GRE FAQs

One of the hardest parts of the GMAT quantitative sections is logical reasoning, in which you have to answer questions that combine logic questions with math. The GRE has no such questions, and this makes the test itself easier and also gives you one less thing to have to study as you prepare for the exam.

Not sure whether you want to be an MBA or a specialized master's degree in your field of work? With the GRE, you only need to prepare for one exam and your results will be applicable to any program.

Both the GRE and GMAT are "adaptive tests", which means they get more or less difficult depending on how you do on previous questions. The GMAT adapts every question, which means it can ramp up in difficulty very quickly if you get a lot of questions right. The subsequent questions can be very difficult and it takes a lot of time and energy to prepare for them on the chance you get to see them. On the other hand, the GRE only adapts after each section, so the question difficulty varies a lot less. This makes it easier for you to prepare for and you'll more consistently prepare for the questions you'll actually see on the exam.

Below, we list some of the top business schools in the world and their GMAT and GRE percentile scores. As you can see, most of these programs have a considerable gap in percentiles, meaning that you only need to be in the top 15% of applicant GRE scores to have a median chance of getting into UPenn Wharton, vs. a top 4% score for the GMAT.