Advice Needed-GMAT or GRE?
MoveCloseDeleteAdmin

TV ClubHouse: Archive: Advice Needed-GMAT or GRE?

Hillbilly

Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 06:12 am EditMoveDeleteIP
If anyone can help me out, I would really appreciate it. I will be finishing my BS in Computer Science at the end of December and will begin work on a MBA in the spring. The university requirements state that I either must take the GRE or the GMAT. I've looked at the website for both.

1. What is the difference between the two?
2. Is one better to take than the other? more prestigious? (I'm not necessarily looking for easier....difficulty of the exam doesn't scare me a bit)
3. The GRE has exams in specialty fields. Do I need to take both the 'general' exam AND a 'specialty' exam?
4. Why are there two dang tests for the same thing?
5. Can you recommend any good preparation tools?

Feedback is much appreciated.

Twiggyish

Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 06:33 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I don't know, but I want to say good morning =)

Twiggyish

Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 07:21 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Hillbilly, I just ran a www.google.com search on the two exams. (You might try doing the same) If you write it in the form of a question, such as, "Do I need GRE or GMAT?" Plus, the google search for either exam, returns the explanations for the test. You'll get the various college FAQ pages.

Have you called your college to find out their requirement and which test would best suit you?
Hope that helps. Good luck and congratulations!

Hillbilly

Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 07:53 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks Twiggy...I called the contact for the BS program I've been working with and they didn't know. Looks like I get to call the main campus and play 'pass me around until I reach someone who knows.'

Oregonfire

Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 10:46 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Hillbilly, I took the GRE. At the time that I took it (about six years ago), it had a verbal section, an analytical section, which was full of questions like "If Jimmy, Suzy, Marcy, and Tom each mow the lawn every week, but Tom can't on Monday, but Suzy only can on Friday, and Marcy only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, who can mow the lawn on Wednesday?" and a "quantitative" section, which means math.

I had to take the dumb thing to get into grad school for English, so only the verbal section really applied anyway. Many grad school hopefuls have to take it whether or not it tests specifically for their field of study.

The GMAT is a test to get into law school, I know that much. I considered law school for about ten minutes a couple of years ago, so got the practice test. It had a lot of syllogisms: "All high schoolers have books. Sue has books. Is Sue a high schooler?" and I think reading comprehension and logical reasoning. The Princeton Review had good practice GMAT tests. I downloaded an entire practice GMAT from them for *free* last year, but don't remember the link.

If you plan to take one test or the other, make sure to register as soon as possible. It is not a last minute sort of thing. In addition, you now have the option of taking either the paper and pencil version of the tests or doing a computerized version. There are pros and cons to both, but you cannot go back and change your answers in the computerized test. I took the computerized GRE last year because I am insane and did very poorly the second time around because I hadn't studied. (okay, I had some vague notion about getting my Ph.D and upping my GRE score. The verbal was much better, but everything else stunk.)

I don't know that one test is more prestigious than the other. I doubt that you'll have to take a specialty test for an MBA; the GRE general test should do. I took the specialty test in Literature about ten years ago, very painful. If I had pursued a Ph.D, I would've had to have taken it again. I think the other specialty tests are more science-related, like Geology and that sort of thing. Most likely you will not be required to take one.

My assessment? Take the GRE. Register as soon as possible for a test date, study for about three months with a practice tests and study guides, and you should be fine. (Maybe you won't need to study as long, but I had to study really hard, and obviously forgot everything I had learned the second time I took it. Right-brained here and the math just killed me.)

Simoned

Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 11:34 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Hi Hillbilly,
I just wanted to clarify that the GMAT is not the test for law school...I think what Oregonfire was describing, and the only test for law school that I know of, is the LSAT. I took that and the GRE and I actually did better on the LSAT because there was no math and lots of logic questions.

From what I remember, the GRE was much like the SAT, with that 3rd section added, called "quantitative", but I think of it as logic questions. When I went into a grad program for psychology, they didn't even consider the score on the quantitative part.

A friend of mine with an MBA took the GMAT, and she said it was also like the SAT, with a Math & Verbal section, but that it also had a writing section.

I hope this helps....good luck!

Oregonfire

Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 11:39 am EditMoveDeleteIP
OMG, how embarrassing! Yes, you are right, Simoned. Hillbilly, scratch that about the GMAT. Obviously I'm not an expert on *anything.*

Simoned

Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 12:36 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Oregon,
I hope you don't think I was trying to be 'Miss-Know-It-ALL'...I just didn't want Hillbilly to be scared away from the GMAT --most people hear 'law school' and run the other way...with good reason!

I think it's great that we can come to TVCH, ask for advice, and kind people (like yourself) take the time to compose a thoughtful answer. I hope when I'm in a quandry(there's an English Lit word for ya), you'll answer my question like you did for Hillbilly.

Oregonfire

Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 12:49 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
No, not at all, Simoned. I'm just amazed that even though I seem to have stuffed an inordinate amount of information in my head, I *still* am not an expert on anything! (just one of those days, months, years. etc.)

