GMAT Focus Edition - Everything You Need to Know

I am quite confident the score will remain valid for 5 years.
There is no problem with the current GMAT. it is not inferior, it is not compromised, and if anything, the new proposed GMAT is going to be more simplified and not as robust as the old one, so I would not have any concerns about your score working later on.

Hi Everyone,

Please guide us on how it impacts our Gmat Prep. As I have to appear for the real test in 2023 only.
Should I carry on with my prep as it is? Any advice regarding the prep?

Thanks in Advance!

Hi. I think I have addressed your concern and questions in the first post

Ohh yeah! Got it. Thank you so much, BB!

Big news! Thanks for sharing, bb. This is the 2nd time the GMAT has become shorter in just the last 5 years.

The reason? Good old-fashioned business competition. Post-COVID, many MBA programs have gone test optional or even test blind. The number of GMAT test-takers has been steadily decreasing, and the section-adaptive / arguably easier GRE, where you can skip around the questions, has become a more popular second option—so GMAC had to do something.

I'm neither surprised nor sad to see the AWA (Analytical Writing Assessment) go, and enjoyed taking the original, shorter version of the GMAT online with no AWA. It also sounds like the people at GMAC have decided to include the (formerly optional at an extra cost, for the test-center GMAT only) ESR aka Enhanced Score Report as part of the overall exam fee, due to the promise of a more detailed score report, another welcome and long overdue change.

Some burning questions about the GMAT Focus that are as yet unanswered by GMAC:

-Is it true (as others have already mentioned) that the upcoming GMAT Focus is basically the EA (Executive Assessment), where IR, Verbal, and Quant all factor into the composite score, and skipping back and forth through the questions is permitted?

UPDATE: Yes. What was formerly known as the IR (Integrated Reasoning) section will now be called the "Data Insights" section. It will absorb Data Sufficiency as part of its overall content, and it will count toward the total / composite score.

-Is SC aka Sentence Correction really headed for the chopping block, as some rumors and leaked copies of the 2023-2024 Official Guide have suggested? (Source)

UPDATE: Sadly, the OG 23-24 preview leak appears to be real, and thus the answer appears to be yes: SC will no longer be part of the GMAT. (As mentioned before, the AWA section is disappearing as well.)

-Will the GMAT Focus retain the current 200-800 composite scoring scale, switch to the more obscure one (120-174) used by the EA—or perhaps come up with a new scoring scale altogether?

UPDATE: The GMAT Focus will be scored from 205 to 805—with IR, Q, and V section subscores (all of which count toward your composite score) ranging from 60 to 90. Total scores will be measured in 10-point increments, and subscores will be measured in 1-point increments.

Why the extra 5 points on the total score? Who knows. Maybe it's to encourage those who have perfect 800s to retake, 800 is no longer a perfect score?

-Will current lifetime testing limits (5 times per year and 8 times lifetime) still apply?

-Will there be a new version of the OG focused on the...um, Focus, since GMAC's plans for the short-lived yellow book aka GMAT Official Guide 2023-2024 are presumably now being scrapped?

UPDATE: We now have an answer to this question, too. GMAC got caught flat-footed when some clever Amazon users examined the book's preview, and (rightly) concluded that the test had changed format—which is presumably what caused the people at GMAC to hide / drop the Amazon listing until they had officially shared the news.

However, the OG 23-24 is apparently still on the way, and it prepares students specifically for the GMAT Focus.

I just heard from a reliable source that the Official Guides are not scrapped but postponed. Perhaps they will resurface again on Amazon in a few weeks with the new updated date. My guess they would reveal too much about the new test format so they have been delayed... but to be clear, the book is likely months away, not weeks.

The old versions of the book are still available from most retailers with the publication date of March 28th. ISBN: 9781394169948 which of course is not going to happen since it takes months to publish and print the book.

