Whereas, in the past, the GMAT was the only standardized test accepted by MBA programs, currently, many business schools accept both the GMAT and the GRE. As a result, prospective MBA applicants often wonder how the two tests compare. In particular, many wonder about GMAT Quant versus GRE Quant with regard to how they differ and which is harder.
So, in this article, I’m going to compare the Quantitative Reasoning sections of the GMAT and the GRE, discussing how they are similar, how they are different, and the relative difficulty of the two.
Here are the topics we’ll cover:
- First Things First
- How the GMAT and GRE Quant Sections Are Similar
- The Format of the GMAT Quant vs. GRE Quant Section
- The Differences Between GMAT and GRE Quant Questions
- Calculator Use: GRE Quant vs. GMAT Quant
- Is GRE Quant Easier Than GMAT Quant?
- Summary: GMAT Quant vs. GRE Quant
- What’s Next?
First Things First
Before exploring the differences between the GMAT and GRE Quant sections, you should make sure the decision between the GMAT and the GRE is yours to make! There are a couple of situations in which your only good option will be the GMAT. So, it’s best to consider those up front.
One of those situations is at the front end of the MBA process, in admissions. There is still a chance that one of your target graduate programs won’t take the GRE.
The other situation is at the back end, after business school. Some post-MBA employers use GMAT test scores in hiring. Unlike business schools, those companies haven’t yet warmed up to the GRE. Yes, it’s tough to know years in advance where you’ll be seeking a post-MBA job. All the same, if you’re considering a career in an industry such as investment banking or consulting, you may want to play it safe by taking the GMAT.
KEY FACT:
There are situations in which your only good option will be the GMAT, and taking the GRE won’t make sense.
Having gotten the question of whether the GRE is even an option out of the way, let’s begin comparing the Quant sections of the GMAT and the GRE by discussing how they are similar.
How the GMAT and GRE Quant Sections Are Similar
The GMAT and the GRE are both standardized tests of general skills required for success in graduate school. So, it’s not surprising that the Quantitative (and Verbal) sections of the two tests are rather similar in multiple ways.
One clue indicating how the two Quant sections are similar is that the full name of both of them is “Quantitative Reasoning.” This name fits the fact that the Quant sections of the two tests are not really tests of math knowledge. Rather, they are tests of skill in reasoning mathematically.
Accordingly, both GMAT Quant and GRE Quant involve only high school math concepts and don’t involve any advanced math such as trigonometry or calculus. In fact, the pools of math topics of the two tests are similar. You can view the official GMAT topic list here at the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) website and compare that list to the GRE’s, which you’ll find here at the Educational Testing Service (ETS) site.
Also, both tests expect you to work smart rather than hard. In other words, they don’t test how good you are at handling cumbersome calculations or deciphering complex mathematical expressions. Rather, they test skill in noticing implications of mathematical information and finding efficient paths to answers.
KEY FACT:
Both GMAT Quant and GRE Quant are mainly tests of mathematical reasoning skills.
Now that we understand how the two Quant sections are similar, let’s discuss how they are different, beginning with the formats of the sections.
The Format of the GMAT Quant vs. GRE Quant Section
The differences between the Quant sections of the GRE and GMAT begin with differences between the formats of the sections.
Different Numbers of Questions
For starters, the sections have different numbers of questions.
GMAT Quant has one section composed of 31 questions.
GRE Quant is made up of two sections, the first with 12 questions and the second with 15 questions
Question-Adaptive vs. Section-Adaptive
The most significant difference between the formats of the two Quant sections is the difference between the tests’ “adaptiveness.” An adaptive test is a test that adapts in accordance with the performance of the test-taker. The GMAT and GRE Quant sections adapt in different ways.
GMAT Quant is question-adaptive. In other words, the GMAT chooses the difficulty of each question a test-taker sees on the basis of the test-taker’s performance on previous questions. Basically, if you get a question incorrect, the GMAT presents an easier question. If you get a question correct, the test presents a harder one.
In contrast, GRE Quant is section-adaptive. In other words, the GRE chooses the difficulty of the second, 15-question Quant section on the basis of the test-taker’s performance on the first, 12-question Quant section. If you get many questions correct in the first Quant section, the second Quant section will be a hard section. If you get fewer questions correct, the second Quant section will be a medium section or an easy section.
KEY FACT:
GMAT Quant is question-adaptive, while GRE Quant is section-adaptive.
