The ever-increasing global interest in graduate business degrees represents the heightening expectations employers have of new hires. Today’s companies are recruiting students fresh out of management school who demonstrate an adaptable and analytical mindset along with good time management and interpersonal skills. A firm expects an MBA graduate to take on a plethora of responsibilities and to be able to deal with pressure, something that a good MBA program trains its students to manage. Therefore, top business schools carefully sift through applications to select students who have the ability to thrive in a demanding MBA program.

Even before a student can enroll in a business program, they must meet certain admissions requirements which should include the submission of qualifying, standardized test scores as part of a holistic admissions process. As the most widely acknowledged objective measure of a student’s readiness for graduate-level work, the majority of premier business schools accept GRE^® General Test scores as part of their admissions process.

More than 1,300 business schools around the globe accept GRE^® test scores for their MBA programs. In India, 18 of the 20 top business schools accept GRE scores for various graduate degree programs, including Indian Institute of Management, Indian School of Business and Malaviya National Institute of Technology.[1] The utility of GRE scores during admissions substantially improves an applicant’s ability to showcase their graduate-level readiness and gain admission into the graduate or professional program of their dreams in their home country or abroad.

Research shows that the GRE test is a trusted indicator of a student’s academic preparedness for graduate-level work — the first step toward a graduate career. The skills measured by the GRE test — verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing — closely reflect the kind of thinking and skills needed to succeed in today's demanding graduate and business programs.

The GRE test is available at more than 1,000 test centers in over 160 countries on a continuous basis throughout the year. The test can also be taken at home worldwide with the exception of Iran and Mainland China. In an unprecedented move to mitigate the disruption caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) and meet the needs of students who are unable to take the GRE test at a test center due to public health concerns, ETS was the first in the market to launch a GRE General Test at Home solution. Available as an ongoing service, the GRE General Test at Home is identical in content, format, on-screen experience, scoring and pricing to the GRE test taken at a test center. The test enjoys the same global acceptance and flexibility which adds to its overall appeal for Indian students pursuing higher education goals during and after the pandemic.

The utility of GRE scores during admissions substantially improves an applicant’s ability to showcase their graduate-level readiness and gain admission into the graduate or professional program of their dreams

To protect and strengthen the integrity of the GRE General Test at Home, security measures include AI technology and live human monitoring through ProctorU^®. The GRE General Test at Home employs internet security protocols used by major financial institutions for secure transmissions, including state-of-the-art encryption for essential communications and detection software. In addition, the live human proctor not only reviews the test taker’s documents but also administers a comprehensive security check. Through these stringent security practices, ETS ensures a fair and valid assessment of the knowledge and skills of test takers worldwide.

So how should prospective test takers approach preparation for the GRE test and what considerations must they address when applying to top-tier business programs?

• Applicants should be aware of business program admissions requirements so they can help gauge their chances of obtaining admission based on their application package including their GRE scores.
• Applicants should know the target business program application timeframes and other requirements.
• Applicants should utilize the two free POWERPREP^® Online practice tests and other test preparation information available from ETS which provide test takers with sample test questions, information and various resources to help them prepare for the exam.

As time passes, advanced degrees will become the norm among global workforces. Increasingly, prospective test takers are realizing the value that the GRE test offers and how strong scores can be critical to their trajectory from their graduate school career to ultimately their professional opportunities. Indian students can leverage their GRE scores to help them demonstrate their graduate school readiness to gain admissions into reputed business institutions around the globe which can lead to many wonderful opportunities in their lives and future careers.