Are you confused between the GMAT and GRE? Which test do business schools prefer? Discover everything about GMAT vs GRE from our blog and take any test of your choice.

1. GMAT vs. GRE: Which One Is Right for You?
To get admission into the best business school and study MBA or other
business-related programs, one must take GMAT or GRE. Some
universities might give you the option to provide GMAT or GRE, but how
would you know which one showcases your skills more? Nowaday s, some
business schools prefer GRE over GMAT.
You might be confused or debating between taking the GMAT and GRE or
both. GRE is for the business and law schools, while GMAT is for business
schools only. That’s it.
What if your targeted business schools gi ve you the flexibility of picking
any test of your choice? Would you take the GMAT or the GRE? Let us help
you choose one! In this comprehensive GMAT vs. GRE guide, we have
provided all the necessary details to figure out which test is best for you.

2. Give it a read and without wasting any more time, register yourself and
land a seat at your desired business school.
GMAT Overview
GMAT’s full form is Graduate Management Admission Test , and the GMAC,
the Graduate Management Admission Council, administers it. It is an
entrance exam primarily used to get admission into MBA programs. It is
taken to measure the applicant’s reasoning, problem -solving, and critical
thinking and evaluate whether they are suitable for specific programs and
schools or not.
Over 2,300 business universities accept GMAT scores as it fills the
requirement of 7,000 and more business programs. It is accepted widely
as 110+ countries arrange the GMAT exam. It is an online computerized
test, taken at testing centers.
Attaching a GMAT score report with the admission documents makes your
admission application strong and shows your abilities, commitment,
passion, and motivation for the business programs. Moreover, business
schools prefer applications with the GMAT exam score report.
Sections of GMAT
The GMAT is structured into four sections:

3. 1. Analytical Writing Assessment, AWA
This part of the GMAT exam is taken to measure your critical thinking and
writing abilities and how well you can express or deliver your ideas. It is
more like an analysis of arguments. Analytical Writing Assessment of the
GMAT contains one question only.
2. Integrated Reasoning, IR
The business programs contain table analysis, multi -source reasoning,
graphics interpretation, two-part analysis, and similar questions. That’s
why the Integrated Reasoning section of the GMAT exam is to test how
well you evaluate information or analyze data given in multiple formats.
This section has 12 questions in total.
3. Quantitative Reasoning

4. The Quantitative Reasoning section of the GMAT exam tests your
reasoning skills through 31 questions. Its question types are problem -
solving and data sufficiency. They test your ability to analyze data and
then draw conclusions.
4. Verbal Reasoning
This part of the GMAT exam is designed to measure your standard English
proficiency. It has 36 questions in total, and they are in critical reasoning,
reading comprehension, and sentence correction format. Your score or
points in the Verbal Reasoning sections demonstrates how well you read,
understand and evaluate a written argument or material.
Timings of GMAT
The GMAT is a 3 hours and 30 minutes long test, and each section has a
different time. Give a glance at the table below to know the timings of
GMAT:
Sections Number of Questions Allotted Time
Analytical Writing Assessment 1 question 30 minutes
Integrated Reasoning 12 questions 30 minutes
Quantitative Reasoning 31 questions 62 minutes
Verbal Reasoning 36 questions 65 minutes
That’s the timeframe of the GMAT exam, and you can take an 8 minutes
break optionally. Moreover, the GMAT gives you the flexibility of choosing
your exam section’s order. For example, you can attempt any section
before or later.
Score Criteria of GMAT
The total score of the GMAT is between 200 – 800, as all four sections’
score varies. Your strength and performance in all sections matter, and it
will affect your total score too. The GMAT has a penalty for leaving

