{"id":41379,"date":"2018-04-11T13:28:36","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T20:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/gmat-changes-what-they-mean-for-you\/"},"modified":"2018-04-11T13:28:36","modified_gmt":"2018-04-11T20:28:36","slug":"gmat-changes-what-they-mean-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/gmat-changes-what-they-mean-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"GMAT Changes & What They Mean for You"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fortuna<\/h2>\n

The new changes to the GMAT exam<\/a> announced last week by GMAC are prompting an exhale for anyone who is preparing for the exam.<\/h2>\n

The headline-grabbing news was that the GMAT will be 30 minutes shorter due to a new, slimmer format that shaves 23 minutes off the exam sections, starting April 16. Given the GMAT\u2019s reputation for being mentally and physically exhausting, this change in duration is a welcome one.<\/p>\n

But before you rush out to reschedule your exam, allow me to offer some context. As former Director at the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), these changes didn\u2019t feel like a surprise \u2013 the organization is hyper-cognizant of efficiency and always innovating in terms of how to pinpoint a candidate\u2019s true ability.<\/p>\n

First, know that the biggest change is a reduction in the number of questions.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You\u2019re losing 6 questions on quant and five on verbal (going from 37 to 31 and 41 to 36, respectively). When you do the math against the time reduction, you\u2019re losing about two seconds per question, which is statistically meaningless.<\/p>\n

And because your allocated time per question is essentially the same, this change shouldn\u2019t have an impact on how you prepare for the exam. Because when it comes to pacing, the pacing isn\u2019t going to change.<\/p>\n

The biggest benefit you may notice from this change is how you feel by the end.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Like running a marathon, the exam requires significant endurance and stamina that takes months to prepare. But now, instead of racing 26 miles on race day, you\u2019ve learned you only need to run 23. In both cases, it\u2019s still a grueling experience, but your pacing, again, will be the same. It\u2019s just less long.<\/p>\n

The nature of these changes, while positive, shouldn\u2019t alter how you prepare for the exam. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

The changes aren\u2019t content-related, and seven of those 30 minutes are cuts to the fluff at the beginning (meaning the pre-screen, non-exam portion).<\/p>\n

In terms of the exam, GMAT has come out and said that its cuts are basically coming from the research or experimental bucket (although some unscored questions will remain). In response, a couple of articles have implied that the penalty for guessing will be more severe, but it\u2019s really a misnomer given that it\u2019s impossible to tell which questions are unscored and experimental.<\/p>\n

My favorite anecdote on this theme comes from my former colleague and the \u201cgodfather\u201d \u00a0of computer adapted testing.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

That\u2019s Dr. Lawrence Rudner, GMAC\u2019s longtime VP of R&D and Chief Psychometrician. Like me, Larry takes standardized tests for fun, and would routinely take the latest GMAT to ensure he was still at the top of his game. During one of these test-taking episodes, Larry broke the cardinal rule by getting hung up on a question that prompted him to rush through the end. Later, Larry was kicking himself (maybe you know the feeling). Not only did he get that pesky question wrong \u2013 breaking his streak of quant perfection \u2013 but it turned out to be an unscored, experimental question. My point being, if the GMAT\u2019s Chief Psychometrician can\u2019t tell it\u2019s an experimental question, you can\u2019t either. (Another good life lesson to keep in mind, even the most brilliant people in this world are human.)<\/p>\n

My advice? Don\u2019t overthink it.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re scheduled to take the exam before April 16 and in a regular study routine, it doesn\u2019t necessarily make sense to disrupt your flow by rescheduling for another four weeks out. Don\u2019t jump to make a rush decision. Make a plan and stick to it, and you may be pleasantly surprised with your result.<\/p>\n

For more about the GMAT and how best to prepare, view my recent article in Poets & Quants on \u201cWhy the GMAT Matters + Top Prep Tips<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortuna Admissions\u2019 <\/em>Joanna Graham<\/em><\/a> is former Director of the Graduate Management Admission Council.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new changes to the GMAT exam announced last week by GMAC are prompting an exhale for anyone who is preparing for the exam. The headline-grabbing news was that the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1831,775,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-fortuna-admissions","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41379\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}