The fact that the two tests are adaptive in different ways affects how the tests work and how we handle the questions. Let’s discuss how.
The GMAT: One Shot at Each Question
Since the GMAT Quant section is question-adaptive, it can give you questions to answer only after you have answered the previous questions. As a result, the GMAT can give you only one shot at answering each question. You see a question once, answer it, and move on to the next question.
So, you can’t go back and re-attempt earlier questions, because your previous results already went into determining what question you’re seeing currently. Similarly, you can’t skip forward or jump around. After all, the test doesn’t even know what questions you’ll see until you answer the one you’re on. The only thing you can do is go through the questions one at a time, getting just one shot at each one.
KEY FACT:
The GMAT will give you one shot at each question. You can’t skip questions, nor can you go back to a question for a second try.
The GRE: Freedom of Choice Within Each Section
Since the GRE is section-adaptive, it picks the questions in each section all at once. Having picked out every question in any given section in advance, the GRE algorithm does not perform any further “adaptive” calculations during the sections. As a result, you are able to jump around among all 12 or 15 questions as you please.
So, within each of the two GRE Quant sections, you can skip questions, return to questions you’ve already seen, or attempt questions in any order you want.
KEY FACT:
Within each Quant section on the GRE, you can skip questions, return to questions you’ve already tried, or attempt questions in any order you want.
What Are the Consequences of the Quantitative Section Formats?
You can adapt your overall time-management plan for each Quant section to suit the test you’re taking. For the GMAT, you’ll prepare to do the most you can with your one shot at each problem. In contrast, for the GRE, you can plan to take advantage of the freedom you’ll have to move around in a section.
TTP PRO TIP:
For GMAT Quant, learn to do the most with your one shot at answering each question. For GRE Quant, learn to take advantage of the ability to choose the order in which you answer questions.
The GMAT and GRE Quantitative sections also differ in how individual questions work. Let’s discuss these differences.
The Differences Between GMAT and GRE Quant Questions
The Quant questions on the GMAT and GRE are different in a few ways. One is that the formats of the questions are different.
GMAT Quant vs. GRE Quant Question Formats
The GMAT Quant section has two kinds of questions:
- Problem Solving
- Data Sufficiency
All of the questions in the Quant section of the GMAT are multiple-choice questions with five answer choices.
The GRE Quant section has four main kinds of questions:
- Multiple-choice — Select One Answer Choice
- Multiple-choice — Select One or More Answer Choices
- Numeric Entry
- Quantitative Comparison
Some of the multiple-choice questions in the GRE Quant section are similar to GMAT Problem Solving questions. To answer them, you solve a problem and choose one of five choices.
GRE Numeric Entry questions are unlike any GMAT questions in that Numeric Entry questions require you to type in your own answer. Still, since Numeric Entry questions are a form of problem solving questions, answering them is not extremely different from answering GMAT Problem Solving questions.
One significant way GRE Quant is different from GMAT Quant is that GRE Quant always includes a handful of Data Interpretation questions, whereas few GMAT Quant questions involve data interpretation. GRE Data Interpretation questions involve using information presented in graph, chart, or table form. On the GMAT, such questions are found mostly in the Integrated Reasoning section, which is separate from Quant section.
Another significant difference between the questions on the two tests is that Geometry problems come up more than twice as often on the GRE as on the GMAT. So, if you’re a big-time visual learner, or just a geometry whiz, you may like the GRE.
Perhaps the most noticeable difference between the formats of GMAT and GRE Quant questions is that GMAT Quant includes Data Sufficiency questions, whereas GRE Quant has Quantitative Comparison questions. So, let’s discuss the differences between these question types.
GMAT Data Sufficiency vs. GRE Quantitative Comparison
Data Sufficiency and Quantitative Comparisons questions generally make up a little over a third of the questions on GMAT Quant and GRE Quant, respectively. Thus, the differences between these two types of questions cause the two Quant sections to be quite different.
GMAT Data Sufficiency questions ask you to determine whether a question can be answered with information provided by two statements. In other words, to answer a Data Sufficiency question, you need to determine whether you have sufficient information.
On the other hand, GRE Quantitative Comparison questions ask you to determine which of two values is greater.
We can quickly see that these two tasks are quite different. Also, it’s not too hard to see which type of question is trickier to answer. While Quantitative Comparison questions can be challenging, they typically require simply using mathematical concepts to compare values. In contrast, determining whether the statements in Data Sufficiency questions provide sufficient information often requires abstract reasoning that goes beyond the scope of what we normally use for answering math questions.