5. questions unanswered, and your total scores are reported in intervals of
10.
GMAT Sections Scoring Scales
Analytical Writing Assessment 0 – 6
Integrated Reasoning 1 – 8
Quantitative Reasoning 0 – 60
Verbal Reasoning 0 – 60
Total Score
(Combined)
200 – 800
The highest score on the GMAT exam is at the 90th percentile, 710
numbers. Moreover, the validity of the GMAT score is five years.
The GMAT does not give you the flexibility of skipping, going back, or
changing your answers to questions while attempting th e exam. It is a
computer-adaptive test, and the complexity of the next question depends
on your answer to the current question you are solving. In simple words,
if you do not attempt the first question of the Quantitative and Verbal
Reasoning sections correctly, the computer will automatically give you an
easy question next. Similarly, if you answer correctly, the next question
will be a harder one. And this is how the computer will evaluate your
ability and skills on a subject. This feature is to test your potential and
readiness for a high-level degree. The process of easy and hard questions
will continue throughout the sections of both Quantitative and Verbal
reasoning.
GRE Overview
The GRE stands for Graduate Record Examination, and the Educational
Testing Service (ETS) administers it. GRE is an entrance exam mainly used
to get admission into the business and law programs. It is taken to
measure the applicants’ analytical writing, critical thinking, verbal and
quantitative reasoning, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.

6. Over 1,300 business and law universities accept GRE scores, and it is
accepted and preferred globally. The format of GRE is computerized, and
you are allowed to use an on-screen calculator only for calculation
purposes.
Attaching a GRE score report with the admission documents increases the
chances of getting admission to your desired school and program. The
score report of the GRE shows the preparedness of applicants for high -
level academic programs.
Sections of GRE
The GRE is divided into three sections:
1. Analytical Writing
The Analytical Writing section of the GRE is further divided into two tasks:
analyze an issue task and analyze an argument task. This section tests
critical, argumentative writing skills and measures how well you can

7. express your ideas, evaluate a given argument, and share your
constructive response.
2. Verbal Reasoning
This part of the GRE measures your ability in reading comprehensions,
sentence equivalence, and text completion. If you have good command
and knowledge of vocabulary and sentence making. All 20 questions of
the Verbal Reasoning sections test your understanding of sentences, the
author’s assumptions, the structure of texts, and the meaning of words. In
short, your command and proficiency in the English language will be
tested in this section of the GRE.
3. Quantitative Reasoning
The Quantitative Reasoning section of GRE measures your logical,
mathematical, and problem-solving skills. This section includes 20
questions, and they are designed to test your elementary and basic
concepts of data analysis, algebra, geometry, arithmetic, and how well
you can understand and analyze quantitative information.
Timings of GRE
The timing of the GRE is 3 hours and 45 minutes, and each section has a
different time. Give a glance at the table below to know the timings of
GRE:
Sections Number of Questions Allotted Time
Analytical Writing 2 tasks 30 minutes per task
Verbal Reasoning
(2 sections)
20 questions per section 30 minutes per section
Quantitative Reasoning
(2 sections)
20 questions per section 35 minutes per section
That’s the timeframe of the GRE with a break of 10 minutes only.
Moreover, the test design features of GRE are quite flexible as they allow
you to change, edit, mark, review, or preview your answers and sections.

8. Score Criteria of GRE
The GRE score is calculated as:
GRE Sections Scoring Scales
Analytical Writing 0 – 6
Verbal Reasoning 130 – 170
Quantitative Reasoning 130 – 170
Total Score
(Combined)
340 + 6
Attaining a good score in all sections proves your
preparedness or readiness for studying the high-level
academic platforms. It is not compulsory for some
universities to submit the score of all sections of the GRE as
not all programs prefer all sections. For example, if you are
applying for an engineering program, your Quantitative
section score matters a lot.
It’s like comparing apples and oranges. GRE and GMAT are
very different exams. GMAT has conventionally been used
for applying to B-schools, whereas GRE is the preferred
choice for MS programs. While many B-schools, primarily in
the US, have now started accepting GRE scores for MBA
programs, one needs a different type of aptitude to score
high in either of the two exams.
Hence, calling any of the two ‘better’ or ‘easier’ than the
other is a misnomer. Perhaps a simpler way to understand
this is through the distinction that if you’re an MBA aspirant
with a ‘traditional’ profile, in that you have some experience
in the conventional industries such as Banking or
Consulting, then GMAT is a more suitable exam for you. On

