1,300+
Business programs globally
~200
Almost entirely within India
260–340
Verbal + Quant (ETS)
GRE vs CAT: do they even compete for the same goal?
The Common Admission Test (CAT), conducted annually by the IIMs, is India's premier MBA entrance exam. It determines admission to all 20 IIMs, as well as roughly 200 other Indian business schools. CAT scores are not accepted by any major international business school outside India.
The GRE General Test, administered by ETS, is accepted by over 1,300 business programs globally and has become an increasingly viable alternative to the GMAT at schools like Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, INSEAD, and London Business School. If you want an MBA outside India, the GRE (or GMAT) is your route — CAT is not.
Where things get interesting is for students who haven't decided between IIM and an overseas MBA. In that scenario, a strategic dual-exam approach — CAT for domestic optionality, GRE for global optionality — is worth considering, though both require substantial dedicated preparation.
Which top MBA programs accept GRE vs CAT?
| Program | GRE | GMAT | CAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard Business School | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| MIT Sloan | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Wharton (UPenn) | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| London Business School | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| INSEAD | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| ISB Hyderabad | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ (PGP) |
| IIM Ahmedabad | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| IIM Bangalore | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
Sources: Individual school admissions pages, verified May 2025. ISB PGP accepts CAT; ISB PGPpro requires GMAT/GRE.
How the GRE and CAT compare in content and difficulty
CAT has three sections: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). The Quantitative section of CAT is widely considered harder than GRE Quant — it goes deeper into number theory, arithmetic, and combinatorics without an on-screen calculator. GRE Quant provides a calculator and focuses on a broader but less deep set of topics.
GRE Verbal is harder than CAT VARC for most Indian students. CAT VARC is in English but tests reading comprehension, para-jumbles, and odd-sentence-out in a format many Indian students have practiced extensively. GRE Verbal adds advanced vocabulary questions (Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence) using words that are rarely encountered in standard Indian schooling.
GRE Quant is easier than CAT Quant — strategically useful
Students who have prepared seriously for CAT QA often find GRE Quant straightforward. A 99th percentile CAT student who also prepares GRE Verbal can realistically target a 330+ GRE composite, which is competitive for top global MBA programs. The asymmetry works in your favour: your CAT prep gives you a head start on the harder part of the GRE.
Strategic advice: when to sit GRE alongside or instead of CAT
If you're in your final year of a bachelor's degree and are undecided between an IIM and a top global MBA, a practical approach is to take CAT in November (the standard annual window) and sit the GRE either in the October–November period (if your target schools allow deferred admission with GRE) or after CAT results in January, when you have clarity on your IIM outcomes.
Most top international MBA programs require 2–5 years of work experience before applying. This gives you time post-graduation to decide: if you want an IIM MBA immediately, use your CAT score. If you're accumulating work experience toward a global MBA in your late 20s, the GRE (or GMAT) is the right prep project, and you have time to do it well.
One school that sits at the intersection is ISB Hyderabad. ISB accepts both CAT (for its 1-year PGP) and GMAT/GRE (for both PGP and PGPpro). With a global AACSB-accredited MBA and strong placement, ISB is increasingly a direct competitor to one-year programs at LBS and INSEAD for Indian candidates.
See where your GRE score ranks for MBA admissions
Use our free GRE percentile calculator to convert your Verbal and Quant scores to national percentiles — and benchmark against admitted students at Harvard, Wharton, and MIT Sloan.
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