Should you take GMAT or GRE?

Choosing to study graduate programs in the US, Canada or European countries will be more appreciated. One of the entrance requirements that most master’s programs require applicants to have is a GMAT or GRE certificate. So what are the similarities and differences between GMAT and GRE? What is the structure of each test? Which certificate is more dominant in applying for admission? Should you take GMAT or GRE?

1. What are GMAT and GRE certificates?

1.1. GMAT exam

GMAT (short for Graduate Management Admission Test) is an exam administered by GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council) for candidates who want to apply for graduate programs, usually business-oriented majors, such as MBA. GMAT test is standardized computer-based test and the questions are presented in multiple-choice format. The knowledge that candidates must have includes math, writing skills, reading comprehension, language analysis, critical thinking, problem analytical thinking…

See also: GMAT certificate

1.2. GRE exam

GRE (short for Graduate Record Examinations) is an exam administered by ETS (Educational Testing Service) for candidates who want to apply to graduate programs, including programs in Business and Law. GRE test is divided into two types: GRE General Test and GRE Subject Test.

- GRE General Test focuses on assessing the candidate’s understanding of Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Critical Thinking, and Analytical Writing.
- GRE Subject Test focuses on assessing the candidate’s ability in each specific subject. Currently, there are only 4 subjects that candidates can register for the exam: Chemistry, Math, Physics and Psychology, because 2 subjects Biology and Literature in English has been suspended since April 2021.

1.3. Why you take GMAT and GRE?

GMAT and GRE are two important exams for applicants who want to apply to graduate programs in the US, Canada, Australia or Europe, which are considered criteria for assessing candidates’ abilities and complement applications for programs abroad.

Most of the training schools related to economic fields such as MBA, Master of Accountancy, Master of Finance… will require candidates to submit GMAT certificate.

For GRE certificate, training schools including Business and Law programs will require candidates to take GRE as an entrance test, thereby assessing critical thinking, logical thinking, analytical abilit, synthesize problems… Based on GRE scores, the selection of candidates will be more objective and fair.

See also: GRE certificate

2. Comparison of GMAT and GRE

2.1. Similarities

GMAT and GRE results can be applied to graduate programs related to economics.
The structure of GMAT and GRE tests both involve three main sections: Verbal, Quantitative, and Writing.
Candidates taking GMAT and GRE will take the test entirely on a computer.

2.2. Differences

While GRE certificate can be used in many different fields, GMAT certificate is only used for business-related programs.
Verbal and Quantitative sections of GMAT and GRE are both offered in an adaptive format. However, in GMAT, the difficulty level of each question will depend on the results of the previous answer, meaning the difficulty of the following question will be adapted based on the previous question. As for GRE, the difficulty level will be section-level adaptive, meaning that the difficulty or ease of the next section will depend on the results of the previous section.

3. Structure of GMAT and GRE

3.1. Structure of GMAT exam

The structure of GMAT exam consists of 4 parts: Analytical Writing Assessment, Integrated Reasoning, Quantitative, and Verbal. Total time for the test is 3 hours 7 minutes.

Quantitative and Verbal are presented in a computer-adaptive format, meaning that the questions will first appear with medium difficulty, then If the candidate answers the first questions correctly, the difficulty of the subsequent questions will increase.

Conversely, if the first questions the candidate answered incorrectly, the computer will issue later questions with reduced difficulty. This process continues until the test completed.

Sections	Number of questions	Types of questions	Time
Analytical Writing Assessment	1 essay	– Analysis of argument	30 minutes
Integrated Reasoning	12 questions	– Multi-source reasoning – Graphic interpretation – Two-part analysis – Table analysis	30 minutes
Break			8 minutes
Quantitative	31 questions	– Data sufficiency – Problem solving	62 minutes
Break			8 minutes
Verbal	36 questions	– Reading – Comprehension – Critical reasoning – Sentence correction	65 minutes

3.2. Structure of GRE exam

The total time to take GRE General Test is 3 hours 45 minutes. There are 6 parts of the test, in which one part is not scored – Unscored, candidates will not know which part is not scored. Analytical Writing is always the first part of the test. Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Unscored, or Research can appear in any order.

Sections

Number of questions

Types of questions

Time

Analytical Writing

(1 section)

02 questions

– Analyze an Issue

– Analyze an Argument

30 minutes

Verbal Reasoning

(2 sections)

20 questions

– Test Completion

– Sentence Equivalence

– Reading Comprehension

30 minutes

Break

10 minutes

Quantitative Reasoning

(2 sections)

20 questions

– Quantitative Comparison

– Multiple-choice – One Answer Choice

– Multiple-choice – One or More Answer Choices

– Numeric Entry

35 minutes

Unscored or Research

(1 section)

Unidentified

The section can appear in any order after the Analytical Writing section or be included at the end of the test

Unidentified

For GRE Subject Test, candidates take the paper-test. Total time is 2 hours 50 minutes. The test content is always specified in terms of knowledge limits and question types.

4. GMAT vs. GRE – Which test is more difficult?

4.1. At what point is GMAT more difficult?

One of the points of GMAT that is more difficult than GRE is Quantitative. Although the topics in both exams are nearly the same, most are math knowledge in high school. However, Quantitative in GMAT is assessed more difficult because of the types of questions that require candidates to think logically and analyze problems, especially questions related to Data Sufficiency and Integrated Reasoning. As for GRE test, Quantitative is usually given in the form of multiple choice or fill in the blanks.

4.2. At what point is GRE more difficult?

Overall, GMAT and GRE Verbal are quite similar. However, Verbal in GRE is assessed more difficult than Verbal in GMAT, especially in terms of difficulty level of vocabulary, grammar and passage reading comprehension.

4.3. Should you choose GMAT or GRE?

Whether a candidate chooses GMAT or GRE depends on many different factors, here are a few suggestions to help choose the more appropriate test:

- Based on your skills, which test is more suitable.
- Based on the graduate program you want to study.
- Based on the exam policy of the school you want to apply for.
- Based on employer preference.

5. Why do business schools prefer GMAT over GRE?

- Because GMAT’s Quantitative and Integrated Reasoning questions more objectively assess a candidate’s ability to study business disciplines.
- Because once a candidate decides to take GMAT exam, it shows a clear direction of the candidate in pursuing business majors in the future, some schools will appreciate this factor more.

6. List of free GMAT and GRE exam preparation websites

6.1. GMAT exam preparation website

KAPLAN Test Plan: https://www.kaptest.com/gmat
Manhattan Review: https://www.manhattanreview.com/gmat-online-prep-courses/
GMAT Club: https://gmatclub.com/

6.2. GRE exam preparation website

7. GMAT and GRE exam preparation in Ho Chi Minh City

In addition to self-study to prepare for GMAT or GRE, candidates can take courses at international certificate and program preparation centers to receive better support in terms of knowledge and experience to get the desired score.

Intertu Education is currently enrolling students for SSAT exam preparation, SAT exam preparation, ACT exam preparation, GMAT exam preparation, GRE exam preparation, GED exam preparation. If you have any questions about should you take GMAT or GRE, please contact us directly, via email or hotline for a free consultation.

GMAT Certificate, GRE Certificate

Should you take GMAT or GRE for a master’s degree?