How does GMAT compare with GRE?

Question

Took the GMAT and didnt do so hot. About to study for the GRE. Anyone have taken both before? Just want to know how they compare. I beleive the GRE is only available on computer.....please tell me its easier than the GMAT!

Hjort · Answer

There is quite a bit of overlap between the two tests. The Q section is somewhat easier on the GRE and the V section does not have any grammar or reasoning questions. However, the GRE V is more vocabulary intensive.

jyeh74 · Answer

Hjort,
What about the reading passages? I know that the GRE does not have the data sufficiency (thank god!) but was wondering how the verbal compared....I have been told that the math is a lot easier.


Would you guys say GRE is like SATs (easier or harder...)?

Hjort · Answer

I would say that the passages on the GRE are a bit harder but this is pretty much a subjective call.

The GRE does not have DS questions but it still has Quantitative Comparison questions (which are actually related to DS Questions).

The Quant section on the GRE is probably about the same difficulty as the SAT Math but most high schoolers are more in practice with algebra and arithmetic than most college grads are.

The verbal section of the GRE generally has more difficult passages and words relative to the equivalent on the SAT.

If you are at the far right tail in quant on the GMAT you will find the GRE Q quite a bit easier. If you are in the middle or left tail you probably would not notice much difference (besides the question format).

crackgmat750 · Answer

Jyeh:
 Having taken both tests, following are my observations:

GRE: Verbal of GRE is more vocabulary based. If you have a good vocab and a decent reading background, what you need more is cramming some of the extra words from barrons and taking some practice tests. GRE verbal is manageable. I took GRE more than 4 years back and did extremely well in its verbal part. But it was more due to my very good vocab and some luck rather than my superior language skills at that time.
I dont think RC of gre is difficult..I would say it's of same level as GMAT rc's or even easier..Moroever, you save lot of time in solving antonyms, analogies etc because if you know them...you dont take more than20-25 second per question. This extra time can be used in solving RC's..
Maths of GRE is definately easier than GMAT's maths...Data comparison questions could be bit tricky..but 750+ score is easily gettable..
Also, when I took GRE and even until late 2002, GRE used to have analytical section which was quite challenging and interesting.I still dont know why GRE got rid of that as , according to me, it made the test challenging and Interesting.. 
GMAT: GMAT's verbal requires not only strong foundation in language but also lots of hard work to tame sentence correction and improve your CR/RC skills. None of the three sections of GMAT verbal is easy. I will definately rate GMAT verbal tougher than GRE verbal
Maths in GMAT is also tougher in the sense that even to score 49, you need excellent skills.
If GRE still had old analytical section included, I might have compared the difficulty level of both the tests as being almost equal..but now with just verbal and maths, I wont keep it anywhere near GMAT.
Rest, it depends upon individual strenghts and weaknesses..
I know some people who did better in GMAT verbal than in GRE verbal..
But these are stray cases..mostly, I have seen people struggling much more with GMAT verbal..
Do let me know if you need any more info..

kenmore3233 · Answer

I took the GRE recently and had 800 verbal and 760 quant. And I'm not really a math person. 

I'm studying for the GMAT now.

I've taken many paper and pencil ETS GMATs and GREs at home, and it seems to me that the GRE is definitely easier than the GMAT. This is with particular reference to the quantitative section.

My advice to you is to get a hold of as many paper and pencil GRE's as you can, and to practice taking them.

Remember not to overanalyze questions on verbal. If you think too hard about those questions --and often it's very hard to pick between the best two viable answers on many of the verbal questions-- you're liable to hang yourself.

Download the free computer adaptive tests that ETS gives people when they sign up for the GRE...I think they're called PowerPrep GRE. Also, you'll need to pick ETS's "Practicing to Take the GRE General Test, 10 Edition", which is available in stores now. This book contains seven actual paper and pencil GRE's.

I didn't study for the verbal portion of the GRE because I was a history major in college and I was confident of my ability to ace that section. I did however have to prepare carefully for the quantitative section because I don't have much of a math background.

Here's what I used to bring my GRE quant skills up to speed:

1. "ARCO GRE GMAT Math Review 2000 Edition", published by MacMillan press. This book gives an excellent overview of all arithmetic, algebra and geometry basics tested on the GRE.

2. "Schaum's Outlines: Elementary Algebra" and "Schaum's Outlines: Geometry". I found the "Schaum's" books invaluable because they offer thousands upon thousands of problems which enabled me to increase the speed and accuracy with which I could answer math questions. "Schaum's" was also excellent in helping me to nail down the basic pedagogy behind algebra and geometry.

My final piece of advice to you is this:  when you take the GRE for real, if you're ridden with anxiety, or if you can't concentrate, or if you suspect you're having a bad day, END THE TEST IMMEDIATELY AND CANCEL YOUR SCORES. Go home, relax, try to figure out why you had a bad day, and register to take the test again in the near future. Don't underperform because you pysched yourself out. 

Best of luck!

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