9. the other hand, if you’re interested in cinema studies or
have experience in a similar but atypical industry, you might
fare better in GRE.
Also, if you take the GRE and then apply for an MBA
program, you must have a pretty good reason to justify this
to the ad com as they will wonder why you took the GRE and
not the GMAT. If you want to do an MBA, this may reflect on
your decision-making skills if this reason does not come out
clearly through your application package.
Another note of caution: If you’re under the impression that
you’ll find the GRE easier if you’re better in English than in
Math, you’re mistaken. The GRE English is not that easy, and
many of those who otherwise have a good command over
the language falters in the GRE English!
Alina Clark, Co-Founder at CocoDoc
8 Key Difference Between the GMAT and the GRE:
1. Cost of GRE and GMAT
One of the primary differences between the GMAT and GRE is their total
cost. The cost of the GRE is $205, and GMAT is $250 for business schools.
However, the cost of GMAT varies from $275 to $300 in parts of North
America and Europe.

10. 2. Test Duration of GMAT and GRE
The timings of the test are another difference between the GRE and
GMAT. The GRE is 3 hours 45 minutes, and GMAT is 3 hours 30 minutes
excluding check-in time.
The administrators of both tests take tests in testing centers globally
throughout the year, as both are computer -based tests. Places where
computer-based testing centers facility is not available to offer paper -
based GRE three times a year only.

11. 3. Test Sections of GMAT and GRE
The GRE allot more time than GMAT, but the test sections of the GMAT are
more than the GRE. Have a closer glance at sections of both tests:
Sections GMAT GRE
Number of Sections 04 03
Name of Sections
Analytical Writing Assessment
Integrated Reasoning
Verbal Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
Analytical Writing
Verbal Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
The Integrated Reasoning Section is additional as it also tests your
quantitative skills along with interpretation skills.
4. Scoring System of GMAT and GRE
The business schools might accept both the GMAT and GRE score reports,
but the comparison of both tests’ scoring scales is a bit difficult as both
scoring systems are entirely different.

12. The GRE lets you skip or attempt questions wrong but the GMAT has a
penalty on wrong answers. You must take more practice tests to know
how the scoring system works and what would be your total score if you
skip or mark incorrect answers.
5. AWA Sections of GMAT and GRE
Both GRE and GMAT have Analytical Writing Assessment sections to
measure your written ability and analyze how well you can state an
argument or issue. The timings of the writing section for both are
different, but the difficulty level, length are fairly equal. The GMAT gives
you a 30 minutes ‘analysis of argument’ task to evaluate your analytical
and argumentative skills. On the other h and, you will be allotted 60
minutes to write on ‘analyze an issue’ and ‘analyze an argument’ tasks.
In the GMAT Analytical Writing section, you have to discuss the given
issue or opinion, and after evaluating its strengths and weaknesses, you
have to share how it could be improved. While in GRE, one essay task is

13. similar to the GMAT. Therefore, the second task asks for your stance and
its justifications with evidence.
6. Verbal Reasoning Sections of GMAT and GRE
The questions of the verbal reasoning sectio n of GMAT are in three types:
Reading Comprehension, Critical Reading and Sentence Correction. All
questions test your analysing an argument skill, reading ability, grammar,
standard English command and communication skills. This section also
checks how well you can identify and correct written passages or material
errors in 41 questions.
On the other side, the Verbal Reasoning section also measures the same
skill set as the GMAT. The questions are also divided into reading
comprehension, Text Completion, c ritical reasoning, and Sentence
Equivalence. The GRE Verbal section has two parts, and each part contains
20 questions.

14. 7. Quantitative Reasoning Sections of GMAT and GRE
The quantitative sections of both tests test your mathematica l skills, but
the type of questions differ. GMAT quant questions include problem -
solving and data sufficiency problems. The questions are generally
technical and demand more critical thinking and analysis.
On the contrary, GRE quant questions test your Alg ebra, Arithmetic,
Geometry and Data Analysis knowledge. The GRE questions are easy and
straightforward. Most of them are in multiple -choice or numeric entry
format.
8. Integrated Reasoning Section GMAT vs. GRE
One of the key differences between GMAT and GRE is that GRE does no t
have an Integrated Reasoning section. It tests your quantitative,
mathematical, data analysis skills and how well you can solve complex

