All You Need to Know about the New GMAT Prep [Practice & Questions]

Question

All You Need to Know about the Next Generation of GMAT Prep

GMAC released their new practice platform on April 30th. Here is what you need to know:

Old GMAT Prep Software is Dead. It has been discontinued and abandoned
GMAT Prep will NOT be converted to the new Shorter GMAT format
GMAC released the new online version of GMAT Prep called GMAT Official Practice Exams and Questions
New Platform has the same content, unfortunately, so we won't get any new questions from it
There is no migration path for those who have already started taking the old GMAT Prep exams or Exam packs (more on that below)
Practice Link: https://gmatofficialprep.mba.com/SarasExamPrep - for some reason it is Sara's Exam Prep. Anyone know why?

Important Notes for Exam Packs and Practice Questions

Access is now restricted to 12 months; you also must activate the product within 12 months of purchase
If you have purchased EP1, EP2, or QP1 between Jan 16 and April 15, you can upgrade for FREE to the new platform
However, there is no migration path for those who have already started using Exam Packs or Practice Questions from the old to the new platform
- If you have already started working on Test 3, 4, 5, or 6 (Paid), if you upgrade, you will lose your progress
- Worse, your scores will be unreliable as you will see repeat questions
- If you already started using EP1 or EP2, finish the pack and upgrade the remaining (e.g. finish Test 4 and upgrade Tests 5 and 6 to the online version)
- You only have until May 11th to request a free upgrade
You must purchase EP 1 (Tests 3 and 4) to enable the ESR on the web version for ALL tests (1, 2, as well as 5, and 6). Otherwise, you will not get ESR
There will be EP3 (Tests 7 and 8) as well as additional Questions to practice (QP2). There is no timeline available currently about the timing for the release

Known Bugs & Technical Issues with GMAT Practice:

You need to disable your pop up blocker or it won't work
Questions seem to take a few seconds to load (reports say some people experience longer delays with slower connections). Several people have experienced API connection issue.
It will often freeze while finishing a practice test (Report of Canceled Score). The fix (more is here) for this is to go back to the original window and click "Continue Test"

What do you think about the new GMAT Prep Practice & Questions?
What Questions or Tips do you have for the new platform?

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Carcass · Answer

I do think GMAC made another false step.

For those who have already purchased the paid contents (QP,EP and so forth) at least it had to guarantee the access to the new platform for at least six months.

This way, should you buy once again ?' Moreover, the access is for 12 months only ?? why this, I do not care if I see repeated questions lifetime, so ?? where is the problem if I do wanna this ??

Not to mention, the mother of all policy: 8 times at most to take the exam lifetime.......

The pressure from competitors often leads you to pitfalls.

Regards

ramblers · Answer

It doesn't seem that I can transfer my EP 1 or 2 to the website since I purchased it via Empower, but that's another problem.

As far as the exam packs themselves...the question separation is the same, correct? I already did GMATPrep Exam 1, 2, and 3 on the desktop software. If I only did online tests 4, 5, 6, I wouldn't see repeat questions from the desktop 1, 2, 3 exams?

bb · Answer

You can contact EMPOWER and I am sure they can help you with converting to the online - I am doing the same thing for the Premium Members on GMAT Club who have purchased the Packs via GMAT Club at a discount. As to your other question, I do not believe Test 3 and Test 4 are separated but Tests 3/4 and Tests 5/6 are as groups. I think the Tests 3/4 have one bank they draw on and so do 5/6. I have no proof though

ramblers · Answer

For others that needed to do this: Empower support got back to me in about 10 minutes of submitting a ticket, and GMAC support got back to me about 10 minutes after I talk to their rep. Whole process less than an hour. Sucks that it has to be done at all, but that's GMAC's doing.

Could be worse, I guess.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi jsheppa,

I'm glad all of this was handled quickly and effectively (even though it was all a bit of a nuisance). For anyone else who might have similar questions, we've posted an announcement in the EMPOWERgmat Course Syllabus for all of our Clients that explains the 'steps' to converting Exam Packs.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

wolfgangkhan · Answer

Is exam 1's question bank meant to be different to exam 2's question bank? I got some questions in exam 2 on the new platform that I had seen from exam 1 on the old desktop platform

Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum

bb · Answer

No, there is no separation between question banks for tests 1 and 2 for sure and likely no separation for 3/4 (between 3 and 4 that is) or 5/6 (between 5 and 6 that is). There is clearly a separation between EP1 and EP2 - about $50 worth of separation

mevicks · Answer

Its actually known as SARAS in many IT firms in india. The product seems to be purchased by GMAC after GWIZZ (older online content provider) https://saras.excelindia.com/saras/

mcelroytutoring · Answer

Thanks for all the helpful info,  bb !

To clarify: there IS still a  migration path  for those who have started taking the old paid GMATPrep Exams 3-6 (Exam Pack 1 is tests 3/4 and Exam Pack 2 is tests 5/6), so long as they purchased the EPs/QP after 1/16, but that migration path is admittedly compromised: you are not allowed to save your progress / analytics on your old tests, and if you have taken the tests before, then you do risk seeing repeat questions when you re-take them on the online version of the GMATPrep software (and thus inflating your diagnostic scores).

