GMAT ONLINE - EVERYTHING WE KNOW!
(this post is stickied at the top to provide a quick reference about GMAT Online and GMAT Online ENHANCED version)

• GMAT Online Enhanced launched on May 20, 2021
• Join GMAT Ninja and 3 GMAT Online (Enhanced) test-takers in YouTube panel discussion on Thursday, June 03.
• ENHANCED ONLINE GMAT Debriefs:
  
  • See the Full List in Share GMAT Experience Forum
  • 5/23 - 730 (Q49, V40) - by vijaykhot
  • 5/21 - 710 (Q49, V40) - same split as above but 710 by rudywip
  • 5/20 - reports of several initial tests automatically canceled and rescheduled
• Major change after May 20th is addition of AWA, 2 breaks, and your GMAT score now presented at the end of your test (takes 24-48 hrs for the score to show up in your profile; score is reportable to schools in about a week but sometimes may take up to 20 days to grade the AWA)
• You can take the test twice - this remains the main issue with the virtual GMAT testing
• Physical dry-erase white-board is allowed - more is here
• Pre-Exam Checklist
• Disconnected in the middle of the test? Try this if nothing else works!
• POLL: How long did it take you to get your GMAT Online score?
• Are you Chinese, Iranian, or from any other location restricted for GMAT Online Exam? Read here!
• What to do if your test gets canceled in the middle and How to reschedule it! (advice by sebo08 )

Whiteboard Questions

• Everything about Physical Dry-Erase whiteboards for the GMAT?
• Practice with a Virtual Whiteboard

GMAT Online Debriefs
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Hi rudywip,

Great information and it is very useful. I will factor in 3 minutes dring break - so technically it will be 5 minute break session.
Good to know we can talk to Proctor - let me clarify with Proctor before the exam begins and set rules about break (showing whiteboard, asking permission to move from desk etc.)

Will watch out for the tips on AWA and about remote session by proctor.

Again, a very helpful debrief and thank you.

Hi everyone,

I had Enhanced Gmat exam today.
Actually, I had an appointment for 4 May but there was a technical error, so I scheduled another appointment for today.

Today, I used MacBook Pro with macOS Catalina 10.15.7 and it was fine, EESecure browser opened when I started the exam.

The Quant part is harder than I expected and Mock exams.
I used my first break between Quant and Verbal, although I could leave workstation during the break, I prefer to stay on my chair for safe (I saw some posts which say the proctor revoked the exam because the candidate left the area)

Verbal part was very time consuming for me, I had to blind-guess for last 6 questions, and after the Verbal part my mind was just blowing.
When Verbal part was over, I didn't want to take Optional break ,however I forget to click on Continue Exam button, then the break started. I did not want to take break so I ended the break after 1 second, but I forgot the show my whiteboard, also the proctor didn't say anything.

When the exam was over, I showed my blank white board.

I am wondering, will my exam be cancelled because I forgot to show my blank whiteboard before/after 1-second optional break, do you guys have any ideas or similar experiences?

I saw my unofficial result at the end of the exam but I couldn't take screenshots or photos ofc. I was planning send my unofficial results to business school before 31 May. My exam status is pending right now, I wonder whether I can see my unofficial results when the exam status will be "delivered".

Thank you for your replies

Hi. Thank you for your debrief and feedback.

1. Your exam will not be canceled for not showing a whiteboard if you have not left the camera. The only reason to show the whiteboard is if you are leaving on a break.

2. Even if you forget to show the whiteboard and leave on the break, many people have done that and had no issues.

3. I do not recall anyone reporting that their test got canceled for leaving the area. I know there has been some training issues with the proctors which Did not know the rules for the test well enough and sometimes would get confused. In any case, I do not remember anyone who’s test was canceled because they went on a break. If you know of such cases, please share a link.

PS. The most important question, did you like the score? Did you get the score you wanted? 😂





Posted from my mobile device
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Hello everyone,
I attempted the GMAT online today. Scored a 730 on my first attempt. I was following this thread for some time now, just to get an idea about GMAT online. I would like to share my enhanced GMAT online experience on this thread, to help others.

I used SONY VAIO 2011 laptop with Intel Core i3 2.2 GHz processor and 4GB RAM. The operating system was windows 10 professional. I arranged for a 60 Mbps wired internet connection as well as a 5 Mbps WIFI connection for backup, in case something goes wrong with my wired connection. I had not faced any difficulties with my wired connection up until today, but just to be safe I arranged for an additional connection. It is recommended to install the ESS browser and ZOOM meet well before your appointment.