I know this is going to spread rumors like wildfire and I will preface it by saying that I don't think this will be the case, but staring at that 650 number of questions on the cover of the book, I poked around the old OG 2022 and that's the number of DS+PS+RC questions. 651 to be exact. Which I think is only a coincidence. I don't think this means SC and CR will be cut since the reduced page counts were known suspected back in November due to the reduced weight (no page count was specified) and that was before this Focus thing came out, and it is clearly not well coordinated... so I don't think we are losing both SC and CR but I am still curious about the question count and why we are getting gipped

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I just started my GMAT prep 2 weeks ago. So far, I've only been studying with the free material. I was planning on purchasing the OG guide 2022 and TargetTestPrep to have a streamlined way of studying and take the GMAT test in 8 or so weeks. Are those still considered good material? I want to pass the GMAT with a 720+ ideally (practice exam not taken yet but will do this weekend). Based on the 90 practice questions with the free material however, my strengths and weaknesses are as follow:

IR = 9/15 correct = 60%
Quant (PS) = 10/15 correct = 67%
Quant (DS) = 6/15 correct = 40%
Verbal (RC) = 10/15 correct = 67%
Verbal (CR) = 12/15 correct = 80%
Verbal (SC) = 13/15 correct = 87%

For verbal, I know my reading speed is my main weak point (especially with RC) but I feel pretty confident with verbal questions so far. A few inferences can be tricky sometimes but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it with practice. I'll probably end up getting the MHPrep books for verbal (especially RC).

For quant, the math theory was in a rusted drawer with spider webs in the back of my brain so I just need to freshen up the concepts but I've taken more advanced math than this so it won't be a challenge. The real challenge for me is mainly the data sufficiency questions, I have to get used to those types of questions. I feel like TargetTestPrep will be perfect for that and I've read great reviews on this forum about them.

For IR, I understand the concepts but I will have to get used to the type of questions. I am unaware if TTP offers IR practice, but I was planning on purchasing the GMAT Official IR Prep if nothing was available for this section. I will admit I am worried with the 2023 update, since it looks like IR will become a bigger portion of the scoring algorithm...therefore making the GMAT FE harder imo.

TL;DR: I'm planning to do my GMAT in 8 weeks. Might have to retake it after, but I need a 720+. Is OG Guide 2022, TTP and MHPrep Verbal books still good? Also is there any recommended prep for IR aside from GMAT Official IR Prep?

Thanks!

Hi. I totally understand your question and where you are coming from.
If I started studying for something and then someone 2 weeks in said they were changing it, it would be frustrating.

The OG 2022 and TTP should be great. No concerns.

IR is a pain in the neck since it combines CR, PS, and weird charts that are very time consuming.
The good news is schools DO NOT CARE about IR so it is pretty weird that GMAC is trying to potentially shove IR into the new test more prominently (it is more prominent in EA) but it is an afterthought in the GMAT and so far everyone has ignored it (we have AdCom admitting it on video - in a much longer and diplomatic answer on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob_MmwQKgWw)

MGMAT is also great and valid. They do have a separate skinny IR book so that may be helpful but so far people largely ignored IR>

P.S. Surprised that username was not taken

The suspicion came when the Chinese providers saw a new version (focus edition) of gmat og 2023-24 available for preorder on Amazon, and they asked the gmac regarding the change. Soon after, the preorder page was taken down and they got an official reply saying that they will remove the preorder version now to minimize any confusion and would provide an update sooner down the road.

The previews of that focus edition show the following pages, which lead to their guess of the removal of sc and inclusion of ir.

Oh interesting. That explains why the Amazon book was pulled from the store. Thank you doublecool!

Posted from my mobile device

This actually indicates that the OG is not dropped and will still be released.
I also received complimenting information that the OG is not canceled but simply hidden on Amazon.com (don't ask me how I know ) - that was wrong reasoning on my side thinking that it was removed and I did not listen to the source indicating it was very temporary. Now it is clear why Walmart has the book and Amazon does not - that is the preview feature which revealed the GMAT Focus details.

My guess the March 28th date for publication still stands and you will get your copy dabral

P.S. This is a MUCH MUCH faster timeline than I anticipated

FYI - first post has been updated with more information and details about the SC and IR sections, OG, and screenshot.

Thank you everyone!

Summary of changes:

PLEASE REMOVE SC, IT IS PURE GARBAGE AMONG ALL THE SECTIONS!

All caps huh? Keyboard malfunction? 😂
So you would really rather have our seat than SC?

Based on the Paul we’ve been conducting for the last two weeks, completely unrelated to this change but very relevant now it seems, the most hated section is actually reading comprehension. Critical reasoning and sentence correction are both tied as 2 most favorite ones.

Posted from my mobile device

Interesting developments. Wonder how much of a revamping the Official Mocks will get.