Experiences with Executive Assessment - Post Your EA Experience Here

I’m writing this because not much seems to written yet about the EA. I took the test today and want to share thoughts while they’re fresh and before the wine kicks in. In bullet form because I’m lazy:

- I’m 48 years old and haven’t dealt with the material on the test in nearly 30 years
- I scheduled myself for the GMAT, bought a GMAT study book, studied for a while, then concluded that if the GMAT is what’s needed to “go to the next level,” then my current level will have to be good enough.
- I later learned about the EA and scheduled it. I only used the official online GMAC tools, nothing else.
- I didn’t finish the study materials (I’m also doing a calculus course online to fix an old crummy grade).
- I didn’t take any timed practice tests. I wish I had.
- The test was hard. Time management was my biggest weakness. If I was doing it again (and I may), I would quickly complete questions I know I can answer, then go back. I wasted too much time trying to solve hard questions.
- Time management was not an issue on the verbal section, which turned out to be my highest-scoring section. I finished that one early and didn’t spend much time reviewing.
- In general I thought the GMAC study questions were harder than those found on the test. That’s a good thing.
- Final score: IR 11 / Verbal 18 / Quant 11 / overall 160
- Unclear what those scores mean
- Happy to answer questions

Time management was my biggest challenge too. I got a 150. Not sure what it means either.

A new data point: a representative from one of the EMBA programs that accepts the EA said that scores tend to cluster around the high 140s to low 150s, and they see individual section scores in the high single to low double digits. FWIW.

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I am early thirties and decided to take the EA in lieu of the GMAT due to the fact that it was shorter and there was no geometry, which meant I could spend less time on test prep since I have a full time job.

I did a little practice on GMAT study guides and then purchased the GMAC study tools for the EA. I took the entire GMAC course twice and the IR prep tool once.

I found the test to be exactly what is was purported to be - a mini-GMAT, with no geometry and a focus on the IR section. The prep tools were good for familiarizing yourself with the difficulty and structure of the questions. What it lacked was a teaching course for topics, but that can be gained from the plethora for GMAT materials available.

As in any test, preparing for time management is key. I ran out of time in the quant section.

I got a 13, 13, and 14 for a total score of 161. Unsure of what that means or what percentile rank I achieved. From the meager info out there, I believe that a score of 150+ is sufficient.

I think that's a very good score, Jazzy3113. Congrats!

Thanks for the info. Could you guys comment on how long you studied for the exam? 2 weeks to 1 month?

I am trying to formulate a studying strategy but don't have time to go through all the MGMAT books. I wonder if its sufficient to just work on the 300 EA practice questions and IR prep and just make sure I understand those problems well.

What do you think?

Hi,

Yes, your overall score will be perceived as very good at 160. Most scores we have seen so far at MBA Admit.com have been around 150-154, and those candidates have gained admission to top EMBA programs like Wharton and Columbia Business School. One of our lowest-scoring candidates, with a 141, gained admission to the sole school she applied to, Columbia EMBA. So, that gives you a sense of how low you can go and still get into great schools. For the top EMBA program, though, I think a score less than 138 would likely need a re-take, though. The top EMBA programs will be most concerned with the quant score, so if that comes in low, you should try to point out to the admissions committee other credentials you have that demonstrate what they call "quant readiness".

Best wishes,
Dr. Shel Watts
https://www.mbaadmit.com
email: drshelwatts@mbaadmit.com



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Just following this thread as the EA is my biggest worry. Is there a special pack of questions as the IR has been the hardest for me.

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Sharing my experience here as there wasn't much written about EA. Took EA and got 159 (IR:13, VR: 10 and AR:16). The scores are very close the practice assessment scores I got while working on gmac material.

I have bought the gmac practice bundle that comes with two tests and 350 practice questions and worked through it for about 20 hours over three weeks. on the side, I picked up GMAT practice tests at my local library and practiced them as well. I took one of two official gmac practice tests on the first week of my prep and got 156(12,10,14) and another one the week before my final test and got 161(18,10,13), Final EA score came out right in the middle. BTW, there are some errors in the gmac prep material towards the end. I have reported them by clicking the report errors button. Hopefully they fix them soon.

