News has been spreading that may change the landscape of the test taking industry for admissions to our nation's MBA programs.
ETS's GRE exam vs GMAC's GMAT Exam
Just a few years ago business schools only looked at the GMAT exam for admissions consideration. The GRE exam was out of the picture as it was used by universities for consideration in graduate programs, not including the MBA.
In an effort to expand their reach of potential applicants, some top business schools are accepting GRE scores in addition to GMAT scores. Because the demographic of GRE test takers includes more liberal arts majors and females, the presence of the GRE in MBA admissions may contribute to diversity in the student body.
How do the two exams differ?
Well ETS is claiming that they test the same skills that the GMAT tests while the GMAC wants people to believe their GMAT exam is better at assessing students for academic success in business school. MIT, Stanford, the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins and Instituto De Empresa in Madrid are all jumping on the GRE bandwagon.
And now, a portion of Harvard called the 2+2 program is allowing both GMAT and GRE results beginning with the class of 2012. On their blog, Harvard announced: "Beginning with the class of 2012, HBS will accept both GMAT and GRE results. We think that both tests will provide adequate metrics of what a standardized test can tell us about a candidate. It will take a while for us to do a complete update of every reference to these tests on our website. In the meantime, please accept this as official notification of this change."
No wonder why the GMAT declared they are changing up the exam come 2013!
What will happen as a result? Well, here are a few topics and my predictions of what will happen.
In terms of who applies to business school, what will happen? Well, there are two trends that could take place.
1) A portion of those who originally were thinking of grad school in subjects like psychology, English, sociology, mathematics, and chemistry will now also consider business school.
2) Those who were going to take the GMAT, might consider taking the GRE instead.
With these trends, will the competition to enter America's top business schools get even more intense in coming years?
Admissions committees will set aside a smaller percentage dedicated to those who came from backgrounds such as investment banking and consulting. And a larger percentage will be allocated for less quantitatively intensive, but more creatively focused fields.
What about admissions acceptance rates?
The admissions acceptance rate will also go down as the number of spots stays the same but the number of applications go up. But if we subdivide applicants into sections of what their previous background is, I would say the competition will get stiffer for those already in quantitatively oriented fields while those in less traditional business fields will have a slight leg up over time.
Is the GMAC just going to sit there and let ETS enter their business school turf without doing anything?
Of course not! The GMAC has already announced they will be launching a next generation GMAT in 2013.
Personally, I believe business schools are starting to find the value of the GMAT is dwindling over the years for several reasons. One, recent cheating scandals involving websites posting live GMAT questions several years ago as well as news of professional GMAT test takers bypassing security to sit in on the test for several students have triggered alarm among business schools' perception of the GMAT test.
Also, the average GMAT test score has been going up and up-perhaps because of good prep programs ranging from Kaplan to The GMAT Pill Study Method as well as the availability of free prep material on the internet.
With these trends of average test scores going up and increasing security issues with GMAT questions, no wonder why business schools are hunting elsewhere-and for good reason. The GRE will increase the number of female applicants (almost all business schools have a 2:1 ratio of males to females) and help business schools better balance a diverse class. Moreover, the GRE arguably tests very similar concepts and may be a decent substitute.
There is still much to be decided in coming years. But a trend is happening. And there may be some significant changes to business school policies in coming years as a result.
Author Resource:
This text on GMAT Vs. GRE was authored by Zeke Lee, designer of the popular GMAT Test Prep program called the GMAT Pill Study Method. Known for its extraordinarily helpful On-Demand Videos featuring a unique thought process for the GMAT exam, the GMAT Pill is a relatively quick and painless solution for studying effectively.
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