GMAT Online - What We Know [Master Topic]

Hi all, i'm due to take my GMAT next Friday and reading some of the comments has be a bit concerned. Can I please get some clarity on the below:

1) I mutter to myself as I work out questions - is this a big fail?
2) As I think I look elsewhere - will the proctor expect me to keep my eyes fixed on the screen/board when this is how I've operated since school?
3) Am I allowed a glass of water?

I did all of this and the proctor ( each of the 3 that I had) did not mind, but make sure the water is in a clear container. In regard to looking around I mostly looked at my whiteboard and once or twice I looked top left; unfortunately, I tend to look top left when I am stumped lol. Good luck

Phew! Glad to hear it. Thank you. Also, do you know if we're allowed to use external mouses or must I use the one on my laptop? Since WFH I've gotten used to using my wireless mouse

Ya so you can use external mouse, and as of recently, it can be wireless. During my exam I used both my wired external mouse and my laptop mouse and again no issue from proctors. The biggest thing I actually liked about using the mouse during online was the ability to highlight the text. I do/did this on all the practice exam and was a bit flustered during the in person GMAT that I couldn't. Not really important but I have not seen anyone else mention this.

Very true. Its just frustrating. Since colleges are closing applications and these people are sitting and "considering". Worst is that they arent even telling us YES OR NO. Just sit tight and watch us waste your time :/

PSA - switch to the GRE.

I took GMAT last weekend and got a 600 (boooo). Today I took GRE and got a 324 (85th percentile for quant and 82nd percentile for verbal).

I'm sure schools are going to be more lax about GRE scores over GMAT scores this year.

Make the switch!

Amazing improvement on the GRE!

This kind of mismatch in scores raises questions as to whether these two tests are really comparable in terms of scores.

Honestly, it could be me. I get really bad test anxiety and my GMAT score drops about 60 points on test day. The format for GRE seems to cater to my learning style.

Test anxiety should apply to both the tests. So, in theory, that should not have made a significant difference. And the differences in the formats of the tests should not matter IF the test scores are really comparable.

Even though both the GMAT and the GRE claim their scores indicate compatibility with each other, I am not so sure that that is the correct characterization. The two tests cover similar content, but they really test different types of skills in some aspects. Both are good tests, but they are different tests.

True, but one significant difference between the At-Home GRE and the GMAT Online is that the GRE allows you to skip questions and go back, and the GMAT does not, which can add to test anxiety if you're stuck on a particular question that doesn't make sense.

Another consideration is that the GMAT Online is currently a one-shot deal only (no retakes allowed), whereas the At-Home GRE allows retakes every 21 days (up to 5 exams per year, with no lifetime limit).

I think most of us can agree that allowing retakes is a good thing when it comes to tackling test-day nerves and anxiety: if your first (or second or third, or fourth!) attempt at the At-Home GRE doesn't go well, then you can schedule another attempt after 21 days, and send only your best score to schools using GRE ScoreSelect, but again, retakes are not yet an option with the GMAT Online.

Do you think they will allow it anytime soon??

Yes, I do believe that the people at GMAC will soon allow GMAT Online retakes, because with every passing day, they are losing market share to ETS and the At-Home GRE, and there are still many places in the world where the test-center GMAT is not available.

That being said, I thought that retakes would be an option by now, and it obviously hasn't yet happened, so what do I know? It's anybody's guess at this point.

I dont think that allowing GMAT online at a later stage will be useful, if it is allowed. One of my friend who was booking the exam in September told me that she has difficulty in getting right slots and the slots are getting over quickly, because I guess generally in these months GMAT is taken the most, so even if they allow the retake and there are no available slots then it is of no use. GMAC has already lost the trick with its slow decisions.

Updates on GMAT Online to come.

I completely agree, they have to move a lot with respect to decisions and delivery. Wt score are u expecting?

Update with detail to come.

I believe either on Reddit or the MBA.com page itself (I forget which); if you used a larger monitor screen, the text will match proportionally (same with the whiteboard) to the size of your screen. So a monitor with a 32-inch display will display the text larger than a 15 inch laptop