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GMAT to GRE

by pradeepg84 » Tue Jan 20, 2015 4:59 pm
After flatlining on the GMAT, and doing some research on the GRE, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to crossover to the GRE, but I've heard a few things that I'd really like the experts to weigh in on.

1) I've heard that the GRE is generally easier than the GMAT, but I've also heard that people who prep for the GRE from the start say that the GRE is hard. What's the deal?

2) How should I manage the vocab? That's the part I'm probably most nervous about.

3) Secondly, I've heard a lot of people say that business schools take the GRE as seriously they do the GMAT. Is that really true? I'd reeeeally like to hear from the admissions experts here in this forum if that's really true from the clients they've worked with.
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by manyaabroadtpr » Tue Jan 20, 2015 9:39 pm
Hi Pradeep,

If you look at the competitive scenario, there is nothing like GRE is simpler or GMAT. Both are equally tough or easy and require similar amount of preparation and hard work. GMAT provides you with more options to apply to a larger pool of B schools as compared to GRE.

The verbal section in the exams require that your vocabulary and grasping power to be good.Hence it would be best if you start reading articles, science journals , business tabloids and read them online and figure out for yourself if you can understand the language and the main idea present in the passage. This would be a better way to tackle vocabulary in the exam. You should also look at the idioms posted on this forum.

I believe I have already answered your third question above.Hope this helps.

Let us know if you have any further queries and we would be happy to guide.

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by [email protected] » Tue Jan 20, 2015 11:57 pm
Hi pradeepg84,

There has been a "shift" in the last several years - many Business Schools DO accept a GMAT score OR a GRE score as part of the application process. Before shifting over to a different Test though, it's important to make sure that the Schools that you're planning to apply to accept the GRE (this information should be readily available on each School's website). Assuming that the Schools do accept the GRE score, then you have another option when it comes to supplying a Test Score. If you can score higher on the GRE, then you should seriously consider taking THAT test instead of the GMAT. You can download 2 free practice GRE exams from www.gre.org

The Quant section of the GRE includes many of the same math concepts that you'll see on the GMAT. While the GMAT's 'specialty question type' is DS, the GRE has a specialty type called QCs (which you'll have to spend some time familiarizing yourself with). After enough practice, many Test Takers find that the GRE Quant section is easier by comparison - the "catch" is that you have less time to answer the questions.

The Verbal section of the GRE IS based heavily on vocabulary knowledge and the usage of certain words in certain situations. It also includes a little bit of RC and a couple of questions that are essentially CR questions. Critical thinking skills are a must in this section, just as they are in the GMAT Verbal section. The vocabulary can be tough, but since it's a standardized part of the Exam, you can absolutely train to learn the words, the context for remembering them and the situations in which you would use them. The EMPOWERgre Course includes an extensive series of Modules that focuses on teaching you all of this material AND emphasizes the vocabulary that shows up most often. Conceptually, it's no different than learning a bunch of math formulas; you just need the right practice materials and the necessary time and effort to learn them.

There is a Forum full of Admissions Experts on this site who can offer their opinions on this issue; you can post any admissions questions in THAT Sub-Forum or reach out to them directly.

Remember that both the GMAT and GRE are predictable, standardized Tests. Each has its challenges, and you'll likely need to learn new ways of "seeing" (and responding to) the various question types, but you CAN train to CRUSH either of them.

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by VivianKerr » Wed Jan 21, 2015 12:04 am
I'd take a good hard look at the differences are try one of the www.gre.org practice CATs before you decide. If you're looking at one of the more competitive programs, GMAT may still be your best bet, unless you have an EXCELLENT English reading ability and good familiarity with advanced vocabulary.

That said, IMO the GRE is much easier in terms of Quant, but it IS very vocab heavy and does require a good amount of vocab memorization.

There's also a different Quant question type called Quantitative Comparisons that is not on the GMAT. I'd review a few of those then take the free GRE CAT from Kaplan and see how it feels to you. Most people spend 1-2 months preping for the GRE but I think you could be ready relatively quickly since the GRE has RC and a lot of Problem Solving.

