Is the GRE an easy exam?

[Gladiolus23]

How easy/hard is the GRE compared to the MCAT? I wasn't originally going to take it, but now might have in order to apply to some MPH programs during my gap year. However, I don't want to spend a lot of time studying for it, since my bulk of studying is focused on my April MCAT.

Can I study for the GRE for ~2-3 weeks and take it towards January ending and still get a good score? What is a good GRE score btw?

Also, do I need to report GRE scores to med schools? Will they ever know I took this exam?

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[Doug Underhill]

Personally, I did better on the MCAT, but the mentality I had approaching it was very different. I respected the MCAT a lot more due to its fearsome reputation and prepared much more.

 

[yeasureyoubetcha]

Personally, I did better on the MCAT, but the mentality I had approaching it was very different. I respected the MCAT a lot more due to its fearsome reputation and prepared much more.

Seconded

 

[Germanicus89]

I took both, the MCAT is way harder.

 

[Oncie]

I took both, the MCAT is way harder.

Why did you take both?

 

[Germanicus89]

Why did you take both?

So that I can brag to people about how many tests I've taken.

 

[Psai]

So that I can brag to people about how many tests I've taken.

you're in the right field

 

[Germanicus89]

Why did you take both?

But for real, I almost bent to the will of my PI and applied to grad school, but decided on med school instead. I'm glad I did.

 

[21Rush12]

I would say that yes, compared to MCAT the GRE is a breeze. I did nothing whatsoever to prepare and got 163V/155Q. Aside from the basic math there didn't seem to be much to know.

 

[gannicus89]

I studied for an hour the day before. Walked out with ~98 percentile in both sections. The GRE is a walk in the park compared to the MCAT.

 

[Gladiolus23]

I studied for an hour the day before. Walked out with ~98 percentile in both sections. The GRE is a walk in the park compared to the MCAT.

That's a great score! How did you do on the MCAT? Did you feel the GRE test or skills helped in any way for the MCAT?

 

[Gladiolus23]

In short: yes. My friends along with myself all registered for the test and studied for the 2 weeks leading up to the exam. It is a walk in the park compared to the MCAT. Also, the test is extremely similar to the SAT (written by the same company). And no, you don't have to report GRE scores to AMCAS, it is completely optional.

Edit: for MPH programs, a (very rough) good gre score is around 160 in both sections. For strictly comparisons sake, this would be the "30" of the MCAT.

So medical schools will never know I took the GRE exam? When would be a good idea to report GRE scores?

 

[Gladiolus23]

I would say that yes, compared to MCAT the GRE is a breeze. I did nothing whatsoever to prepare and got 163V/155Q. Aside from the basic math there didn't seem to be much to know.

Do you know what percentile that score would translate to?

 

[Link2]

Both the GRE and GRE Subject Tests are difficult. A direct comparison in terms of difficulty with the MCAT is meaningless since they test different things.

Do you know what percentile that score would translate to?

It is around the 92nd percentile for verbal reasoning and 60th percentile for quantitative reasoning.

 

[gannicus89]

That's a great score! How did you do on the MCAT? Did you feel the GRE test or skills helped in any way for the MCAT?

My overall was ~95th percentile and that was with ~ a month of prep. I can't study for too long. I'm working on that though. I know I could have done better if I had put in more effort over more time. I do not think the GRE test helped in any way, shape or form. Completely unrelated exams, completely different mindset when walking into it.

 

[tl3tc]

If you're wondering about percentile - score correlations:

https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/concordance_information.pdf

I'd agree that the MCAT (me: 31) is much harder than the GRE (me: 164V/160Q), but keep in mind that you're talking to a biased sample -- very intelligent people who are used to being in the top of their class. The GRE is no walk in the park when considered independently of the MCAT and the opinions of the very, very smart people on this site. That being said, you don't need to do anything as extreme as a prep class because a large amount of the information is either stuff you've already learned or things you can teach yourself. In other words, there won't be any organic chemistry. Personally, I'd recommended a good prep book (I went for Kaplan and it did me just fine) and a strict schedule. Ultimately, it's up to you to decide how much time you want to invest.

 

[familyaerospace]

GRE is easier. I've taken GRE three times and MCAT three times. I would rather take GRE again than MCAT again.

