You Should Not Take The GRE
Please take this article with a grain of salt, since I am the founder of a website tailored toward GMAT prep. But last week, The Financial Times reported on a study conducted by Kaplan Test Prep, which investigated whether MBA programs prefer applicants to submit a GMAT score vs. a GRE score.
Heres the fascinating main takeaway from the survey:
Submitting a GMAT test score rather than a GRE score gives you an advantage in almost a third of the US business schools which accept both tests
I believe these data present MBA applicants with a Prisoners Dilemma-like situation.
The quoted statement above is quite awkward, but from my interpretation I draw three implications:
- The Obvious: One-third of US business schools (from this sample) say that an MBA applicant will have an admissions advantage by submitting a GMAT score instead of a GRE score
- Less Obvious: Two-thirds of business schools in this sample report that a GMAT score submission is no more favorable to an applicant than a GRE score submission
- Not Obvious: Finally, I am assuming that there is no school today that would view a GRE score submission more favorably than a GMAT score submissionthis wasnt a survey data point I could detect, but more of a strong gut feeling
Synthesizing these implications together: today it is in the best interest of every MBA applicant to submit a GMAT score vs. a GRE score.
The reason why is that we do not have public information about WHICH schools prefer the GMAT over the GRE (at least I cant find this information). Furthermore, I cant imagine a scenario today where the GRE is more favorable (my assumption). Therefore, if you play the admissions game conservatively, you should always assume that the school you are applying to falls into the category of a school that prefers the GMAT over the GRE. Thus, the GMAT is your safest bet as an MBA applicant.
Please let me know what you think about my Prisoners Dilemma logic. Is there anything that I am missing? Are my assumptions flawed?