Blog · Sep 2026 · 7 min read
GMAT vs GRE: which should you take for an MBA?
Top MBA programs accept both tests and none of them publishes a preference. At the M7, the share of enrolled students who submitted a GRE rose from 12.8% in 2017 to 42.4% in 2025. So take the test you can score higher on, judged by the time you have to prepare and any test you have already studied for. If the two look equal, take the GMAT, which was built for business school. And once your score clears the average at your target schools, consider stopping there and putting the time into the rest of the application.
What is the difference between the GMAT and the GRE?
The GMAT has been written since 1954 by GMAC, a council of business schools, and it is used by business programs only, about 7,700 of them worldwide by GMAC's count. The GRE is older, dating from the 1930s, and has been run by ETS since 1949 as the general admissions test for graduate study in every field; business schools began accepting it later, and ETS now says more than 90% of them do. That difference in purpose shows in the format.
| GMAT Focus | GRE General Test | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 2 hours 15 minutes, 64 questions, one optional break | About 1 hour 58 minutes, 40 scored questions plus one essay, no break |
| Sections | Quantitative (21 questions), Verbal (23) and Data Insights (20), 45 minutes each, in any order | Analytical Writing (30 minutes), then two verbal and two quantitative sections |
| Calculator | Only in Data Insights, not in the math section | Throughout the quantitative sections |
| Geometry | Not tested | Tested |
| Essay | None | One "Analyze an Issue" task, scored 0 to 6 |
| How it adapts | Each question's difficulty depends on your earlier answers | The second verbal and quant sections' difficulty depends on how you did on the first |
| Going back to a question | After finishing a section you can revisit it and change up to 3 answers before the section's time runs out | Within a section you can move back and forth and change any answer until the section ends |
| Scores | Total 205 to 805; each section 60 to 90 | Verbal 130 to 170 and quantitative 130 to 170, reported separately |
| Fee in the US | $275 at a test center, $300 online | $249, at a test center or at home |
Source: exam structure, content and fee pages published by GMAC (mba.com and gmac.com) and by ETS, checked September 2026. Fees outside the US vary by country.
Both tests changed recently, and class profiles still show both versions. The GMAT Focus Edition became the only GMAT in February 2024, and the exam it replaced now appears on score reports as the GMAT 10th Edition. The two use different scales, so a school prints two GMAT numbers; by GMAC's concordance table, a 730 on the 10th Edition corresponds to about 685 on the Focus Edition. The GRE has been the shortened version since September 2023, on the same scale as before.
Which test should you take for an MBA?
None of the top programs publishes a preference. Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, Kellogg and MIT Sloan each say so on their admissions pages. The enrolled classes show the same thing. At HBS and Stanford, 44% of the Class of 2027 submitted a GRE, and at Chicago Booth 42%. The committee compares your score with its class average on whichever test you took, so the practical question is which test you can score higher on.
Two things decide that before you open a prep book. The first is how long you have. Both test makers suggest one to three months of preparation, and GMAC reports that top GMAT scorers studied more than 90 hours, so with a first deadline two months away either test is possible, but a switch from one to the other is not. The second is whether you have already studied for one of them. In the authors' experience, that familiarity carries over: the question formats, the pacing and the mistakes you already learned to avoid all come back faster than starting the other test from zero. And a GRE score less than five years old can simply be sent.