 

[moisne]

Well it's like the act or sat... Just some English, reading, and match (which I don't remember it being very hard - I don't think I even needed anything I learned in undergrad on that exam)

 

[Gladiolus23]

If you're wondering about percentile - score correlations:

https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/concordance_information.pdf

I'd agree that the MCAT (me: 31) is much harder than the GRE (me: 164V/160Q), but keep in mind that you're talking to a biased sample -- very intelligent people who are used to being in the top of their class. The GRE is no walk in the park when considered independently of the MCAT and the opinions of the very, very smart people on this site. That being said, you don't need to do anything as extreme as a prep class because a large amount of the information is either stuff you've already learned or things you can teach yourself. In other words, there won't be any organic chemistry. Personally, I'd recommended a good prep book (I went for Kaplan and it did me just fine) and a strict schedule. Ultimately, it's up to you to decide how much time you want to invest.

Thanks! So will going through one prep book be enough for GRE? I know for MCAT, we need to go through multiple prep books from different companies to practice as much as possible. But I'm hoping the GRE isn't that intense?

Also, how long did you need to study to get that GRE score?

 

[Gibbward]

GRE isn't anywhere to close to the difficulty of the MCAT. The "reading comprehension" was a joke compared to CARS. The only difficult part was the ridiculous vocab you had to know, but that really isn't even something you can realistically prepare for (unless you try to memorize a ton of greek/latin root words or something). The math is mostly just high school grade math. I had to relearn a lot of the geometry but even that is really easy.

I read through the princeton review GRE prep book one time and I thought I was fine. It really felt like reading through an SAT prep book. I tried a few passages on the online practice test just to get a sense of the format of it too, but that was it. Probably "studied" one week before my actual test, and got a 157V/163Q.

Honestly, when you read the test prep book, you'll realize how easy it is and how much more intense the MCAT is. Good luck!

 

[deleted407021]

My GF took the GRE for her DPT program and she prepped for about a week and did fine. She likened it to an "SAT for grown ups".

I studied for an average of 6 hours a day for 3 months in order to make a 510 on the MCAT. I would liken it to no other standardized test I've ever taken. I would actually predict my SO to do better on the MCAT than the GRE and certainly better than myself -- if she had the prereqs -- because I know she is more suited to the kinds of questions the MCAT asks. I've gathered that the GRE requires higher level thinking to a much lesser degree than the MCAT and for some people, that may be a boon.

 

[BamaNicole]

In my opinion, I wouldn't wish the GRE on my worst enemy

 

[tl3tc]

Thanks! So will going through one prep book be enough for GRE? I know for MCAT, we need to go through multiple prep books from different companies to practice as much as possible. But I'm hoping the GRE isn't that intense?

Also, how long did you need to study to get that GRE score?

Standardized tests don't come easy to me -- thus the discrepancy between my test scores and my GPA. I spent the summer after my senior year of college studying for the GRE: approximately 2.5 months, for three to four hours every weekday morning (like I said, strict schedule). I started studying at the beginning of August for my MCAT at the end of January through a very intensive program run by Altius Test Prep; basically, six days a week for roughly six months. (It should be noted that I hadn't taken 2/3 of my organic chemistry or physics pre-requisites prior to taking the MCAT, which may explain why I didn't do as well as one would expect with that time commitment.)

Going through one prep book should be fine -- the necessary information is more straightforward than the MCAT so everything you need to know will likely be included comprehensively in whatever book you choose. I agree with J Senpai's girlfriend, who called it the SAT for grown-ups. Basic trig, algebra, word association, literary interpretation, and certainly no calculus, physics, biology, psychology, sociology, chemistry, or biochemistry!

Feel free to PM me with any other questions you may have.

 

[lpath77]

I studied for an hour the day before. Walked out with ~98 percentile in both sections. The GRE is a walk in the park compared to the MCAT.

I know this thread is from three years ago, but I am thankful I found it! I took the MCAT on 8/31 and am thinking of taking the GRE soon as a backup plan if the medical route fails. I wasn't sure what to think because I didn't know much about the GRE, but after looking at the ETS site and then reading this thread I feel more confident that I can do well without studying my brains out like I did for the MCAT! Thank you all for the insight! I'm already so excited!