Gentoo

Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 04:56 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Just to completely clarify the above. I took both the GRE and the LSAT. The GRE is the Graduate Requisite Exam. It has two tests within it, the general GRE and the topic specific GRE. The first is basically an intelligence test, reading comprehension, logic puzzles, that kind of thing. The second is topic specific. I wrote the psychology GRE, and it was all psych questions.

The GRE *does* penalize for guessing, so if you don't know something don't guess or you will lose a mark. As I recall the topic specific one was entirely multiple choice. I only ever wrote the topic specific GRE, so I don't know about the general one. And my experience may indicate you only have to take the topic specific one too... this is something you should be asking the school you are applying to.

The LSAT is the Law School Admitance Exam. It is written by all wannabe lawyers. It is weighed extremely heavily by law schools for admittance (Got me a big fat scholarship just for scoring well on it), but it'd make no sense to take it for business school. The LSAT, just in case anybody cares is also entirely multiple choice. And strangely enough, there isn't a single question related to law on it. Its all logic puzzles, reading comprehension, etc.

The GMAT is for business. I'm a little suprised that they'd let you take a GRE instead. I say take the GMAT as it will get you into more schools. Pretty much all business schools will want a GMAT score.

Just to finnish the tour, there is also the MCAT which is what you take to get into medical school.

As for prep, I never took the GMAT, but when I prepared for the LSAT, they had all these fancy courses you could take. Don't. THey are a big waste of money. First thing, go to your local public library and see if they have any books on the GMAT. They had a few for the LSAT where I'm at, which basically included a bunch of practice tests. The best way to study for a test like the LSAT is to practice, as there is no content to memorize going in.
Find out if the GMAT is the same type of test. If there is something to know, then know it (duh). In any event, be sure to get practice tests, either old versions of the GMAT or invented tests designed to be similar. They are undoubtedly out there to be found.

Happy test taking.

Oregonfire

Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 05:15 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
What Gentoo said. <slinking away feeling stupid>

Juju2bigdog

Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 07:34 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
<moseys in and spells quandary, just in case it is on the test, wanders out>

Simoned

Friday, September 13, 2002 - 01:30 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Oregon & Juju -- Too funny! And how do I get spellcheck for my postings?

Schoolmarm

Friday, September 13, 2002 - 02:39 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
OK, Hillbilly (and others):

Here's the real scoup from a test supervisor (Hey! It was the only place I could work on a Saturday morning for over $9 an hour).

If it's a test, I've given it.

The GRE, the GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATION, is a glorified SAT test, for the General section. They have eliminated the analytical section (that's the logic puzzle, and analysis section.....daymn I didn't miss any on that one!) Check to see if your school allows the computerized version. The computerized version doesn't take as long and you can take it on any date. They adjust the questions to harder or easier depending on your answer to the previous question. You will get your score right away. I think that it would be hard to take this exam, well, at least the reading comprehension part, on the computer. You can't skip questions and return.

The regular paper and pencil exam will take all morning. Report time is 8am, and the exam will start at about 9am. You will be out at about noon.


Oftentimes the graduate school will require the specialty test, and I don't remember a "business" specialty test. I took the music test and it was hideous! They write more questions than they expect that you can answer, and they do this on purpose to measure your "fluency" in your subject area. Most specialty tests have a "free response" section that is hand written. These exams are in the afternoon, and are about 2 hours of testing time with an additional hour for check-in, directions, filling out forms, etc.

The GMAT is the GRADUATE MANAGEMENT ADMISSIONS TEST. The people whom I've proctored think that it is tough. I can't remember the content, but I know that there are more math, econ and business specific sections. This is the exam that most MBA programs accept. It also starts in the morning.

Standardized exams require pre-registration at least a month before the exam date. There are usually four-six test dates (Saturdays, unless that is your Sabboth...then you can test on Monday) per year.

Hillbilly, if I were you, I would check to see what the requirements were at several schools, and then choose the test that fits your alternate schools. I ended up taking the Miller Analogy Test, just in case I wanted to go to the University of Illinois. All the other schools wanted the GRE.

PLEASE buy the test prep books and follow their advice. I found it VERY helpful to set the timer on the microwave and take a practice test every night. This familiarizes you with the test format and helps get rid of those "test anxioty jitters". And you will have the directions memorized by then, thus saving time!

I'm giving a workshop on Sunday on the PRAXIS (teacher licencing exams).

Let me know if I can help anyone else out!

Marm, the testing queen! :)

Hillbilly

Saturday, September 14, 2002 - 07:05 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Thank you to everyone who responded here. Oregon, Twiggy, Gentoo, Schoolmarm, Simoned, Juju. You have all given some great advice and helped me to know more of what to expect. Its been a very long time since I've had to sit for a standard exam.

I think I'm leaning toward the GMAT since I'm definite that its going to be an MBA. I think the advice about checking what other schools require is good and plan to do some research this morning. I talked to my university and they seemed non-committal. Either one..which surprises me after what I learned here.

What a great board this is where you can throw out a question and get such good advice from such great folks. You are much appreciated.

Whit4you

Tuesday, September 17, 2002 - 10:23 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Thinking one needs an MBA to understand this thread "GRE" "MBA" "NSA" "LSAT" "HCN" "SAT" "GMAT"
:)