So, GMAT Data Sufficiency questions are both more difficult and more out of the box than GRE Quantitative Comparison questions. As a result, the differences between these two types of questions tend to make the GMAT Quant section a bit more difficult than the GRE Quant section.
KEY FACT:
The differences between GMAT Data Sufficiency questions and GRE Quantitative Comparison questions make GMAT Quant somewhat more difficult than GRE Quant.
Meanwhile, there are some general aspects of GMAT math versus GRE math that make GMAT Quant different from GRE Quant. Let’s discuss.
Different Types of Goals
The GMAT is exclusively a test for business-school applicants and is administered mostly to future executives.
Business execs don’t typically deep-dive into the fine-grain details of a workflow. An executive’s job is, instead, to think on the big-picture level while delegating more detailed assignments out to specialized teams of employees. The GMAT Quantitative section actually reflects these qualities.
For instance, often, answering a Data Sufficiency question doesn’t require finding the solution to the question posed. Rather, you’ll be able to determine that the information provided is sufficient or insufficient for finding the solution without actually arriving at the solution. In Data Sufficiency, you’re DONE at that point! You don’t need to keep going, just as a business executive delegates detail work rather than doing it personally.
The GRE doesn’t offer any real equivalent of this shortened workload. Quantitative Comparison questions are somewhat similar to Data Sufficiency questions, but Quantitative Comparison problems often require performing the last few steps of a solution.
KEY FACT:
The goals of GMAT Quant questions and GRE Quant questions are different because the GMAT Quant section reflects the nature of an executive’s job.
Also, while the two tests share almost the same pool of math concepts, they test those ideas quite differently. Both the journey and the destination, so to speak, diverge in the questions on the GMAT and GRE. Let’s discuss how.
The Journey: Well-Trodden Paths vs. Crossing the Wilderness
In middle and high school math classes, homework usually consists of large numbers of extremely similar problems. It’s not unusual for the solution process to be exactly the same, step by step, for every problem. Accordingly, you probably came away thinking of those well-worn processes as “standard.”
As an example, consider systems of two equations in two variables. When you learned those, you probably used the same method, over and over, across an entire assignment. And there is absolutely no doubt that you solved for the two individual variables—every single time. No problem would change it up and ask you for, say, the value of x + 2y rather than x and y individually.
The GMAT and GRE diverge on the question of whether to simply continue these “traditions.”
The GRE Mostly Follows the Well-Manicured Path
Quantitative problems on the GRE tend to stick closer to the familiar paths you took through homework problems in school.
Consider the process of solving problems about, say, equations of lines in coordinate geometry. The well-worn homework path through such problems practically always runs through the same hub: the slope-intercept form y = mx + b. Whatever pieces of starting information you’re given, you use them to work out the slope-intercept equation for your line. From there, you proceed to the solution, typically by plugging a different value into your newfound formula.
If you get a GRE math problem about equations of lines, there is a good chance it will work in exactly this way.
The same idea holds for GRE problems about other topics. In problems about mean or median values, you’ll usually know (or find) the whole set of numerical data points. Area problems in geometry will typically revolve around plugging into standard area formulas—and so on for other topics.
Thus, it’s possible to become relatively strong in GRE Quant by studying and memorizing in ways similar to how you studied for high school math.
TTP PRO TIP:
GRE Quantitative problems often work in basically the same way as schoolbook problems on the same topic.
The GMAT Takes the Road Less Traveled
The GMAT distinguishes itself by straying from the well-worn paths you took through math problems in school.
For example, you may get an ordinary-looking multiple-choice problem about equations of lines, but something about it will diverge from the traditional path through y = mx + b and into plugging values. Maybe m will end up as an expression in terms of b, instead of m and b just being two numbers. Perhaps you won’t be able to find b at all but won’t care because the goal is simply to find the slope. Or you might get a vertical line, which doesn’t have a slope or a y-intercept. The possible twists are almost limitless. The only thing that is virtually certain is that you won’t just follow the same steps you did in school.
The same goes for mean and median problems. Seldom will you end up working with a whole set of definite numerical values. Instead, you might, for example, get a set of mostly unknown data points whose values are impossible to find—but for which you can still work out the mean or median, because of some fact about the data set as a whole. Again, what is almost certain is that you’ll veer off the well-trodden path somewhere.