The login process was very smooth. You cannot start the check-in process until fifteen minutes before your scheduled appointment. Before that the EXAMITY page is inaccessible. After you start your check-in on the mba.com my account page, you are directed to the EXAMITY page. There you can start your scheduled appointment. After you press start, you are connected to the proctor if you have ZOOM cloud meetings pre-installed. If not, then the ZOOM cloud meetings setup is automatically downloaded and you can install ZOOM cloud meetings. After that, you are connected to the proctor. The proctor then guides you through the entire process and gives you all instructions. The proctor asks you to open the task manager to check whether you have any other applications open in the background. After that, you have to show your ID on the camera. After that, you are asked to show both sides of the physical whiteboard, if you have opted to take one for the exam. Then, you are asked to give a complete 360-degree tour of your workspace as well as your desk (both above and below the desk, all four corners). If you have a LAN connection connected to your laptop and you will be using the webcam on the laptop, a long LAN cable is recommended, so that you can comfortably move and rotate your laptop for the room tour.

In my case, the proctor was very polite and super-helpful with all the procedures. That helped me to calm a little. It took almost twenty minutes to finish the entire process and start the exam. I selected the Verbal-Quant-IR-AWA sequence for the exam.

The verbal section was similar in difficulty to the GMAT prep mocks with two long passages and two short RC passages. Most of the CR questions were complete the passage. I was falling short of time at the end of the section, so I had to hurry with the last RC passage as well as CR and SC questions. I missed the last question of the section. After finishing my section, I was not confident about the verbal score. Anyway, after you finish the section, you get an instruction on the screen to take a break with a 30-second timer. You can select to skip the break if you want or you can select to take a break. After selecting to take a break, I asked for the proctors permission to leave the desk. The proctor instructed me to show my whiteboard and then allowed me to leave. After about four minutes, I returned to my desk. Then I was instructed to give a 360-degree room tour and show both sides of the physical whiteboard. Then I was allowed to start the quant section.

The quant section was pretty difficult compared to the quant sections of the GMAT prep mocks. I attempted the last question of the section at the last minute. Overall I had a better feeling about the quant section than the verbal section. After finishing the section, a similar procedure was followed.

After that, I finished the IR section and started the AWA section. Here comes the best part of my exam. Just as I pressed enter after completing the first paragraph everything got erased. All of a sudden, everything was deleted. I was puzzled! Then, I received a message saying the ESS browser has stopped working. Not sure what was happening, I asked the proctor for help. The proctor instructed me to close the ESS secure browser and exit the page. After suspiciously closing the page I was redirected to the EXAMITY page. The proctor requested some time to look into the problem. After a couple of minutes, the proctor said that everything on her side was okay and that I might have lost my connection. But, my computer was still showing that I was connected to the internet. So, I asked the proctor if I can open some other page to check my connection. The proctor permitted me to do so and even to take my time. So, first I opened GMAIL and it opened fine. Then, the proctor suggested opening speedtest.net and check my internet speed. And shockingly, the speed had fallen to in and around 1 Mbps. The proctor said that I compulsorily needed at least 2 Mbps speed and we cannot continue with the exam. I felt that I lost my attempt. But, anyway, I asked the proctor if I could connect to the backup connection. The proctor allowed me to check the other connection and asked me to check the speed. And again backup connection too was slow ( less than 1 Mbps). I just kept on switching between connections. But nothing worked. I had given up. Then all of a sudden the proctor decided to connect me to the exam. The proctor said that as my connection is slow, the interface might lag while switching between questions. But as I was on my essay, I felt that it wouldn't matter. After that, the proctor re-connected me to the exam. And thankfully the first paragraph was present already and the timer too started from where the exam was disconnected. As warned by the proctor, the interface did lag while typing. Still, it was not that big of an issue. And then I completed the essay.

Then the score appeared on the screen. Q49 V40 IR4 and a total of 730. The proctor was super helpful. I had already given up after the connection issue, if not for the proctor's intervention. I was expecting a V42 and Q50 and a total of 760. So, I am planning to retake the exam after a month.

Hello Everyone,

I have a MacBook Air with Big Sur OS. Though I have downloaded the ESsec browser, it doesn't open. The system requirements page of MBA.com says the OS must be Mac OS 10.14 and above, but I read somewhere online that the Big Sur OS is not supported.

Does anybody have similar issues?

GRS

I don't have a Mac but rudywip had some comments about the MacOS in his Debrief - perhaps you can ask him?
https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-online- ... 58536.html
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Thank you vijaykhot - fantastic debrief!