It's pretty quirky that you need to buy EP1 to see your analytics for all of the paid tests, including EP2! I guess GMAC doesn't want you to buy the exam packs out of order.

Exam Pack 3 (EP3)...interesting! I wonder whether it will show up before the mythical Question Pack 2, which has been "upcoming" for about 3 years now.

Random side note: isn't calling this exam data feature an "ESR" a stretch/confusing, since the term ESR should be reserved for actual Enhanced Score Reports from official GMATs? I know that's what GMAC calls it, but I would prefer the term "GMATPrep ESR" or "Official GMAT Practice Exam ESR" to avoid confusion, since they are different. With my students I simply refer to them as "practice test analytics."

-Brian

bb · Answer

I disagree. You are calling a replacement program a “migration”. There is nothing that is migrating because not a single piece of data is transferred.

Instead, those who have bought a now invalid product are given a replacement.

Posted from my mobile device

SkaterGirl · Answer

Hello,

I purchased GMATPrep Software Study Collection Product bundle on 27th November 2017.
But I haven't yet activated my Exam Packs 1 and 2 and Question Pack 1.
Will they exchange my activation codes for the new ones now?

mcelroytutoring · Answer

Hi bb , To clarify, it's not me who is choosing to call this process a "migration": it's the term that GMAC has already used for switching from the desktop GMATPrep software to the online software (and no, the process has nothing to do with transferring your test data from the old GMATPrep software, nor is this possible for any user). If no one can transfer any data from the old tests, and data needs to be transferred to qualify as a migration (in your opinion), then why would GMAC call the process a "migration" at all? https://www.drivecms.com/uploads/mcelroytutoring.com/Screen%20Shot%202018-05-07%20at%205.49.13%20PM.png https://www.drivecms.com/uploads/mcelroytutoring.com/Screen%20Shot%202018-05-04%20at%208.51.35%20AM.png source: GMAC Website The reason GMAC calls it a migration is that it's not the *data* that is migrating; it's the *user* that is migrating from the old desktop GMATPrep software to the online tests. Yes, it would be nice if the data transferred, but why does the data have to transfer in order to qualify as a migration? A migration simply means "a movement from one place to another": you can migrate from the U.S. to Canada, for example, even if you leave all your belongings behind.

-Brian

bb · Answer

Would you agree that the assumption of your statement is that GMAC never makes mistakes and only proclaims absolute truth? I don't believe they posses that kind of power

I don't think they lied but it is called Marketing and confusion.... simply because someone calls something a something, it does not make that something anything. It also could have been written by an intern (a more likely scenario) The reiteration of a term that's used wrong does not make it right either. I don't know what they refer to when they say migration but they are missing a big element of it. You could call this a "subscription migration" but then that's not accurate either because the old product did not have a term or subscription of any kind associated with it, while the new product actually expires and terminates 12 months after activation. That's kind of along the lines of a "migration" that a raccoon experiences when a truck hits it. Same concept - raccoon takes nothing with him during the migration

Here is a bit more what i found about migration and a portion of data migration, continuity, and bridging the gap is definitely missing in this migration. It is really a complimentary upgrade, product exchange, or replacement what they have done. https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/migration

AjiteshArun · Answer

I think you're out of luck. The replacement codes are being provided only for purchases made after Jan 16, 2018.

analogica · Answer

Hi, 
The gmatprep official exam page mentioned above asks for a username and password. Can someone clarify?
I tried keying in the details I use for the official Gmat site, but it doesn't work. Also tried with pop ups enabled. 
I've tried to get to the same page through the product purchase tab, not working either. Someone help trouble-shoot. TIA.

peterwillson280 · Answer

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jessinco · Answer

Hello!

I purchased Question Pack 1 and Exam Pack 1 in February. After two weeks of waiting, I finally received my new activation codes for the migrated products. However, these instructions were provided to me:

1. Log into mba.com 
2. Click on the “Access GMAT® Official Prep” button on your My Account > My Purchases page
3. Click on the Settings icon on the top right corner of the dashboard
4. Enter your 19-digit activation code in the text box for the product. Please ensure that you are entering in the code and deleting spaces before or after the code.
5. Click the green Activate button

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what Settings icon they are referring to in the top right corner of the dashboard. Therefore, I cannot enter my new activation codes. Can anyone help or have you made it through this step?

Thanks,

Jessica

jessinco · Answer

Hi All,

I have solved my own problem. Please let me know if you have any issues migrating.

Best,

Jess

br007 · Answer

Hi,

Quick question (couldn't find something similar in the forum). I have finished one exam through the new Gmatprep online and I got my Overall score (divided in IR, Q and V). On the Gmat Prep old software there was also the detailed performance by type (for instance, on Verbal it showed CR, RC and SC perfomance). I couldn't find that detail on the new online tool. Is that an error or it is not available any more? It was quite good to understand what parts were weaker,

Thanks

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