Executive MBA: Which test to take for the application to business school

Not all Executive MBA (EMBA) programmes afford entry exams but if they do, applicants need to choose between the GMAT, the GRE, and the Executive Assessment (EA). Not every test suits everyone.

If EMBA courses ask for an entry exam, applicants can choose between three exams: the GMAT, the GRE and the Executive Assessment. A recent Business Because article summarized the differences between the tests.

Not all EMBA programmes ask for a test and some schools have preferences, and in these cases applicants should follow these wishes when deciding which tests to take. In general, most business schools accept and some also prefer the GMAT whilst many business programmes are open to the GRE as well now. Graduate programmes as well as law schools also often accept the GRE.

The Executive Assessment is a fairly new exam developed by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), that also administers the GMAT. The new test is very similar but shorter – 90 minutes versus 180 minutes. There are less questions and the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section is removed. There is also no geometry in the EA.

This could lead to the conclusion that the EA is easier to master and needs less preparation time but the EA puts more emphasis on the Integrated Reasoning section, Business Because reminds the reader.

In comparison you could argue a similar case for the GRE and say that it is also slightly easier than the GMAT. In terms of quantitative difficulty, the GMAT math is a bit harder than the GRE math according to Business Because. “The GMAT quant section asks you to apply math concepts in what can seem like tricky ways to test your logic and critical thinking. On the GRE, an understanding of direct math theory is usually enough to get the right answer,” the author Mark Skoskiewicz, founder of MyGuru, a provider of online EA exam tutoring, summarizes.

Students who are less strong verbally, however, might find the GRE harder than the GMAT as in the comprehension and critical reasoning part, the GRE focuses more on vocabulary and grammar than the GMAT. Both tests ask students to write an essay but whilst the GMAT has one essay, GRE test takers have to write about two topics – again a decisive difference between the tests that might feel easier for some and harder for others.