Beyond time, the two tests reward different strengths, and the table below sets them side by side.
| The GRE suits you better if | The GMAT suits you better if | |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal | You have a wide English vocabulary; GRE text completion and sentence equivalence test it directly | English is not your first language, or vocabulary is your weak spot; GMAT verbal is reading comprehension and critical reasoning only |
| Math | You are comfortable with geometry and prefer to compute; GRE math covers arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis with a calculator, and a 170 is only the 89th percentile, so a strong quant background does not stand out here | You reason through word problems with simple numbers; GMAT math tests reasoning, not computation, so there is no calculator and no geometry |
| Data | You prefer standard math questions | You are comfortable reading tables and charts and judging whether the data is enough to answer; Data Insights is a third of the GMAT score |
| Writing | You build a written argument well under time and want that scored; the GRE essay is scored 0 to 6 and reported with your verbal and quant scores | You would rather be judged on multiple choice only; the GMAT has no essay |
| Other programs | You are also applying to engineering, policy or law programs, or a dual degree such as a JD/MBA, which accept the GRE and not the GMAT | You are applying only to business schools |
| Retakes | You want schools to see one sitting only; ScoreSelect hides the others | You want a shorter gap between attempts, 16 days against 21 |
Source: test content pages published by GMAC and ETS, checked September 2026. Prep-company guidance from Kaplan and Manhattan Review agrees on the verbal row and disagrees on which test suits strong quant candidates, so read the math row as format facts rather than a prediction of your score.
If neither column is clearly yours, take the GMAT. It was written for business school admissions, so its content is closer to what the first year asks of you, and its score is the one recruiters know. GMAC's own comparison page, checked in 2026, states that top MBA employers in banking and consulting assess GMAT scores when recruiting, and admissions press made the same point in August 2026 when advising consulting-bound applicants against test waivers.
What are the rules on retakes, validity and sending scores?
| GMAT Focus | GRE | |
|---|---|---|
| Score validity | 5 years | 5 years |
| Minimum gap between attempts | 16 days | 21 days |
| Attempts allowed | 5 in any rolling 12 months | 5 in any rolling 12 months |
| Official scores arrive | 3 to 5 business days | 8 to 10 days |
| Free score reports | Up to 5, only if sent within 48 hours of the official score being released | 4, chosen on test day; $40 for each extra report |
| Choosing what schools see | You choose which attempts to send. Since August 2026 the report for candidates with more than one attempt also carries a Superscore, the best section results across attempts | ScoreSelect lets you send any single sitting, and schools see no sign of other attempts |
Source: GMAT policies and score-sending pages on mba.com, GMAC's June 2026 Superscore announcement, and the ETS 2026–27 GRE Information Bulletin and fees page, checked September 2026.
Two practical notes. Decide your school list before test day, because the GMAT's five free score reports have to be sent within 48 hours of your official score. And don't count on the new GMAT Superscore. GMAC calculates it, but each school chooses whether to use it, and Kellogg states it takes a score from a single sitting only.
Why does the score matter, and how high is high enough?
The score matters because schools want a strong class profile, and because it proves you are ready for the coursework.
- The class profile. Every school publishes the median or average score of the class that just enrolled, and that number is read by recruiters, by next year's applicants and by the rankings. In the authors' experience, that is why programs across the top 25 stay attentive to scores even while stating that a score is never read in isolation.
- Academic readiness. Inside your file, the score proves you can handle the coursework, and it does that most when something else is weaker. A low GPA, a degree with little quantitative content or a switch into a more analytical career are the cases where a high score offsets the doubt; UT Austin McCombs says exactly this on its test-waiver page.
How high is high enough depends on the class you are joining. Use the school's own class profile as the bar. Five M7 examples:
| School, Class of 2027 | GMAT Focus | GMAT 10th Edition | GRE verbal / quant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard Business School | 685 median | 730 median | 164 / 164 median |
| Stanford GSB | 689 average | 738 average | 164 / 164 |
| Wharton | 676 average | 735 average | 162 / 163 average |
| Chicago Booth | 670 average | 736 average | 161 / 163 average |
| Kellogg | 687 average | 733 average | 162 / 162 average |
Source: each school's own class profile page for the Class of 2027, checked September 2026. GMAT Focus is scored 205 to 805 and the 10th Edition 200 to 800, so the two GMAT columns are not comparable with each other. Stanford does not label its GRE figures as median or average.
