This morning, GMAC made a formal announcement defining some changes that will be taking place to the format of the Official GMAT (beginning April 16, 2018). These changes primarily impact the overall length of the Exam (meaning the number of questions in the Quant and Verbal sections as well as the amount of time that you'll have to complete each of those two sections).
Before we discuss those changes, it's important to note the many aspects of the GMAT that will remain the SAME (all of this is per GMAC - you can read about it here):
https://www.mba.com/us/frequently-asked ... -exam.aspx
Aspects that are the SAME:
-The content and question types will NOT change - there will NOT be any "new" material to learn.
-The built-in patterns that exist in the GMAT and the Tactics that you can use to deal with GMAT questions are the SAME as before.
-The number of 'scored' questions will be the SAME and the Scoring Algorithm will not change.
-The average time per question in each section is essentially the same as it was before.
-The design interface and "look" of the Exam, the Orientation Program, the two 8-minute breaks, etc. will be the same as before.
Aspects that are DIFFERENT:
The changes directly impact how you'll work through the Quant and Verbal sections:
-The Quant section will now be 31 questions (down from 37) and you'll have 62 minutes to complete the section (down from 75)
-The Verbal section will now be 36 questions (down from 41) and you'll have 65 minutes to complete the section (down from 75)
-The 11 questions that will be removed are all 'experimental' questions (questions that do NOT count towards your score).
What this all means going forward:
You should expect to see the various GMAT practice resources on the market updated in the coming weeks and months to reflect these new changes to the Exam. There are still some 'unknowns' regarding which types of questions are to be removed (the biggest questions are in regards to Reading Comprehension and whether there will be fewer/shorter RC prompts or not), but all of that should be made clear in the coming days and weeks as more information becomes available.
GMAC has offered those who have already scheduled their Exams the opportunity to reschedule their appointments for free (under certain conditions which you can read about in the above link).
While this announcement might seem 'out of the nowhere', the net effect of these changes is ultimately a shorter Exam - and that is an opportunity for a well-trained Test Taker to perform at an even higher level on the GMAT. We're excited to adapt our materials to this updated GMAT and help all of our Clients to hit their GMAT Score Goals on Test Day.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Before we discuss those changes, it's important to note the many aspects of the GMAT that will remain the SAME (all of this is per GMAC - you can read about it here):
https://www.mba.com/us/frequently-asked ... -exam.aspx
Aspects that are the SAME:
-The content and question types will NOT change - there will NOT be any "new" material to learn.
-The built-in patterns that exist in the GMAT and the Tactics that you can use to deal with GMAT questions are the SAME as before.
-The number of 'scored' questions will be the SAME and the Scoring Algorithm will not change.
-The average time per question in each section is essentially the same as it was before.
-The design interface and "look" of the Exam, the Orientation Program, the two 8-minute breaks, etc. will be the same as before.
Aspects that are DIFFERENT:
The changes directly impact how you'll work through the Quant and Verbal sections:
-The Quant section will now be 31 questions (down from 37) and you'll have 62 minutes to complete the section (down from 75)
-The Verbal section will now be 36 questions (down from 41) and you'll have 65 minutes to complete the section (down from 75)
-The 11 questions that will be removed are all 'experimental' questions (questions that do NOT count towards your score).
What this all means going forward:
You should expect to see the various GMAT practice resources on the market updated in the coming weeks and months to reflect these new changes to the Exam. There are still some 'unknowns' regarding which types of questions are to be removed (the biggest questions are in regards to Reading Comprehension and whether there will be fewer/shorter RC prompts or not), but all of that should be made clear in the coming days and weeks as more information becomes available.
GMAC has offered those who have already scheduled their Exams the opportunity to reschedule their appointments for free (under certain conditions which you can read about in the above link).
While this announcement might seem 'out of the nowhere', the net effect of these changes is ultimately a shorter Exam - and that is an opportunity for a well-trained Test Taker to perform at an even higher level on the GMAT. We're excited to adapt our materials to this updated GMAT and help all of our Clients to hit their GMAT Score Goals on Test Day.
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
