Thinking of a European MBA? Find Out if You Should Take the GMAT or GRE! The question of whether applicants to European b-schools should take the GMAT or GRE was addressed in our most recent Q&A – 2014 Virtual Panel: Exploring European B-Schools with IMD, London Business School and INSEAD – as well as many other topics, including the length of different programs, program updates, career opportunities, diversity, and more.
See the following excerpt for a look into the GMAT/GRE question:
Linda Abraham: Do you accept the GRE?
Pejay Belland: Yes, we do.
Lisa Piguet: Yes, we do accept it. We do but we prefer the GMAT just because we find that it’s more – it’s a better predictor of success in the MBA. But we do accept it.
Linda Abraham: Okay, fair enough. That’s good to know.
Oliver Ashby: We only accept the GMAT for the MBA program. And what I’d say is, if you do, I generally believe you do on all career and in top-tier management consulting. You need to take the GMAT.
Lisa Piguet: Yes. And Oli, that’s actually a really good point because I was on another chat today with something else and somebody else asked that question. And I brought that point up, that if you want to do top-tier management consulting, they will ask for your GMAT score, not GRE.
Linda Abraham: They will have to take the GMAT.
Lisa Piguet: And I think that’s also true for investment banking and at least financial…and even some industrial-type companies, even like Google and some of those top-tier companies now are starting to ask for GMAT scores. Yes, so not GRE. It’s because they’re getting so many applications. It’s one way of weeding people out. So it’s the GMAT that they’re wanting now.
Linda Abraham: I didn’t know that. And I would think that with the IR, the consulting firms, they’re going to start wanting it even more.
Lisa Piguet: Yes, exactly. Yes, that’s a good point, Oli. I forgot about that.
Read through the full 2014 Virtual Panel: Exploring European B-Schools with IMD, London Business School and INSEAD transcript or listen to the audio for more information on applying to b-school in Europe! You can also listen to this Q&A recording (and others) on-the-go when you download the Accepted Admissions Podcast.
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