GMAT not the only exam that could help students

To make the admission procedure easier and cost-effective and to attract more students, educational institutes across the globe have started accepting the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) general test scores for admission to management programmes.

Earlier, only the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score was considered for admission to about 1,900 B-schools in various foreign countries, and the GRE score was considered for non-business related graduate programmes.

However, students cannot sit for either of the tests (GMAT or GRE) and be eligible for admission to all management programmes abroad, as many B-schools still do not accept GRE scores.

A large number of universities across the globe including those in the US, Belgium, Canada, Singapore, Germany etc, have already come forward with the revised norms, permitting students with GRE score to sit the business school admission test. Over one hundred B-schools have started accepting the GRE score in the US. Stanford was the first institute to start accepting GRE scores along with the GMAT score in June 2006.

Neelam Sharma, faculty, Options Institute which prepares students for GRE and GMAT, believes that the basis of the acceptance of GRE score for admission to business schools is the high correlation between the two tests. "The GRE measures more or less the same basic cognitive skills as the GMAT. The content knowledge in mathematics is also more or less the same in both the tests. However, the GMAT continues to be a relatively tougher examination to crack," she said.

Elaborating further Sharma said that the questions on mathematics and reading comprehension in the GRE are comparatively easier than that of the GMAT. "Even those who are not proficient in English find verbal reasoning section in the GRE easier as compared to that in the GMAT," she said.

However, neither the GRE nor the GMAT assumes advanced knowledge in any specific discipline, including business and management. Besides, students sitting the GRE also stand to benefit financially, as the GRE fee is only US$130 as compared to the US$250 of the GMAT. Experts say that it is usually fresh undergraduates with limited job exposure who take the GRE while the GMAT waters are tested more by those who have a few years of work experience. Accepting the GRE score would offer a fine mix of both the categories.

Shaksham Bakliwal, who sat the GRE for Nanyang Technological University in Singaopre to study MBA, said, "The university offers some of the best programme in the world. So, before accepting the GRE score along with GMAT, it must have evaluated the pros and cons. And if every institute starts accepting GRE score, education will become cheaper for Indian students."

However, not everyone is impressed. There are many who feel that sitting the GMAT still is the best bet because the number of institutes accepting GRE score for admission is limited. Education consultant for institutes in the US Rajendra Asthana said, "GMAT has a wider acceptance. Besides, the GRE method is new and only few universities have adopted it."

He also pointed out that the calculation of scores in both the tests is different and cannot be compared. The GRE does not focus on the total score and keeps the scores in verbal and quantitative section separate to be used by the B-schools. In contrast, the total score in verbal and quantitative sections is used for admission in the GMAT. So, the scores in both the tests are not interchangeable, though these can be used for comparison and prediction.

The educational testing service that conducts a variety of tests like the SAT, GRE, TOEFL, and MAPP globally has evolved a GRE comparison tool for business schools and given all the details on its website ets.org/gre/comparison.