Business school applicants have more options when it comes to submitting test scores for Masters of Business Administration (MBA) programs. A new survey from Kaplan Test Prep of 204 schools found that 85% of MBA degree programs allow students to submit scores from the Graduate Record Examination, or GRE, in place of the more common standardized assessment for business applicants known as the Graduate Management Admission Test, or GMAT.
A Growing Trend
In the past, the GMAT was viewed as the superior test for MBA candidates. As recently as 2009, only 24% of programs accepted the GRE in place of GMAT, according to Kaplan's survey. Now, 78% say they view both tests as acceptable.
Despite this change from MBA programs, many students are sticking with the GMAT, Kaplan explains. The majority of admissions officers surveyed by Kaplan said that less than 10% of applicants submitted GRE scores with their application in the place of the GMAT. Some schools do see more value in the GMAT, as 18% of programs surveyed said they give an advantage to GMAT scores over those from the GRE.
Over the past five years, the GRE has increasingly become more acceptable for MBA programs, Brian Carlidge, Kaplan Test Prep executive director of pre-business and pre-graduate programs, says in a press release. Despite this, he advises applicants to contact the program before sending their scores.
"Our advice to prospective MBAs is if all the business schools they plan to apply to accept the GRE in addition to the GMAT, then contact those schools and find out if they have a preference for one exam over the other," Carlidge explains. "We also advise students to take the GMAT if some of the schools to which they intend on applying do not accept the GRE. While the GRE is widely accepted, the only exam that is universally accepted is the GMAT."
Nontraditional Students Aren't Represented by GRE Scores
A recent study form the University of Missouri found that typical measures of future success, like the GRE and an undergraduate grade point average are not as helpful for predicting nontraditional students' success as with other students, according to the University Herald. Nontraditional students include those who spend several years working between undergraduate and graduate school.
For example, if an applicant has spent years in the workforce, he or she may not be practiced at writing and do poorly on that section of the GRE. The study looked at Master of Public Administration students both straight out of undergraduate programs and the workforce, finding that the GRE and GPA were only predictive for those going directly to graduate school.