Will I really be at a disadvantage admissions-wise if i take the GRE over the GMAT? I'm way better at the GRE
So I'm a marketing professional at a large tech company (think SAP, Oracle, IBM, Cisco, etc.) with 3.5 years of experience. I'm a graduate of Vanderbilt University, with a 3.81 GPA in History. My strengths are in the humanities and liberal arts.
I took a real GRE cold, without any practice, and got a 160/170 V, but horrible on quant - a 149/170Q. Unlike a lot of people, the verbal GRE part comes easy to me because I've built up my vocabulary and reading comprehension skills through my studies. I got a 5 on the essay.
I took a practice GMAT, and did decently (but not as good) on the verbal, but even worse on the quant section. I forgot the exact numbers or percentages. However, the GRE comes a lot more naturally to me. I did horribly on both GMAT and GRE math because I haven't taken any math since high school and forgot all the formulas.
For what it's worth, I was a straight As math student as a kid through high school, and got a 2230 on the SAT I (800 on the math section), and a 770 on the Math 2 subject test in high school. So if I relearn my basic HS math concepts I feel like I'll be able to do well on the GRE. The math seems a bit easier and the on screen calculator helps a lot, and no tricky data sufficiency stuff on the GRE.
I feel like I could do well on the GMAT (700 plus) if I studied my complete ass off for it, but I could do just as well, if not better, on the GRE with a fraction of my time and effort. My verbal just needs practice, I just really need to relearn how to do math.
I'm not sure if I'll take a class for the GRE, since I just need to learn math. Maybe a math only online course would be good from Magoosh or Manhattan? Lots of good self-study materials too, like the ETS guide.
However, will MBA adcoms "ding" me for taking the GRE over the GMAT, even if I can get a much higher GRE score than GMAT? I am committed to getting an MBA, so if not taking it would screw me, I'd take the GMAT. Is the rumor true that despite many MBA adcoms saying they look at the GRE and GMAT equally, they secretly still prefer the GMAT BC it's "harder" (esp on quant), or that it shows commitment to b-school?
Someone told me that I should take the GMAT, bc adcoms will be skeptical of my liberal arts background, and would want me to "prove" my quant skills, and that scoring a high quant score on the GMAT would do this as the GRE quant is considered too easy. Is this true?
I'm aiming for an m7/t15 school btw, for a career in general management. So if I took the GMAT, my goal would be a 730+, while on the GRE, it would be to get 163+ on both verbal and quant. It's just, having taken both, I found the GMAT way harder and way more unfamiliar to me given my skillset.
Most schools say that they don't prefer one or the other. However, if you think you would get a high score on either one (730+ on GMAT), I'd say to go for the GMAT. Schools report average gmat scores and usually not average GRE scores so if your score would pull up their average, they're more likely to accept you. Average GMAT scores are a factor of b school rankings so a school will usually do whatever they can to up that number.
For what it's worth, I was in a pretty similar situation to you - aced the verbal on my first practice test and bombed the quant for a total score of 680 (I don't remember the Q/V breakdown but it was basically 98th percentile on verbal and 40th on Quant). I took the Kaplan self-paced gmat course and only did the math sections - didn't look at verbal at all - and scored a 780 on the actual test (50Q/47V).
The reason you're better at the GRE is because everyone is better at the GRE because the GRE is easier. You didn't do quant courses in college and you don't have a quant job. If you apply to bschool the adcom is going to wonder if you're going to struggle in the quant courses. You should take the GMAT to prove yourself.
get a good score (80% V and Q) and move on. You don't get in because of a perfect score.
GRE in place of GMAT for IB (Originally Posted: 03/05/2017)
I was filling out IB job application and it asks for gmat score. (The position is for MBAs)
However I took GRE instead and got 720+ using ETS GMAT-GRE conversion tool..
So can I just list the converted score ?
I have explained this conversion in my resume that I uploaded in the application system, just in case...
Bump
if they dont have a seperate GRE score blank then i would convert it to the GMAT - as you did. you should be fine as the conversion is by the gre test maker.
If You Want To Go Into 6-Figure F500, and Not MBB or IBD, Can You Take the GRE over GMAT? (Originally Posted: 04/25/2017)
Hi WSO,
So I took the GRE a few years ago (I was considering grad school), and got the highest score on the essay, a 97th percentile on Math, and 99th percentile on Verbal. I have a 3.7 GPA in a liberal arts degree from a lower Ivy. I have around 4yrs+ experience in marketing at a f500 company atm.
I don't care about going into MBB or IBD or anything like that. I want to go into a good six-figure paying f500 job, like rotation program. Of course I'm still aiming for MBA business schools">M7/t15 (would you recommend any particular schools I aim for?)
Thanks!
I have a similar dilemna:
Bimmer Benz or Bentley?
Your GMAT equivalent is a top score. Why do you feel that your GRE is not useful enough? (Magoosh converter shows you at around a 780+ GMAT)
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