Read up on the new Q types from the ETS website (Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, Quant Comps) and the structure of the GRE (all at ETS.org) then jump into the Kaplan free CAT. Also notice how the RC has 3 different Q-formats and how there are 2 correct answers on Sentence Equivalence (the GRE format is slightly unique). Once you try a CAT and feel it out, then I think you can make an informed decision. But I do consider it easier than the GMAT in certain respects.
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by ceilidh.erickson » Thu Jan 22, 2015 11:32 am
I teach both the GRE and the GMAT, and I've been hearing this over and over again in the last year or so: "I've heard that the GRE is easier, so I'm going to switch to GRE." Before I get into the specific differences, I want to point out a major misconception - yes, many of the problems on the GRE are easier, but that doesn't actually mean that you will do any better on the GRE! It's still a percentile-based test, so if it's easier for you, it's also easier for everyone else. You probably won't get a much higher score relative to everyone else who's taking it!

Here are the major advantages to taking the GRE, with caveats:

- the GRE is not adaptive within a given section, so you can go back and review questions you've already done. For a lot of students, knowing that they can go back reduces anxiety. But... it's still a very time-constrained test, so chances are that you won't have time to go back anyway.

- you get an onscreen calculator for quant.... but GRE questions often involve more complicated computations, so you'll actually need the calculator. This makes it harder to estimate or guess well.

- the quant one the whole is more straightforward.... so you need to get a much higher percentage of questions right to get a top score. There are also a few very hard questions on there if you get the hard 2nd section.

As for vocab, it's not really as big a deal as you might think. The vocab-in-context questions are really testing your ability to logically parse a sentence more than they're testing your knowledge of big fancy words. Only about 30% of the words tested are what I'd call "fancy vocab," and probably only 10% are the crazy hard words you've never heard before.

Business schools certainly do take the GRE seriously, but there is the preconception that the population taking the GRE is less quant strong than the GMAT population, so they'll hold you to a higher standard. If you were aiming for 85%ile GMAT, aim for 90%ile GRE.

For more about GRE Misconceptions, see: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gre/blog/ ... t-the-gre/
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by gmat barcelona » Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:18 am
Hi pradeepg84,

An increasing number of MBA programs accept both GMAT and GRE scores but before deciding on which test to take you have to know the admission requirements of the Schools that you want to apply.

What are the differences between the GMAT and GRE?

GMAT:
On the Quantitative section, the math on the GMAT is more difficult than that on the GRE due to the question types and because the difficulty level is based on the students response and you are not allow to use calculator.
GMAT Verbal section is somewhat easier than GRE Verbal but it still remains the part of GMAT more difficult for most students. It is the section where the students usually get lower score and what ultimately makes you lower the overall mark.

GRE:

GRE math section is somewhat easier by the question types and you can use the calculator. Moreover, It is based on an adaptive section by section and not by questions as GMAT.
For most students the GRE Verbal Reasoning section is one of the most difficult parts of the test , among other reasons because in one section depend on the amount of specific vocabulary that you can learn in English.

Fore more about GMAT and GRE test:
https://www.gmatbarcelona.com/en/gmat-en ... n-examples
https://www.gmatbarcelona.com/en/gre-en/ ... ng-measure

Let us know if you have any further queries and we would be happy to help you.
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by Dan@VinciaPrep » Tue Feb 03, 2015 9:01 am
Hi Pradeep,
First, I'd like to agree with Miss Erickson- it's the GRE math percentile that matters. Thus, the GRE math isn't really "easier" since you still need to get a high percentile score. If you're applying to a school like INSEAD they ask you to get in the 80th percentile on both sections for the GMAT or the GRE.

As for the vocabulary, the above comments are correct that you should read a fair amount: particularly newspapers and magazines because their format is more similar to that of the GRE/GMAT than the format of regular books. You should also consider getting audio guides because I've found that people learn better when they use both audio and visual learning.

A final special note for all of the French speakers out there: the GRE vocabulary will be a little bit easier for you because many of the difficult words in on the GRE come from French.

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by arun@crackverbal » Wed Feb 11, 2015 8:51 pm
Off topic Alert! :D
Daniel Haug wrote: A final special note for all of the French speakers out there: the GRE vocabulary will be a little bit easier for you because many of the difficult words in on the GRE come from French.
I am a bit surprised because English borrows much more from Latin and I can't imagine too many words on the GRE that come from French. Can you give me some examples? :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_En ... nch_origin

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