New Details on the GRE: What It Means for GMAT Takers

by , Jul 14, 2010

By guest author Lee Weiss

Students considering taking the new GRE, coming in August 2011, can finally try their hand at the revised test. While weve known about the pending changes for some time, the test makers have just released new software, (POWERPREP II) that allows potential test takers a first chance to test drive the revised GRE. Because the test makers current prep software is nearly identical to the current GRE in format and content, this release is likely very similar to the new test. But test takers beware: you wont get a Quantitative Reasoning or Verbal Reasoning score upon completion, only a total number of questions correct/incorrect. So no insight yet as to how all this will translate into the new scoring scale.

Lack of scoring aside, we found out some interesting discoveries as we explored the new test

1. As expected, its harder.

• Its longer than the GRE currently is by about 30 minutes.
• No more antonyms or analogies. Now, there are more complex text completion questions where you might have to fill multiple blanks within the same question. So while vocabulary is not being tested as cleanly as it was in, say, analogy questions, test takers will need to have a very robust command of vocabulary to succeed.

2.Certain questions do look more like GMAT questions.

• No surprise given that the test maker is hoping to entice more business schools to accept the GRE for admission.
• We saw reading comp questions in the new practice test that were similar to GMAT strengthening/weakening and bolded statement questions.

3.Calculators are going to introduce a whole new complexity for the revised GRE.

• Some questions definitely need a calculator to answer. Conversely, on other questions, we were wasting precious minutes trying to use the calculator. (Computing 2 + 5 in your head is a lot faster than trying to use the calculator.) There are lots of questions where knowing a number properties rule or understanding how to manipulate exponents will be much quicker than going to the on-screen calculator. So the trick here is going to be knowing when to use the calculator and when not. Interestingly, this is quite different from the SAT: while SAT test takers have access to a calculator, each question can in fact be easily solved without a calculator.

Were going to keep playing with the new test, and well share what we find. If you want to learn more about the massive changes, check out our series of seven articles by our long-standing teacher and test guru Bob Verini. There, you can also get more details on the expected changes to the scoring scale.

Were also keeping a close eye on what this will do to the GRE vs. GMAT discussion. Over the past several years, the GRE has quietly gained ground with more business schools as an alternative to the GMAT. You see, ETS, the GRE test provider, used to also be the GMAT test provider until 2005 when GMAT and ETS parted ways and GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council) took over administration of the GMAT. Surely, ETS wants that market back and what better way than to get the GRE accepted at business schools?

Last summer, even Harvard and Wharton joined the team of top b-schools accepting the GRE. Still, in a 2009 Kaplan survey of admissions officers at 260 top MBA programs across the U.S., only about a quarter accepted the GRE. Informally, weve heard from top business schools that they will likely wait until they can garner more data from the performance of the revised GRE before making a decision. Of course, just this week, GMAT announced its own changes to the test with a new Integrated Reasoning section. The added drama of the rivalry between test providers should prove interesting.

And what does this all mean for you, the test taker? Well, whether youre thinking grad school or business school, a test change is coming your way soon. And the GRE test maker knows you will be wary about taking the new test: theyre even offering a 50% on the test fee for people who take it between August 1, 2011, and September 30, 2011. Keep in mind that the trend weve seen over the years at Kaplan is that scores tend to go down after a test change. The last time the GRE went through a major change was in 2002, when the Analytical Ability section was dropped and replaced with an Analytical Writing section. Scores dropped 7 points the following year, and continued to decline for the next five years. Our recommendation: take the test before it changes.

Whatever you decide to do, stay tuned for more analysis and details from the GRE team at Kaplan.