The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) made a major announcement earlier this spring. The organization will be replacing the traditional GMAT exam with the new GMAT Focus Edition, likely due to a major decline in the number of GMAT tests taken over the past few years.
This week, GMAC has announced that registration for the new GMAT Focus Edition will open on August 29, 2023, and the testing will begin in Q4 2023.
Furthermore, GMAC will launch the GMAT Focus Edition prep on June 6, 2023. Personal MBA Coach tutors will begin launching GMAT Focus Edition tutoring as soon as this information comes available!
What do we know about the GMAT Focus Edition?
Developed in collaboration with business schools, GMAC has stated that GMAT Focus Edition is:
“…a more focused test-taking experience that homes in on the higher-order critical reasoning and data literacy skills that are more relevant and applicable in the business environment of tomorrow.”
The GMAT Focus Edition will include three 45-minute sections, and the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section will be removed.
The Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning sections will remain (though the GMAT Focus Edition will not contain Sentence Corrections).
A new Data Insights section will be added. This new section will measure a test taker’s ability to analyze data and apply it to business decisions.
Candidates also will be allowed to select the order in which they take the exam sections. Additionally, there will be an option to review past responses and revisit and change up to three answers in each section.
Further, GMAC has promised improved score reporting with “detailed performance insights.” Test takers will still be allowed to send their scores to up to 5 schools at no charge. However, they will now have the option to review their scores BEFORE sending them to schools. This will come as a welcome change to many applicants.
The new test will be available to take at test centers and online. GMAT scores will continue being valid for five years.
Given the increasing popularity of the 90-minute Executive Assessment (EA) exam and debates on more traditional standardized tests, Personal MBA Coach is not surprised by these changes. This announcement should come as welcome news to MBA candidates, easing one of the barriers to applying to business school.
While business school applications in the US have been down in recent years, increasing layoffs are likely to drive application volume up. This simpler test is also likely to encourage more applicants to apply to business school.
Personal MBA Coach will be monitoring changes in the GMAT exam very closely and updating our personalized tutoring accordingly. We will continue to offer tutoring support for the GMAT, GRE and EA exams and will add GMAT Focused Edition tutoring services as soon as preparation materials are available.
Find out more about Personal MBA Coach’s 1:1 tutoring services here.
