GMAT Online - What We Know [Master Topic]

Hello, VIVA. I cannot speak directly to the difficulty of the online exam, since I have not taken it. I do know that some members have said they were shocked by the number of lengthy word problems they encountered, but nerves and first impressions, particularly on more difficult questions, could have been kicking in. I do suspect that the test in general has increased in difficulty since it was shortened in 2018. I have seen a single perfect score (with an ESR to back it up) since that time, none on GMAT Club. Someone who might provide a more informed opinion is GMATCoachBen. He has taken both the online and the more traditional exam pretty recently and scored at the top of the charts both times.

The best advice I have for you is to train for whatever the test may throw at you, topic by topic. The test is good at pushing you into a corner and exploiting a weakness, so rather than allow such a bully to gain the upper hand, prepare yourself ahead of time with knowledge and a method for pushing past a difficult situation. There are plenty of excellent—and more-difficult-than-the-real-thing—questions to be found on GMAT Club Quant quizzes. You can always run a search for them in the Practice Question Banks by selecting the box for "Source: GMAT Club Tests."

I hope that helps a bit. It will be interesting to see what others have to say.

- Andrew
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Has GMAT online increased the fee?

Because in January i booked and it was 250USD. Today I was booking to take online GMAT again on 17 May and it showed 305USD .

Posted from my mobile device

I recommend to keep inverter for backup power and refrain from using mobile hotspot.

There is generator backup but it takes a few minutes to switch from the line to generator so I do have 1/2 minute spots without electricity - what happens to the test then?
My mobile hotspot has 13mbps and wifi has 15mbps net speed so I suppose that is not an issue with mobile hotspot, is there any other concerns for mobile hotpsot? Is it prohibited from GMAT Online use? I tried the system check with it as well and it seemed to work fine

I think the terms and conditions tell you not to use the mobile hotspot but it’s not clear why and quite a few people have used it successfully. They can’t tell what kind of connection you really are using and whether it’s a mobile hotspot or not. My guess is that they didn’t want you fiddling with a cell phone and having it close to your computer and that is why they don’t want you to use the hotspot. It really is a mystery and a puzzle.

Bottom line is that quite a few people have used it without issues save the mobile hotspot provides a better connection then you might as well use it. Bottom line, use the most reliable connection to take that uncertainty out of your test taking experience.




Posted from my mobile device
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[quote="bb"]I think the terms and conditions tell you not to use the mobile hotspot but it’s not clear why and quite a few people have used it successfully. They can’t tell what kind of connection you really are using and whether it’s a mobile hotspot or not. My guess is that they didn’t want you fiddling with a cell phone and having it close to your computer and that is why they don’t want you to use the hotspot. It really is a mystery and a puzzle.

Bottom line is that quite a few people have used it without issues save the mobile hotspot provides a better connection then you might as well use it. Bottom line, use the most reliable connection to take that uncertainty out of your test taking experience.




Thank you so much bb! Makes sense - also another query. I have seen a lot of stories where a lot of people's exam get cancelled due to some behaviour that the proctor thought could account as cheating which is rather scary tbh. I use the finger method to finalise on my answer choice (as suggested by someone on GCLUB) - I wanted to confirm that this doesn't account as "cheating" in the GMAT Online proctor's mind? In case you have any info of if someone has faced this issue before

Most of the time mumbling is the main issue. However, they can’t really see your hands and there’s no requirement that the hands have to be on camera. The whiteboard doesn’t have to be on camera either. So you can always keep your hands on the table and not worry about it.

PS. If you do get interrupted and you feel that it’s not justified or perhaps the interruption has wasted a lot of your time, I suggest terminating your test and calling it a technical issue and retaking it for free again. Unless you encounter a technical issue, no matter proctor interruptions or other interruptions, you will not get a free retake. Only if Your computer shuts down or you lose Internet connection only then you are eligible for a retake. You have to wait for 15 days to do that but in my mind, in case they I’m justifiably interrupt you or disrupt your test significantly, that’s atheist best option there is….




Posted from my mobile device
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Agreed. In other words, if your GMAT online session is going poorly for any reason (not limited to, but especially including unfair proctor interruptions or technical issues), then you could always surreptitiously hit the power button on your computer, or unplug the power to your internet, and hope that GMAC / Pearson Due / Examity counts it as a "technical issue" and provides a free voucher code for a retake.

I'm not saying that you should. I'm just saying that you could.

As long as you realize that you're taking a risk by doing so, and that there will be a delay while your case is reviewed, this strategy could be worth it, especially since we are currently allowed only 2 official attempts at the GMAT online.

