GMAT Online - What We Know [Master Topic]

Hi Hovkial, it is well-known that GMAC switches out the question pools for the real GMAT every x number of days, which is why you normally must wait 16 days between consecutive attempts: to avoid seeing repeat questions.

Though GMAC has not admitted as much, it is a reasonable assumption that the reason you are allowed to make a test-center and online appointment within a less than 16-day span is that GMAC knows you will not see repeat questions, meaning that the question pools must (currently) be different, which is supported by the wave of GMAT online debriefs complaining in particular about a different, trickier and wordier Quant section from that on the test-center exam.

Thus, it is also reasonable to conclude that if the question pools are merged (ahem, "aligned"), then this < 16 day GMAT online + test-center GMAT loophole will cease to exist.

Are we making assumptions here? Yes, of course we are. However, they are very reasonable ones, in my opinion.



I have also seen conversations on other threads suggesting that one reason the GMAT Verbal scoring has gotten so tough is because of the pressure on GMAC to create more new Verbal questions for the GMAT online, possibly leading to a shortage of hard Verbal questions. This of course would not be an issue if GMAC could simply use the same questions from the test-center exam.

Finally, not one person who has taken the online and in-person exams within a 16-day span has reported seeing a repeat question.

None of these statements is new or has any empirical basis in facts. Speculations, assumptions etc have a way of morphing into constructed reality that then become accepted as "fact".

People are free to speculate of course (that isn't the point). My worry relates more to some of the newbies who internalize such talks and then spin them into new stories, which then become folklore.

There are many logistical, business, regulatory and academic reasons for GMAC's policies that can equally explain the circumstances.

]Not sure whether this has been mentioned on the thread but will an ESR now be available with the GMAT Online?

I'm not sure how "you're making assumptions and relying on circumstance and logic instead of proven facts" is a valid retort when I've already admitted as much, but I believe that most readers have already drawn the same logical conclusion as I about the respective question pools on the GMAT online and test-center GMAT—i.e, that they are different.

I will happily concede, as I already have, that we have yet to prove this difference beyond a doubt—but just because GMAC hasn't yet acknowledged it doesn't make it untrue. And if it were untrue, then surely we would have heard from least one student by now who took both exam versions within less than 16 days (a common strategy, believe it or not) and saw repeat questions.

So why hasn't GMAC acknowledged that the online and test-center GMATs draw from different question pools, assuming that this is indeed true? 1) It would reinforce the already-common belief that the two exam versions are unequal in difficulty, despite GMAC's assertions to the contrary, and 2) GMAC may plan to merge the question pools at some future date, as discussed above.

What's less clear is whether the current question pools for the two exams are entirely separate (this is what I suspect, however, given the different "feel" of the online and test-center exams), or simply staggered to prevent overlap. It's possible that GMAT online questions are simply older test-center GMAT questions that haven't yet been "retired," but I do believe it's entirely obvious to those who are paying attention, and to those of us who have taken the GMAT online—despite definitive proof in the form of a GMAC acknowledgement— that the respective question pools are, at the very least, different.

Hi abalodi,

Sadly, as of today there is still no ESR option for the GMAT online, even though the online exam has now been around for 1.5 years, and despite overwhelming popular demand for this option.

In my opinion, the two versions of the GMAT (test-center and online) will never be truly "aligned" until GMAC finally offers an ESR for the online exam.

does anyone which timezone GMAT registration page follow?
It's already Oct 20 in my timezone and I still cannot register for my 3rd online exam as they announced😔😣

Still cold message "REGISTRATION ATTEMPT LIMIT REACHED"

Posted from my mobile device

Hi annie1995,

GMAC headquarters is located in Reston, Virginia—which is USA EST (same time zone as NYC), so that's most likely the time zone of reference.

Right now it's 4:03 pm EST on Tuesday, October 19th here in the US, and there is no guarantee that the changes will immediately go into effect at midnight on 10/20 (tomorrow).

In my experience, we might have to wait until around 9 am EST the next business day for GMAC / Examity to implement any announced changes.

Delays are commonplace when it comes to GMAC, so try to be patient.

You can now officially book Online GMAT for your 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc appointment.

Anyone excited about it?

Great news!

annie1995,

Just to confirm, have you had any luck registering for a 3rd GMAT online attempt on MBA.com?

Thanks mcelroytutoring, I was able to register my 3rd online attempt in November, really excited for that.

Thanks bb for the info also, I got the email from them around 2:00 AM on Oct 22 my timezone

OK, great: thank you for the update to confirm!

