Hello again, Brian. I wanted to take the time to write a proper response when I had time, not just dash off some missive between lessons. I will respond in-line below.
mcelroytutoring
Hi Andrew,
I definitely respect that. The GMAT has evolved over the last few years, especially on Verbal, and your students deserve a tutor who has taken a recent exam, as well as the GMAT online.
Yes, evolved to the point that I have seen a single 800 since the shorter test was unveiled in 2018, and none since that very year (thus, no perfect online attempts). Neither have I seen any evidence of such a score in the ranges listed at top business schools. Finally, I know at least one confirmed 780-scorer who
earned a 730 more recently. On the whole, the body of evidence suggests to me that the test has gotten harder.
mcelroytutoring
However, I'm not yet quite prepared to make that pledge, because I'm still trying to score a perfect 800, I only have two three lifetime attempts remaining, and I find the test-center exam to be easier, especially on Quant.
You and I seem to approach the same problem, then, from a different angle. In my head, there is no eight-time limit. I am giving this next attempt everything I have got—no backups, no failsafes. If I believe I can earn an 800, then I know I have to be willing to put myself through what it takes to achieve it.
Where I used to live was quite hilly, and I rode my bike everywhere to meet my clients (packing an appropriate change of clothes in my backpack to maintain a sense of professionalism). During one of my last assignments, I rode 9.8 miles each way to get to my destination. My reward was a long ride home after a full workday of being on my feet. The kicker? The hardest part was right at the end. My apartment was at the top of a hill, maybe a tenth or two-tenths of a mile, the first two-thirds of which pitched at a 9.5 percent gradient. I rode my bike as a fixie, so no gear changes. I hit the bottom of that hill, it kicked up, and I counted my crank turnover. By the time I would get to twenty, my momentum from the bottom was gone, and by forty, I could already feel the burn in my quads; by sixty, my legs were screaming for me to stop, and by eighty, the cranks were barely turning. At first, I listened to my body. I would pull off into this parking lot that served as a plateau, ride a lap on that flat surface, and then, with legs only half full of lactic acid, I would finish my push, round a curve, and crest the hill. Every time I pulled off, though, I got down on myself.
I remember one night, soon after one of my close family members died, I was going up that hill and I entertained a different notion:
What if? What if I pushed beyond the parking lot and emptied the tank
completely instead of holding anything back? You know, you think a little differently when major life events occur. Well, you can guess what happened. I kept counting those steps and grinding, legs be d**ned. When I got to one hundred turns of the crank, I was on that crest, with nothing more than a slight incline to almost coast through. I could feel my heart in my throat, and my legs were shot, but that was the point at which I had broken myself and pushed through that particular challenge.
I know the GMAT™ will prove the same for me. I cannot rely on innate ability or even my training. I have to teach myself to embrace that grind, question after question, hour after hour. If the exam wants to throw sixty-seven questions my way, I want to be ready to take on a hundred.
mcelroytutoring
That said, I'll probably relent and take the Examity version eventually, if only for the sake of my private students and other test takers. I do think it's a great option for many students: in particular, those with quiet homes and apartments who don't have 3 kids and 2 dogs.
Other than my sound-isolated home office, which I use for online tutoring and is clearly not an allowed exam location because there are GMAT books anywhere, my home is not a quiet, comfortable place to take an exam, especially during the day when I am freshest, because of all the little humans and animals running around. Thus, so far I chosen have to wait until late at night to schedule my GMAT onlines, even though I'm more tired at that time of day than I would prefer (I usually go to bed around 11).
We all know that fatigue is a major factor on the GMAT, and that careless mistakes can be a killer. Especially given that my last few GMAT online experiences began by staring at the screen, waiting for the proctor to arrive for nearly an hour, I don't want to take the GMAT at 10 pm ever again—even in the comfort of my own home with blazing-fast fiber internet.
Maybe I'll try the hotel option, now that lockdown is no longer a thing here in Colorado: that would allow me to take the enhanced GMAT online at my preferred time slot of 2 pm.
EDIT: I just realized that I actually have 3 attempts left, since neither of my official attempts at the GMAT online so far counted toward the lifetime limit of 8 GMAT exams.
If you include my very first attempt at the GMAT online, which was terminated before the test began because I dared look to the side of the room for a moment, then that means I could be the first person in history to take the GMAT 11 times...

I have the utmost respect for people who take their parenting seriously. If I were a father, I have no doubt I would put my GMAT™ aspirations behind me and devote myself more to my family. If you can manage to juggle both challenges simultaneously, then I applaud your efforts and wish you the best in both.
Should you decide to participate in my 2021-2022 GMAT™ challenge once I get it up and running, you have an open invitation. I would welcome the Expert company.
- Andrew