The GRE for Admission
to Graduate
Business School
Traditionally, the standard test for admission to MBA and other graduate
management programs has been the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission
Test). However, many of these programs now accept GRE scores as well, so
applicants can choose between the two tests. In 2008, at least 134 graduate
business schools (116 in the United States and 18 outside the United States)
accepted GRE scores, and this number is expected to increase significantly over
time.
According to Educational Testing Service (ETS), which designs and admin-
isters the GRE (but not the GMAT), by embracing the GRE a graduate
business school greatly enhances the size and diversity of its applicant pool.
Indeed, it has been demonstrated that women, international students, and
double-major students are more likely to take the GRE than the GMAT. The
additional diversity that these groups bring to classrooms helps explain why
MBA programs that seek to enrich and enliven their student body are
embracing the GRE in increasing numbers.
At its official GRE Web site (www.gre.org), ETS provides a list of MBA
programs that officially accept GRE scores. Keep in mind, however, that this
list may not be up-to-the-minute and that some schools may not publicize that
they accept GRE scores. Additionally, some MBA programs that do not accept
GRE scores as a rule nevertheless will make individual exceptions—for
example, for applicants in regions where the GMAT is unavailable. In any
event, if you seek admission to a particular MBA program and are considering
taking the GRE, you should contact the school directly and ask about its
current GRE policy.
NOTE: ETS used to design and administer both the GRE and the GMAT, the
latter under contract with the Graduate Management Admission Council
(GMAC). But in 2004, ETS lost its GMAT contract, and hence a significant
revenue source. Subsequent efforts by ETS to convince graduate business

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www.petersons.com
GRE Format
Analytical Writing (75 min.)
• Issue Perspective (1 essay,
45 min.)
• Argument Analysis (1 essay,
30 min.)
Quantitative Reasoning (45 min.)
• Problem Solving (14 questions)
• Quantitative Comparison
(14 questions)
Verbal Reasoning (30 min.)
• Reading Comprehension
(8 questions)
• Analogies (9 questions)
• Antonyms (7 questions)
• Sentence and Text Completion
(6 questions)
Unscored Section (30–45 min.)
• Either Quantitative Reasoning
or Verbal Reasoning
GMAT Format
Analytical Writing (60 min.)
• Issue Analysis (1 essay, 30 min.)
• Argument Analysis (1 essay, 30 min.)
Quantitative Ability (75 min.)
• Problem Solving (22–23 questions)

the same for both the GRE and the GMAT. However, the GRE Issue Analysis task
differs from its GMAT counterpart in three respects:
• The GRE imposes a 45-minute time limit, compared with the GMAT’s more strict
30-minute limit.
• GRE test takers choose between two Issue topics; GMAT test takers are not offered
a choice.
• The range of Issue topics in the GRE pool (from which two topics are randomly
selected and presented to each test taker) is much broader than that of the GMAT
pool. GRE Issues embrace the entire spectrum of topics that are of general academic
interest to college and university students; the topics in the GMAT pool focus more
on business issues (especially management, leadership, organizational skills, and
ethics).
WHICH TEST (GRE OR GMAT) SHOULD YOU TAKE?
Of course, the answer to this question is not the same for each and every aspiring
graduate business student. As the preceding discussion suggests, whether you should
take the GRE or the GMAT depends on your own answers to the following questions:
• Do my top-choice business schools accept GRE scores?
• Is the registration fee an issue?
• Are both tests available where I live or attend school?
• Am I interested exclusively in business education, or do I have alternative or
additional academic aspirations?
• Am I likely to perform better on one test than the other, given what I know about
their differences?
If you’re still not sure which test you should take after answering these questions,
consider taking them both—assuming, of course, that you can adequately prepare for
both and can afford both registration fees.
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NOTE