have required prospective students to take the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) as part of the admissions process. However, many online MBA programs have recently begun to accept the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) as well. While there are similarities between each test, applicants should understand the unique differences before choosing an exam.

Prior to making a decision on which standardized test to take, applicants should contact every business school they plan to apply to in order to make sure that each institution accepts both exams. Currently, more than 250 high-ranking MBA programs recognize either the GRE or the GMAT.

Different exams assess different skills and strengths.

Most industry experts would agree that applicants with an excellent vocabulary should fare better on the GRE, while those with strong math skills would be expected to perform better on the GMAT.

The graduate record exam has an extensive verbal section, which includes critical reasoning, reading comprehension and sentence correction questions. It also contains an analogy, antonym and sentence completion section, which may be difficult for students who have a stronger background in mathematics.

One of the distinct differences between the two tests is that the GRE does not include data sufficiency questions, which are math problems that force test-takers to determine whether a statement contains enough information to be solved, according to Business Week. In the GMAT, these types of questions play a major role. Applicants coming from a background in English or social sciences may find these problems to be tricky.

"If you have a liberal arts degree - and your background is in education or writing or the arts, and you're much stronger in vocabulary than in probability and statistics - there's a reasonable chance you'll do better on the GRE, which is more heavily focused on vocabulary than the GMAT," concluded Kaplan Test Preparation spokeswoman Carina Wong, quoted by the news source.

By the same token, international students who consider English to be their second language should favor the GMAT due to the GRE's extensive vocabulary section, says 800score.com, a test preparation service.

Finally, it may be useful to keep in mind that management consulting companies and investment banks rely heavily on GMAT scores when making hires. Applicants who are looking to find careers with these types of firms should favor that particular exam.

GMAT is harder and more expensive, but may be "safer."

Traditionally, the graduate record exam attracts a younger group of test-takers. It costs approximately $100 less, is available in more locations and is accessible to more applicants. The general consensus of industry experts is that the GMAT tends to be the more difficult exam for the majority of students. Due to the fact that the GRE is fairly new to the MBA scene, the GMAT may also be the safer examination to take.

"If you can take on the challenge of what may be a slightly more demanding exam, the score will have more value," says Chad Troutwine, co-founder and CEO of Veritas Test Preparation, quoted by Business Week.

"The GMAT is still the gold standard," adds Graham Richmond, a Philadelphia admissions consultant.

However, those who are still a few years away from applying to an online MBA program should know that the GRE will be changing its format in 2011 to compete more aggressively with the GMAT. In a few years, both standardized tests may be assessed equally by business school admissions committees.