Based on my analysis on practice test scores and final test scores, the maximum possible score is 174. Each of the individual sections can go to max of 18. I.e. three 18s would put you at 174. 18 in a section means you have answered all of the questions correctly.

On the test strategy, I had just enough time to complete the sections and didn't have any left over to really go back and review the flagged questions. As you may know, each of the sections are divided into two sub sections. Performance on the first sub section will adapt the level of difficulty on the second sub section. If you see the difficulty level high on the second half that is a good sign which means you had performed well on the first half.

On time management, once the exam starts, the clock will keep ticking even on the information screen or on the review screens.so keep an eye for the time remaining.

Good luck to all of you preparing for EA. Happy to answer any questions you have during the preparation.

Krisk,

Good job on your results. I actually just took the EA this past Friday and got 150(11, 9, 10) which is fine with me. I used the GMAC test prep and thought the questions on the official EA test were easier. Both practice test were around 153 so hey, nice prediction! Study time, as I was busy at work, was about a month and I covered all the questions about 3x over. There are definitely some errors in the GMAC prep questions.

Its interesting about your assumption that the max score is 174. I watched the Yale EMBA webinar on the program and asked what they thought was a score to shoot for on the EA. They referenced the 150 and how it was the 50% percentile but felt that although the 50% percentile was considered middle of the row, that the programs were still gathering information to base applicants on in regards to test grades. I think it is a weighted test in some way

Congratulations on your score discodv05. Based on the info I gathered, 150 qualifies you for most of the top programs.

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I used the GMAC prep materials for the EA, including the practice exams and the additional IR question bank. After 2 months of studying, I took the exam. Time management during IR and Q was my biggest challenge. My score was 152 (IR 10, V 12, Q 10).

Hope this helps. Good luck to all.

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I am looking to take Executive Assessment and I wanted to know if the questions or varieties of questions in the actual test were similar to the ones in the practice tests and EA practise questions on the GMAC website? I wanted to know if there was any additional material you looked at for preparing.

Hey forum members. I keep reading that the actual test is easier that the practice questions. Is that a fair statement? Also when people say they got 10 on IR for example does this mean 10 out of 18? I heard if u get all questions right on a section u get 18 out of 18. So 10/18 means about 7 out of 12 questions?

Lastly most of the questions in IR are broken down in oets say 3 answers. If you get 2 out of 3 answers on that question does this mean you get a partial credit for the question?

Thank you

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I have not given my standard test yet but during practise I got 8 out of 12 right and got a 11 on IR. Hopefully I will do better in the actual test.

I took 4-5 weeks to prepare for the Executive Assessment and I will highly recommend it in lieu of the GMAT for working professionals who are looking to start an executive MBA. I used the EA official prep to practice and assess my level. The practice questions and the two official practice assessment practice exams are in line with what you will encounter in the exam. By this I mean, your official exam score will likely reflect your scores on the two official practice assessments.

I scored 151 on my EA exam and my Practice Assessment 1 score was 150 and Practice Assessment Score 2 (one day after) was 152, which is not bad given that I only had to study for 4-5 weeks.

The quant reasoning section is quite easy if you have a good background in maths (geometry is not included in EA quant). If this is the case, my advise to anyone will be to invest more time on IR and verbal and little time on quant.

For IR, I will suggest investing extra time on Multi-Source Reasoning question as you can easily pick up 4-5 points on this question. Some Two-part analysis questions that require verbal reasoning can be very tricky and time-consuming, so if you don't have time just guess and move on to other questions types like table analysis and graphical interpretation that are less tedious.

Hugedynamics thanks for the reply. On the IR section that is comprised of 12 questions would you say that on the actual test there are 3 questions with 2 part analysis. 3 with table analysis. 3 with graphs and 3 with multi source reasonig? Thanks a lot.

Also would you happen to know if partial credit comes into play? For instance on the graph analysis they typically have two questions if you get one right and one wrong do you receive partial credit?

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I've been studying for the EA since October 14. I take it on Nov 3. I struggled with the practice questions. I just finished my first practice assessment, I score a 151 (IR 10, V 10, Q 11). I hope to take the second practice assessment this Friday. I am feeling nervous about this test.

Ricardodpm best of luck please share your experience

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I just took it. I got a 151(IR 10 VR 11 Q10). I would say it’s as hard as the practice exams.