Comments on: Standardized Test Costs: GMAT, MCAT, LSAT, GRE

By: Ed Hoffmann

Ed Hoffmann — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 03:16:58 +0000

I think they all charge as much as they do because they can. Yes, there is some supply and demand, and it is expensive to design and administer standardized tests, but I don't think they can justify their price.

I took the GRE, and thought it was pretty easy (after engineering school and eight years in industry). But I definitely thought my work experience should be weighed a lot heavier than the GRE.

By: Anon

Anon — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:39:34 +0000

I do not envy you having to oay big bucks for these tests, but another thing to consider. It takes MANY millions of dollars to develop these tests to make sure that they really do what school's want them to do. Part of why tests may cost more or less probably has to do with how much they cost to develop and how many people take the test (more people = lower cost). But really, I think trying to compare these tests is apples and oranges…they're similar, but too different to really compare side by side.

By: @amarantac

@amarantac — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:37:25 +0000

The MCAT is now about 5 hours long (with breaks), it switched from being 8 hours when it went from paper format to computer in 2007.

By: WellHeeled

WellHeeled — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:45:44 +0000

I took the GMAT. Like you said, the GRE is still a newcomer on the bschool admissions front, and I didn't want to take a risk with a test that might not be viewed in the same light.

By: debt ninja

debt ninja — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:57:30 +0000

true story, I took the MCAT. It was my least favorite way to spend $200 ever. .-= debt ninja´s last blog ..“Good debt” is for dumb people =-.

By: Investing Newbie

Investing Newbie — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:05:23 +0000

I actually just found out that number 1 choice for B-School accepts the GRE. I almost did a double take when I saw the $100 discount. However, my fear is that they will be weighed differently.

I had a part-time position in my school's admission's office and I know for a fact that the ACTs and the SAT's aren't weighed the same. A low score on the ACT counts for more against you than a lower score on the SATs. Given that the GMAT was designed to test how a student will fare in Business School (and I don't doubt it, that test is ridic) and the GRE wasn't, I could imagine that a similar thing will happen – an average score on the GMAT will probably not hurt as much as an average score on the GRE.

What have you decided to do? I'm playing it safe and taking the GMATs.