Sorry about not hitting your 760 target but awesome job with 730 and sounds like Examity proctors are a notch above the Pearson ones which is a welcome news! Sounds like the proctor went above and beyond what the previous test provider would have done

P.S. Super weird about the speed getting so low during the test



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Thank you bb. I will check with rudywip. I have sent a mail to the GMAC too, but they haven't replied yet.

mcelroytutoring

Did you get any update on the compatibility of Big Sur OS? I am now trying to install parallel 16 for windows ARM beta. I hope that works.

Update: Secure browser can't be installed on virtual Windows ARM through parallels on the new macs with Big Sur OS.

Update 2- a user in Reddit says that it worked for him on his new mac book pro. https://www.reddit.com/r/GMAT/comments/njkhiq/mac_users_who_have_succesfully_taken_the_enhanced/- check the comments

Hey !

Does anyone know what to do with the flash requirement of running a system test? I am unable to enable it as a plug-in in Safari and it says on adobe's website that it no longer supports the flash player so I am unable to re-download it.

Ref: https://www.adobe.com/in/products/flash ... -life.html

Thanks

Did you try Chrome?
I am using chrome browser in mac for the test. It works fine in the system check.

Hey GRS,
Thanks for replying.
I checked this in Chrome, it's working. But isn't safari the preferred browser for the exam in Mac? Just wanted to re-check.

The chrome will work fine. https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-online-enhanced-debrief-710-q49-v40-358536.html#p2789795

Hi everyone, just got done with my GMAT online exam and wanted to share my experience and add to the list of feedbacks already shared on GMAT Club.

I used a Windows laptop that I had to borrow from a friend as I was unsure whether my Mac or work laptop would work. I connected to the proctor on time but was made to wait for 15 minutes. Post that, the check-in process was smooth and took roughly 10 minutes. Throughout the exam, I was interrupted by the Proctor only once, when she asked me to tilt the laptop screen down a bit as I was too far on the corner of my whiteboard and partially out of view.

The only drawback I felt was that the program was a bit laggy. There was no major glitch but there were often instances when the program wouldn’t respond to a selection or clicking on the ‘next’ immediately. I would suggest you to be patient at such moments to avoid causing any bigger issue as the time lost on such lags is only a few seconds here or there. However, this was slightly more challenging on the Essay section as I would type something and the letters wouldn’t appear immediately on the screen.

In terms of the actual exam, I took the verbal section first. The section definitely felt tricker than the ones I have seen and attempted on official mocks. This was especially true of CR and SC, where the answer choices didn’t seem as straightforward to pick from as compared to the mocks. The Quant section was longer but I wouldn’t say it was necessarily tough, at least as much I’d been scared by the reviews reviews on GMAT Club. It did take me close to the entire time limit on both these sections, whereas I'd usually save a few minutes on the mocks.

Overall, the exam went well and I got a 710 (Q48, V40, IR7). This was my second attempt, after I got a 670 (Q42, V40, IR 5) in a test centre over a month earlier.

I am glad the score has improved but unsure how to feel. For context, my most recent two mocks, Mock 5 and 6 on GMAT prep, were 780 (V48, Q49) and 770 (V46, Q49). So Verbal definitely took a hit but I would put that down to the questions being trickier than I expected and not necessarily on my own ability today. Going to take a few days to reassess whether I need to give the exam again but I’m content that this score can be used to apply to good schools.

A question for the community - does the same restriction as the GMAT Exam apply on the Online version, i.e., do we have to wait 16 days before we are allowed to re-take the GMAT online?

I’d be happy to answer any questions anyone may have.

Hi will there be any software that checks the 360 view of your room? Because I am working on a desktop computer, so am able to turn the computer around with difficulty

Yes, I also saw that someone on Reddit said it worked for them on Big Sur!

If we can confirm that's true, then that's very exciting news, since most Mac users (including me, except in the cases of dedicated machines for running older software such as GMATPrep) keep their OS up-to-date.

I think the reason we don't know for sure just yet is because the confusing system requirements for the ESSecureBrowser, which only indicated that Mojave 10.14.2- Catalina 10.15.1 were supported, had test takers panicking and downgrading their OS...apparently for no good reason.
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I have the m1 mac book air and it's not possible to downgrade it to Catalina. so, I am going ahead with this laptop, lets see what happens. I will update you tomorrow on whether it worksor not.

first of all , congratulations!!!! fantastic score
could you provide a debrief about your preparations and mock scores etc

Hi,

vijaykhot congrats on your score!

Are we allowed to use a wireless-BlueTooth mouse in the online exam?

Thank you bb. Yeah, the speed getting low was super weird.