Graduate & Professional School Admissions Newsletter

Entrance exams and tests are a requirement for many graduate and professional schools. However, COVID-19 has changed how these are administered and how they are used by institutions. In this issue of the Doing College Grad School Newsletter, I discuss the four major standardized tests: the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT. I talk about what they are, which are required by what kinds of schools, what scores to aim for, and how COVID-19 has changed how these tests are administered and used.

Grad School Entrance Exams: The COVID-19 Edition

If you have attended an undergraduate institution in the United States, you probably remember taking the SAT or the ACT as part of the admissions requirements. Standardized tests are also required by many graduate and professional schools. These tests allow applicants from different institutions to be assessed using a standard metric. Common graduate and professional school entrance exams and tests include the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), Law School Admission Test (LSAT), and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).

In the past, all of these were paper-based tests delivered in a testing facility. More recently, many have become computer based, though these have still been delivered in a testing facility. Now, with COVID-19, some have moved their tests online to ensure the safety of test takers. Also, many graduate schools have recognized the rapidly changing testing landscape and are accepting applications without test scores.

Below you will find information about the GRE, the most commonly required test in the graduate and professional school landscape, as well as the more specialized GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT.