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Most candidates start studying before they've decided what they're studying for.
They pick a test because a friend took it, because a coaching center pitched it, or because it's "what everyone does." Three months in, they realize their strengths fit the other exam, or that they didn't need the score at all. By then, an application cycle is gone.
The GradBrew Test Strategy Session exists to prevent exactly this. One hour with a top scorer or expert mentor, before you buy a prep book, to decide three things: whether you need a score, which test fits you, and what target makes sense for your school list.
Here's how we think about it.
Plenty of schools have made test scores "optional." Very few have made them irrelevant. In practice, a strong score still functions as a soft filter at almost every top program. It carries the most weight for the candidates who need it most: those with lower GPAs, non-traditional academic backgrounds, or degrees from less globally recognized institutions.
A test score is the cleanest way to prove academic rigor when your transcript cannot do it alone. We have seen candidates with average profiles get into excellent schools because their scores were strong. We have also seen the reverse, where solid profiles fell short because the score was not there to back them up.
Scores are not everything. But pretending they do not matter is wishful thinking.
There are real waiver paths, especially for specialized Masters programs. Many MFin programs will waive the GMAT or GRE requirement if you hold a CFA Level 1, 2, or 3. Some accept FRM, actuarial credentials, or strong quantitative work experience in place of a test score.
One of our recent clients (BBA LLB, CFA Level 1, 7.2 GPA, 22 months of work experience) secured admits at LBS MFin, SKEMA MFin, EDHEC MFin, and UCD MFin with a test waiver. No GMAT, no GRE. A strong waiver-eligible profile, presented well, did the job.
For MBA and MiM, true waivers are rarer, but optional-test policies have expanded. The honest question is not "can I skip it?" It is "will skipping it hurt my chances at the schools I actually want?" That answer depends on your profile, your school list, and recent admit data for those programs. It is exactly what a strategy session sorts out.
The classic GMAT no longer exists. Since 2024, the only version available is the test formerly known as the GMAT Focus Edition, now simply called the GMAT. It is scored 205 to 805, has three sections (Quantitative, Verbal, and Data Insights), has no essay, and runs about 2 hours 15 minutes. M7 admits typically target roughly 705 and above. T25 admits cluster around 655 and above.
The GRE uses a 260 to 340 scale, still includes an Analytical Writing section, and is accepted by virtually every MBA and Masters program globally, including all M7 schools, who officially treat both tests equally.
The choice between them comes down to where your strengths sit.
The GMAT rewards structured, analytical reasoning. The Quant is denser and more puzzle-driven. The Data Insights section specifically tests the kind of thinking business schools want to see. If you think in frameworks and enjoy logic problems, the GMAT often plays to your strengths.
The GRE has friendlier Quant. The math itself is easier, even though the questions can be tricky. The catch is Verbal. It leans hard on vocabulary, and realistically, scoring well means learning several thousand words. If you are a strong reader and willing to grind flashcards, the GRE can swing in your favor.
There is no universally easier test. There is only the test that fits your cognitive style. The only way to know is a short diagnostic on each.
For candidates applying to undergraduate programs abroad, the SAT plays a similar role to what GMAT and GRE play at the graduate level. It signals academic readiness, especially when your board exam scores or school grading system are unfamiliar to admissions committees in the US, UK, or Singapore.
Many US universities went test-optional during the pandemic, and some have stayed that way. Others, including several Ivy League schools, have reinstated the requirement. Acceptance and weighting of the SAT shifts year to year, so the right move is to confirm policy for each school on your list rather than assume.
A test strategy session for undergrad applicants focuses on three questions: Is the SAT required or beneficial for your target schools? What score range is realistic given your current academic performance? And how should the SAT fit into a broader application timeline that also includes essays, recommendations, and extracurriculars?
For Indian candidates also preparing for IIMs, CAT often comes up: "I am preparing anyway, can I use my CAT score abroad?"
The short answer: only at a narrow set of schools, and usually not the ones you are imagining.
A handful of French institutions, including ESCP and several SAI-affiliated schools, accept CAT scores for Masters in Management and similar programs. Beyond that, recognition drops off quickly. There is also a validity problem. CAT scores expire after one year, while GMAT and GRE scores stay valid for five.
Here is the part most coaching centers will not say out loud. Some of our mentors will tell you CAT is genuinely harder than the GMAT or GRE. The percentile cutoffs at top IIMs are brutal. And yet, a 98 percentile CAT score is often weighed lower by global admissions committees than a GMAT 615, because they have decades of calibration on GMAT and GRE percentiles and very little on CAT.
If your goal is to study abroad, prepare for the test the world reads fluently. CAT can be a fallback or a parallel option, but it should not be your primary play.
Here is something most candidates do not realize until they are already on campus. Your GMAT or GRE score does not stop mattering after you get in.
Top investment banks and consulting firms routinely ask for standardized test scores during recruiting. McKinsey, BCG, and Bain have asked for GMAT scores on candidate resumes for years. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and other front office banking roles often do the same. At many firms, there is an informal floor, often around the 700 mark on the GMAT, that helps your resume clear the first screen.
This matters most for career switchers. If you are pivoting into consulting or finance and your work experience is in a different field, a strong test score becomes one of the few unambiguous signals that you can handle the analytical load. It can be the difference between getting an interview and getting filtered out.
Treat your GMAT or GRE as a two-stage asset. Stage one gets you the admit. Stage two helps you land the job.
This is the part of the conversation most consultants avoid: not everyone is a test taker.
If you have put in genuine effort across one or two attempts and the score is not moving, the right move is often to stop. There are schools where a strong profile compensates for a softer score. There are programs with optional-test policies you can use strategically. There are alternative credentials that make the score moot.
What you should not do is burn another year, or miss another application round, chasing a number that may not be in your range. Two attempts, an honest assessment, then a decision: keep going, switch tests, or build the application around your other strengths.
This is one of the most common places we see candidates lose time. A mentor who has actually been through this can tell you the difference between "you are 30 points away with a clear path" and "you have hit your ceiling, let us pivot."
One hour. With a top scorer or expert mentor who has been to the schools you are targeting. We use it to answer four questions.
First, do you need a test score at all? Given your profile, target schools, and any waiver eligibility (CFA, work experience, undergraduate rigor), is testing the highest-leverage use of your time?
Second, which test fits you? A quick diagnostic conversation on your strengths, your verbal versus quant balance, and your timeline tells us whether GMAT, GRE, SAT, or CAT is most likely to give you a competitive score.
Third, what is your realistic target? Not the M7 median pulled from a school's website, but the score you need given the rest of your application and your target programs.
Fourth, how long should you give it? A prep timeline with a clear stop point, so you do not drift into a third or fourth attempt without a plan.
We do not run GMAT or GRE coaching ourselves. When you need test prep, we connect you with partners we trust, and those partnerships evolve over time, so we will always recommend based on current fit, not on any commercial bias. The goal of the session is unbiased guidance. That is it.
Standardized tests are stressful, but they are also smaller than they feel in the middle of prep. A score is one input among many, and the world has more options than any single number.
If you are staring at a GMAT prep book wondering whether you should even be opening it, that is exactly the moment to book a session. One hour now can save you months later, and the right test choice can change everything that follows.