15. problems. IR sections questions are in four types: Two -part analysis, Table
analysis, Graphics interpretation and Mult i-source reasoning.
If you are good at IR, then go for the GMAT test. It’s another way of
making a decision or picking one test. You can also take the help of
private tutors and solve practice tests for performing well and attaining
the desired score.
Comparison Chart of GMAT vs. GRE
The following chart is the quick overview of the comparison between
GMAT vs. GRE:
Categories GMAT GRE
Time Allowed 3 hours & 30 minutes 3 hours & 45 minutes
Total Sections 4 3
Name of Sections
Analytical Writing Assessment
Integrated Reasoning
Analytical Writing
Verbal Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning

16. Verbal Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
Total Essays 1 2
Total Multiple-Choice Questions 90 80
Score Range 200 – 800 260 – 340
Test Format
Computer-based
(Computer Adaptive Test, CAT)
Computer-based
(Multi – Stage Test, MST)
Test Fee $ 250 USD $ 205 USD
Test Dates Year-round Year-round
Score Validity 5 Years 5 Years
Similarities between the GRE and the GMAT Exam
Besides differences, both tests have a lot in common too, like:
• Reading comprehension questions
• Essay Writing tasks
• Mathematical Queries (geometry, algebra, data analysis, and
arithmetic)
• Both are taken on a computer system. But GRE is also paper -based
at places or locations where computer or internet facilities are not
easily available.

17. Which test should you prefer?
Be clear about your strengths, weaknesses and career goals first. Check
what your targeted graduate school demands, GMAT or the GRE? If they
give you a choice, select the one which matches your skillset. For
example, the GMAT has an IR section; if you are confident about solving it
correctly, then the decision is easy to make. Test Duration of GMAT and
GRE
Can you retake or cancel tests?
Yes, you can. You can take both the GRE and GMAT five times in 12
months or 365 days. Also, you can cancel your exam registration anytime;
however, the charges may apply.
How much time do you need to prepare for the test?

18. It depends. But the time period of six months is recommended to prepare
for both of the exams. If you are learning from a private GRE tutor, then
ensure your preparation time starts 4 to 6 months before the exam day.
Which test will get you a better score?
The preparation will get you a better score. Whether you are taking the
GMAT or GRE, nothing can stop you from achieving your goal if you are
fully prepared. However, the scoring system of GMAT is complicated than
GRE, and you should go for GRE if you can!
Which test do most business schools prefer?
Both tests are accepted globally. However, GRE is taken more. Academic
platforms that offer business and other programs prefer GR E. While some
business schools convert GRE scores to GMAT scaled scores for choosing
the right students for their graduate programs. Moreover, the GMAT
format is designed to assure your clarity and goals of joining and
pursuing a business graduate program.
Schools with only business programs prefer GMAT over the GRE.
How should you prepare for the test?
Take as many practice tests as you can. Make a study plan and learn from
expert private or online tutors. The official sites of both tests have
practice material and guidelines for acing the exam. You can also enroll in
a tutoring platform where GRE and GMAT trainers guide you.
The Bottom Line
Both tests, the GMAT and the GRE are for landing in a business school of
your choice. Learn from experts, get into the details of everything and

19. give practice tests more often. Don’t give up if you fail to attain the
targeted score in the first attempt. You can retake both exams five times
a year.
Discover everything you should know about GRE and the GMAT, check out
their practice materials, get familiar with their scoring and registration
policies. List down your academic goals, strengths, weaknesses and career
goals. Figure out your target school requirements and then apply.
Know that schools offering business programs prefer the GMAT because
performing well in its Writing, Verbal, Quantitative and Integrated
Reasoning sections shows your preparedness for the business program.
However, GRE is accepted for both law and business schools. The sections
of both tests are slightly easier or challenging than each other. Review all
the details and information before making your final decision.
Lastly, don’t rely on your GRE or GMAT scores only. Graduate schools also
consider your academic background and score, personal statement,
motivational letters and letters of recommendation for admission.
Whatever you choose between the GRE and GMAT, learn everything by
heart, practice hard, and study from the experts.
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