GRE vs. GMAT: The Showdown

Image from

Rich Carriero October 8, 2014

Torn between whether or not you should take the GRE or the GMAT? Next Step Test Prep's Rich Carriero breaks down the decision.

In this course, participants learn core principles, concepts, and methods of continuous improvement and explore the history of continuous improvement efforts. In a series of lectures, Master Black Belt in Six Sigma Shane Wentz, Ph.D., enables learners to enhance, optimize, and stabilize business processes and to augment quality control through varied methodologies. Participants gain the skills and knowledge to reimagine internal processes, engage in advanced problem-solving, and empower employees. The course covers high-level foundational principles of Lean, Six Sigma, and DMAIC processes before diving deep into Lean Six Sigma methods. Learners will analyze the tools of process mapping, Kaizen (a continuous improvement method/tool deemed a prerequisite for Lean transformation success), Lean (a continuous improvement philosophy that emphasizes streamlined workflows and reducing waste), and the process improvement methodology driving DMAIC: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control.

Entrepreneurs fostering new ventures outside of well-developed entrepreneurial ecosystems like Silicon Valley face significant challenges. These markets are unlike Silicon Valley, and they will likely remain so. That doesn't mean they can't nurture and sustain new businesses. In transitioning markets that lack abundant private sector financing, creative approaches from government officials, donors, and business leaders can fill the void to support entrepreneurial activity. Northeast Ohio (where Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University are located) has become a laboratory for such innovative solutions. During our time together in this course, we will explore some of these creative approaches to promoting regional entrepreneurship. Northeast Ohio has seen a massive infusion of government and donor resources for over ten years. In that time, Northeast Ohio has promoted regional development (including job creation and follow-on funding) through alternative methods of financing startups. It has not been easy. The region has made progress, but it remains to be seen whether it has struck upon an enduring formula. A dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem takes many years, even decades, to develop. Government policymakers and donors typically seek quicker returns on their support programs, which makes long-term support for entrepreneurship challenging. This course includes case studies and first-person testimonials from entrepreneurs who have launched products and services ranging from medical devices to LED lights to whiskey. You will learn how these entrepreneurs discovered and procured resources from various programs and intermediary organizations. You will hear from business people still in the process of developing their companies as well as those whose ventures have flourished. Our focus will extend beyond Cleveland to selected markets around the world, including Greece, Vietnam, Tunisia, Argentina, Rwanda and China. You will learn about international incentives and other supports available to developing startups and small businesses across the globe. This course examines how different communities around the world approach implementing strategies and methods to support businesses. I will ask you to reflect on how to apply the principles we learn to growing entrepreneurship where you live. The social interactive features of the online platform will enable students from around the world to share ideas and learn from one another. Most MOOCs rebroadcast professors’ lectures; this course is different. Don’t expect to see me standing in front of the camera, talking and lecturing every module. Instead, the lectures will be relatively short in length. They have more of the feel of an engaging documentary than a static classroom setting. ## __What type of person takes the *Beyond Silicon Valley* course?__ - Active and aspiring businesspeople in communities looking to initiate new startup ecosystems or bolster existing ones - Current and prospective entrepreneurs who want to learn about funding sources, risk management, and the lifecycle of startups - Professionals who work in government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, philanthropic institutions, and various private funds that fund startups - Anyone curious about how to create and grow startup ecosystems outside the major tech hubs - The principles Beyond Silicon Valley teaches have been drawn from and applied to startups worldwide, from small villages to megalopolises. You'll study success stories spanning the globe from Vietnam to Kosovo to Botswana. ## __What will you learn in *Beyond Silicon Valley*?__ - How and where startups can find funding to get their businesses off the ground - What role government can play in encouraging startups and a healthy startup ecosystem - How anchor institutions such as universities and healthcare systems participate in startup ecosystems - How nongovernmental organizations support startups - How to raise funds from venture capitalists, angel investors, and accelerators - How to navigate challenging periods in the startup lifecycle - The importance of mentoring in successful startups

Article continues here

If the graduate or business school to which you are applying accepts both the GRE and GMAT, you might be wondering which one to take.

The decision is complex, and takes into account a number of different variables: the program to which you're applying, your command of the English language, and your academic strengths and weaknesses. Given the weight that these test results can have on your future, it's no small decision.

Graduate School vs. Business School

Many business schools have come to accept the GRE in recent years and some graduate schools accept the GMAT. The programs to which you plan on applying is a powerful determinant of which test is best. If all of your schools accept one test but do not all accept the other, the choice is already made for you. If both are universally accepted, then you will want to choose the test that plays to your strengths.

The choice is more obvious for students who are applying to graduate school. Liberal arts majors will usually have an easier time with the GRE verbal section than the GMAT verbal.

The math section of the GRE is considerably easier for a number of reasons — namely, it doesn't adapt by question, you can skip around, and you are allowed a calculator. Math and science majors regularly score close to perfect on the GRE math section for these reasons.

Finally, the GRE is the test most graduate school admissions personnel are familiar with, and so, all things being equal, you're better off applying with a strong GRE score.

Business school applicants face a tougher decision. B-schools are long accustomed to GMAT scores, and if you believe you can score equally well on either test, the GMAT is probably the better option. You should only opt for the GRE over the GMAT if you're able to score markedly higher on the GRE. Since the GMAT is harder, there are a number of students for whom this happens to be true.

International Students

Many international applicants to business school opt for the GMAT for a few reasons. Most importantly, the GMAT doesn't test vocabulary. The esoteric and frequently arcane words which appear on text completion and sentence equivalence questions can be a nightmare for the ESL crowd.

Secondly, sentence correction questions test rules of grammar and written English that international students have had to learn more recently, and in greater detail, than native speakers. Reading comprehension also makes up a smaller fraction of GMAT verbal than it does of GRE verbal, and this can be the hardest section for students whose command of English isn't the best.

Finally, many foreign-born students are accustomed to more rigorous math programs than are American students and thus are less likely to be dissuaded from taking the GMAT by a harder quantitative section.

Weaker Math Students

The main reason some students struggle to reach a competitive score on the GMAT, but are able to do so on the GRE, is that the GMAT quantitative section is more difficult. Beyond the format differences mentioned earlier, the GMAT tends to have more involved questions which frequently result in unfriendly decimal and radical answers. Frankly: it's meaner.

Also, data sufficiency has a way of haunting frustrated students in a way that quantitative comparison questions don't. It's the number one math-oriented complaint of new GMAT students that I hear.

Parting Advice

The decision of which test to take should not be made lightly.

Do your research. Look at the 25th and 75th percentile scores, for both tests, of accepted applicants to the schools to which you plan on applying. Take a free test to see where you are: ETS's Power Prep II software for the GRE, and GMAC's GMAT Prep software are both available to download for free.

Carefully consider how your strengths and weaknesses mesh with the preferences of your preferred programs. Above all, whichever test you decide to prepare for, commit to your success on that test by studying as far in advance of the deadline as you are able.