The 2-test lifetime limit for the GMAT online is officially no more. Good riddance to that pointless rule, and good luck to you on attempt #3.

Now, if only there were an ESR option.

The eight-exam lifetime limit does not make rational sense. The GMAT's greatest competitor, the GRE, does not impose such limits. Both face similar concerns, so it is not rational for GMAC to impose such a limit.

As I understand, GMAC originally imposed this limit in order to curb professional test takers (such as GMAT tutors and agencies) from repeatedly taking the exam and somehow undermining it. Does this concern still hold in view of GRE's approach?

I agree that it seems silly.
I believe the 8-time limit was introduced to keep tutors from poaching questions from the test and passing them on to their students.

I have heard of some taking GMAT dozens of times and saving hard new questions, some thing that is not very common for the GRE, which is a lot less competitive at least at this time.

How big was the problem with tutors poaching questions? I don’t think it was very common… and the way this route was rolled out, it said that nobody would be unnecessarily denied from taking the test more than eight times. Unfortunately that has not been accurate and everyone so far has been denied from taking the test more than 8 times. It’s unfortunate. I can totally see how someone who’s scoring 600s, is clearly not a tutor….




Posted from my mobile device

Years ago, the ETS had faced a crisis where actual exam questions were disclosed by "professionals" and were passed around. I believe that ETS resolved that crisis through lawsuits, nullifying scores, and reporting to programs. That was a significant actual crisis and yet, ETS did not impose any artificial limits.

Imposing limits penalizes very many innocent test takers. The number eight is itself unexplainable. It is harder to score well on the GMAT in an initial attempt and so people end up taking the exam several times. The GRE is easier in that sense. All of this just means that the natural number of re-attempts for the GMAT will be higher than that on the GRE.

Looking at some statistics reported by universities that admit PhD students:

- The average GRE score reported by top programs for admitted candidates is in the range of 320-325+ish. That translates to a converted GMAT score of about 630-640, assuming an equal split of 160Q and 160V.

- However, the actual GMAT average for these same programs is around 700 (or above). To get an equivalent GRE converted score, it would appear that one would need to score extremely highly on the GRE on both components.

People do take the GRE multiple times and despite the crises faced by ETS in the past, there has no similar rationale advanced by ETS to impose lifetime attempts.

I haven't seen any white papers or published research from GMAC on this issue. It would be interesting to hear from them.

The imposition of the 5-exam rule in any given rolling year should halt the problem of people taking the exam frequently. A person would have to be nearly 120 years old to take the exam even two dozen times.

The limit of 8 exams in a lifetime is still not explainable. GMAC did end up, through its policies, limiting innocent people by this lifetime barrier.

I agree that scoring well on the GRE is a little easier purely when it comes to content. The GRE however is a longer timed exam. That can test people who lack the strength to complete a long session. I still think that scoring very highly on all components of the GRE is very difficult for non-professionals, excluding tutors and agencies.

Hi Hovkial,

As a highly biased GMAT tutor who would like to to eventually score a verified perfect 800 on the GMAT, I fully support the removal of the 8-test lifetime limit, so I can go back to taking it once a year, as I started doing in early 2012, well before the lifetime limit was imposed by GMAC in June of 2015.

So far I have been able to score a verified perfect 340 on the GRE, for example—but it was much easier to do so without a lifetime limit hanging over my head. Like many in my position, I only have a few more official attempts left at the GMAT, and I want to use them wisely.

That said, I think you are making an "x/y vs. y/x" math mistake here regarding the annual "rolling year" limit: it's not one exam per 5 years, it's 5 exams per one year, meaning that you could take the GMAT 25 times in only 5 years if there were no 8-exam lifetime limit.

That's right. You can take the exam 25 times in 5 years - saw the mistake after posting. That wasn't the main point in the issue.

The 5-exam limit per rolling year should control for, to some small extent, any learning that occurs through repeated test taking. People end up learning certain skills through repeated behaviors. This is another reason why I do not trust standardized exams. Scores become biased over time and person, especially if testing occurs in some patterns.

Unless I have missed something, the 8-exam lifetime limit does not have a proper scientific basis. It seems to be a policy decision. If that is the case, then policies should be examined to see if they are doing more harm than expected.

It may be easier to score a 340 on the GRE than an 800 on the newer GMAT. There have been several 340s, but far fewer 800s that I have come across recently in the last few years. I think it was easier to score an 800 on past versions of the exam.