Has the fee increased to 305?

Yes. I live in Italy, and I paid 305USD three days ago for online test. It was written: 250 USD for the fee and 55 USD for "estimated tax". There is no problem to add the tax, but in January I paid only 250USD, so It seems a bit strange to me.

That is interesting that they are collecting local taxes that they were not collecting in the past… This is strange because the payment system is the same and the test provider has not changed either. Super strange

Posted from my mobile device
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Yes definitely bb!

And I also tried to search for some news from their website about this change in the fee, but I couldn’t find any.

I have proofs of these two payments, should I contact customer service for further details?

Would be interesting to find out what's going on... but I want to be sensitive to your time. At the same time maybe you will get $65 back?
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Or maybe I will have to pay another $55 for the previous time 😂. I will update as soon as I receive their answers.

MBA.com now features an official "countdown to the enhanced GMAT online" timer.



Good luck to all the early adopters! There are bound to be some technical issues as always, but select section order and instant scoring are game-changers.

As for the re-introduction of AWA, I think that GMAC should have just removed that section entirely, but hey, you can't win them all.

Source: https://www.mba.com/exams/gmat-online/g ... mat-online

Hey,

I gave my test on 14th May and got my result today (18th May). The result is far below my target score, I got a 650 Q49, V30. My official mocks scores were higher than this
Mock 1: 690
Mock 2: 690
Mock 3: 740
Mock 4: 740

I wouldn't say that the online test was very difficult from the official mocks but I don't know what went wrong especially in Verbal.

Can anyone please guide me on how should I proceed, I am targeting for a 720-730 and would want to take a re-test within a month or at max month and a half?

The enhanced GMAT online starts in less than 48 hours, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I'm genuinely excited to start reading the first few debriefs from the early adopters.

The instant scoring is a huge deal, the select section order is a big deal for those of us who prefer Verbal first, and the readdition of AWA is...disappointing, but whatever. I feel the same about the continued lack of an ESR (Enhanced Score Report) option, as well as GMAC's lack of transparency regarding this popularly requested service, but that's still not going to stop me from recommending the enhanced GMAT online to my private students, assuming all goes well—or at least OK—over the first 7-10 days.

Now, let's just hope that the Examity technology works, including the highly sketchy ESSecureBrowser, and that the early adopters don't get punished for early adoption in the same way they did last year, when many of us had to take the GMAT online without the ability to take physical notes.

As many of you know, early GMAT online test-takers encountered numerous technological challenges (exam glitches, camera issues, registration and scheduling issues, computer problems, proctor problems, etc.) with the rollout of the online exam and Pearson Vue's OnVue secure browser, not to mention the overly restrictive exam rules, which required a fixed section order (Q,V,IR), permitted only the use of a clunky online whiteboard for notes, and did not allow a break between Quant and Verbal, as is done on the test-center GMAT. And don't forget to keep your face and eyes on camera at all times, or your exam could be cancelled at any moment, as it was on my first attempt, for "looking off screen" before the exam even began.

Since then, not only has a physical whiteboard become an option, but "unofficial" scoring is now instant, and we can choose our preferred section order. That's a win for this community, for sure—even if we do have to write the essay again.

Are there other GMAT tutors / experts out there who are considering coming out of "retirement" to try the Examity version of the GMAT online?

How about you, souvik101990? Historically (and unlike some other less-humble tutors who would rather sit on their ancient GMAT scores), you have always been up for the challenge when the GMAT changes. I appreciate that you have approached your repeated GMAT attempts as an experiment and a learning experience, and as a way to help others on this forum. I have tried to do the same with my last 5 GMAT attempts over the last 5 years, and I strongly feel that my experiences retaking the GMAT have aided my students immeasurably.

Do you have any lifetime attempts left? As far as I know, I have 2 3.

Yes, Brian, I am considering taking the new iteration of the GMAT™ Online, and I would also encourage other tutors and Experts to do so. In fact, I will create a tracker in the form of a table if enough tutors and Experts commit to taking up the challenge. Perhaps a friendly tutor-to-tutor or Expert-to-Expert challenge would give everybody involved a healthy shot in the arm. I cannot say I am resting on any laurels since I closely guard my personal information, but I feel I have something to prove to myself, and I agree with the notion you expressed above, that going through the experience would help me provide a more informed opinion in my tutoring. (I am not sure who these less-humble tutors may be, but I have been on the site only two years now.)

So, will you be taking the test with one of your remaining lifetime attempts? I am prepared to make that pledge, and two would be a party. (I could start the list.)

- Andrew
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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.

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.

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...