The GMAT Focus Edition - Here’s What We Know
The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) recently announced that they will replace the traditional GMAT exam with the new GMAT Focus Edition. Developed to reflect the rapidly changing business landscape, this new exam is “more efficient, flexible, and insightful by honing in on higher-order critical reasoning skills and data literacy.”
The GMAT Focus Edition is expected to be available later this year, while the current GMAT exam will remain available until early 2024. Unlike the traditional 3.5-hour exam with four sections, the new exam has three 45-minute sections and no essay. The sections (Quant, Verbal, Data Insights) were designed by leading business schools and prospective business school candidates to focus on relevant business themes.
For added flexibility and convenience, test takers can select their section order and send their final scores to 5 schools for free. They will also receive detailed insights on their exam performance, strengths, and focus areas.
Although GMAC has not yet stated whether the GMAT Focus will be available for at-home testing, we speculate that the GMAT Focus and the traditional GMAT will have the same testing options.
This news of the GMAT Focus Edition will serve as a relief to many MBA candidates since it reduces one of the hurdles they face when applying to business schools. However, the streamlined exam, coupled with the rise in layoffs, will likely lead to a surge in MBA applications throughout the next couple of years.
If you're applying soon and studying for the GMAT, don’t change anything! Continue to prepare for the traditional GMAT and remain focused on your score goal. Refine your application to ensure you're telling a clear, cohesive, and compelling story that sticks out from the wave of competitors. In the coming weeks and months, GMAC will release more information about GMAT Focus, and we will keep you posted.
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