Read your number against one column only. A 685 on the GMAT Focus, a 730 on the 10th Edition and a 164 on each GRE section all sit at the HBS median. From there:
- If you clear the average and the rest of your profile is solid, stop. The weeks it takes to move from the median to the 95th percentile are better spent on essays, recommenders and interview preparation, where the committee separates applicants who all cleared the bar.
- If you are below it, or you come from an over-represented applicant pool, a score above the class average is one of the few ways to stand out on the numbers, and the one piece of the file you can raise on your own schedule.
- Don't hold an application for a better score. Apply in the round your package is ready for, tell the school you are still testing, and send the improved score afterwards where the school allows it. Berkeley Haas accepts updated scores until two weeks before its notification date; Chicago Booth and Kellogg accept updates but cannot guarantee reading them before a decision.
This is exactly why the school pages on Admission Park, built by the team behind this site, carry these numbers for 40+ MBA programs, taken from each school's official class profile and checked by a person, so you can see where your score sits at every school on your list without opening each profile page.
What if you skip both tests?
There are two routes: the Executive Assessment, a shorter GMAC test built for experienced applicants, and a test waiver. No M7 school offers a waiver, and only one of them, Columbia, accepts the Executive Assessment.
The Executive Assessment is 40 questions in 90 minutes, scored 100 to 200, and can be taken twice. For full-time MBA admission it is accepted at Columbia, UVA Darden, NYU Stern, Duke Fuqua, UCLA Anderson and Michigan Ross among others; Stanford GSB and MIT Sloan state they do not accept it. A waiver removes the test entirely. HBS and Columbia state they grant none under any circumstances, Chicago Booth waives only for University of Chicago students and graduates, and the other M7 schools publish no waiver route. Outside the M7, waivers are common and conditional. Five examples:
| School | Executive Assessment | Test waiver | Stated conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dartmouth Tuck | Not listed | Yes, requested before applying | Two or more years of work experience, native English or an English-medium degree, evidence of quantitative ability |
| Michigan Ross | Accepted | Test-optional, no request needed | A statement of quantitative readiness: an analytical role, a STEM graduate degree, strong quant coursework, or a CPA or CFA |
| NYU Stern | Accepted | Yes, requested at least three weeks before applying | A 300-word case for readiness; one request per cycle |
| UVA Darden | Accepted | Yes, case by case | A GPA above the last class average with quant coursework, an analytical master's, or three or more years of quantitative work |
| UCLA Anderson | Accepted | Test-optional | An essay on readiness; applicants with several academic or professional accomplishments are more likely to be admitted without a score |
Source: each school's own admissions requirements or FAQ page for the 2026–27 cycle, checked September 2026. Conditions change by cycle, so confirm on the school's page before you plan around a waiver.
So GMAT or GRE for an MBA? The one you can score higher on in the time you have, which usually means the one you have already studied for. Equal on both counts, take the GMAT. Once you clear the average at your target schools, consider stopping there and applying in the round you are ready for.
Sources: Exam structure, content, policy, fee and score pages published by GMAC (mba.com, gmac.com) and ETS, including GMAC's history and GMAT vs GRE comparison pages, its July 2025 concordance and percentile tables and its June 2026 Superscore announcement, the ETS 2026 percentile tables and the ETS 2026–27 GRE Information Bulletin; Class of 2027 class profiles and admissions FAQ, requirements or test-policy pages published by Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, Wharton, Chicago Booth, Kellogg, MIT Sloan, Columbia Business School, UC Berkeley Haas, UT Austin McCombs, UVA Darden, NYU Stern, Duke Fuqua, UCLA Anderson, Michigan Ross and Dartmouth Tuck, checked September 2026; Poets&Quants, "GRE Rising: Submission Rates & Scores At The 50 Top U.S. MBAs," August 28, 2026; Clear Admit, "Test Waivers," August 2026; Kaplan and Manhattan Review guidance on choosing between the tests.