As a result, effective GMAT Quant test prep is somewhat different from studying for high school math. To prepare for GMAT Quant, you have to emphasize developing skill in picking up on the twists of questions and in using relatively sophisticated reasoning to arrive at correct answers.
TTP PRO TIP:
Most GMAT Quantitative problems will diverge from their schoolbook counterparts. They’ll have a novel solution process, a non-standard goal, or both.
One more major difference between the GMAT and GRE Quant sections involves calculator use. Let’s discuss.
Calculator Use: GRE Quant vs. GMAT Quant
A clear difference between GRE Quant and GMAT Quant is that the GRE allows the use of an embedded calculator, whereas you’re not allowed to use a calculator at all for GMAT Quant. However, this difference isn’t as important as it may seem.
With regard to the GRE, the calculator won’t help you solve most of the Quant questions faster. The GRE calculator is useful only in a handful of cases in which questions involve difficult computations, such as division of large numbers or calculation of square roots.
Meanwhile, since GMAT Quant emphasizes mathematical reasoning, there is no need for a calculator for answering GMAT questions. Some questions may seem to require use of a calculator. However, a GMAT Quant question that appears to require cumbersome calculations is actually testing your skill in analyzing what is going on in the question and applying math knowledge to arrive at the correct answer.
So, the ability to use a calculator to answer GRE Quant questions doesn’t actually make much difference.
KEY FACT:
You can use a calculator for answering GRE Quant questions but not for GMAT Quant questions. However, this difference between the tests is not as important as it may seem.
Let’s wrap up our discussion by answering the question of which is more difficult, GMAT Quant or GRE Quant.
Is GRE Quant Easier Than GMAT Quant?
Both GRE Quant and GMAT Quant are challenging. At the same time, as we have seen in comparing the two tests, GRE Quant is easier than GMAT Quant for a few reasons.
For one thing, the formats of the two Quant sections make GRE Quant easier. Because GRE Quant is section-adaptive, many of the questions you see on GRE Quant are of easy or medium difficulty regardless of how many you’re getting correct. On GMAT Quant, in contrast, once you get several questions correct, the difficulty of the questions quickly ramps up. Also, the fact that you can skip around and return to questions on the GRE but not on the GMAT makes GRE Quant a little easier.
Meanwhile, the fact that GRE Quant questions are more straightforward than GMAT Quant questions and more similar to what you saw in high school math makes GRE Quant a bit easier to master.
That said, the fact that GRE Quant is easier doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s easier to achieve a standout GRE Quant score than to achieve a standout GMAT Quant score. After all, GRE Quant is easier for most test-takers. As a result, the percentage of test-takers who score in the upper score ranges on GRE Quant is greater than the percentage of test-takers who achieve such scores on GMAT Quant.
Meanwhile, schools know that GRE Quant is a little easier and compare your score with other applicants’ scores on the same test. So, it’s not necessarily easier to achieve a GRE Quant score that helps your application stand out than a GMAT Quant score that does.
KEY FACT:
GRE Quant is a little easier than GMAT Quant. However, taking the GRE won’t necessarily help you achieve a standout Quant score.
Let’s now sum up what we’ve discussed.
Summary: GMAT Quant vs. GRE Quant
In comparing GMAT Quant and GRE Quant, here is what we’ve found.
- GMAT Quant and GRE Quant are similar in that they are both more tests of mathematical reasoning than tests of math knowledge.
- Whereas GMAT Quant has 31 questions in one section, GRE Quant has a total of 27 questions in two sections.
- GMAT Quant is question-adaptive, whereas GRE Quant is section-adaptive.
- On the GMAT, you have one shot at each question, whereas on the GRE, you can skip around and return to questions you have seen.
- Some GMAT and GRE Quant questions are similar in format, but there are some types of questions that appear on each test that don’t appear on the other.
- The most significant difference between the formats of GMAT and GRE Quant questions is that between GMAT Data Sufficiency questions and GRE Quantitative Comparison questions.
- Solving GRE Quant questions tends to be similar to solving high school math problems, whereas GMAT Quant questions tend to require picking up on unique, nontraditional twists.
- GRE Quant allows use of a calculator, while GMAT Quant does not, but this difference is not as significant as it may seem.
- Because of differences between their overall formats and the styles of their questions, GRE Quant is a little easier than GMAT Quant.
What’s Next?
Now that you better understand the difference between GMAT Quant and GRE Quant, you can learn more about the two tests from this post on the GMAT versus the GRE and which one is better for you.
