If you’re thinking about going to business school, you have multiple options in terms of which entrance exam to take, but nowadays, you may also have the option not to take any exam at all. That might seem like a no-brainer decision—after all, who wants* to take a standardized test? But it turns out that there are still good reasons for some people to choose to take the GMAT, even when their target schools don’t require them to do so. The question is just whether any of those reasons apply to you. (*Cough. Besides me and my colleagues…) First, do all of your target schools have either test wai ..read more

Applying to MBA programs would be simpler if there was just one “good GMAT score.” If you scored above that mark, you’d be done with the GMAT; if not, you’d know you needed to keep trying. As with most of life, though, it isn’t that simple. In this article, we’ll break down what counts as a good GMAT score and how to know whether you’ve achieved one.  The Building Blocks of a Good GMAT Score Your GMAT score isn’t just one score. It’s actually five different scores—so you could have both a good GMAT score and a not-so-good GMAT score on the same test!  The most well-known part of you ..read more

Many schools care the most about the Quant section of the GMAT, but Integrated Reasoning has become more important since it was introduced in 2012. And employers who care about test scores are often very interested in your Integrated Reasoning (IR) scores. Follow the below 3 Keys to Success and you’ll be sitting pretty on test day. Key #1: Learn—and Practice—the Four Integrated Reasoning Problem Types Most people are pretty nervous when they first see the four types of IR problems: Multi-Source Reasoning (MSR), Table Analysis, Graphical Interpretation, and Two-Part Analysis. They really don’t ..read more

The GMAT is not a math test. Nor is it a grammar test. Sure, you have to know something (well, a lot of things!) about these topics in order to get a good score. But this test is really testing your executive reasoning skills. The term might be unfamiliar, but you already have—and use—these skills every day. Here are some examples: You arrive at work in the morning and think about all of the things that you could do that day. You can’t get it all done, so which things will have to wait until this afternoon, or tomorrow, or next week? Which one thing should you start working on first? You a ..read more

Getting a 700 GMAT score isn’t easy, and it’s not the right goal for everyone. But if it wasn’t tough to get a 700, it wouldn’t be such an accomplishment! Here’s how to get a 700 on the GMAT and add something really special to your MBA applications. Who Gets a 700 on the GMAT? Most people who take the GMAT don’t get a 700. As of 2018, about one out of every eight GMATs gets a score of 700 or higher. Even among students at top business schools, not everybody has a 700 on the GMAT. And many excellent schools regularly accept students without a 700 GMAT score. Whether you get a 700 GMAT score de ..read more

GMAC, the organization that makes the GMAT, has just announced some great news regarding the GMAT Online! Beginning April 8th, we’ll gain a bunch of features that currently exist only for the testing center-based GMAT: You’ll be able to choose one of three section orders for the exam (Quant first, Verbal first, or Essay first); currently, you’re locked into the Quant-first testing order. You’ll get two 8-minute breaks (placed at the usual times that we get our breaks in the testing center); currently, there’s only one 5-minute break. You’ll see your scores on screen at the end of the exam (fo ..read more

[Note: I first wrote this right after I took the official Executive Assessment Online in May 2020. At that time, we had to use an online whiteboard for all of our work. In June 2020, they fixed that: Now, everyone can use both a physical whiteboard and an online whiteboard. I’ve updated this article accordingly; otherwise, the post is exactly what I wrote right after I took the exam.] I took the GMAT Online about a month ago and I was getting restless (nothing to do during the pandemic!), so I signed up to take the Executive Assessment (EA) Online. The EA Online was a much better experience—I ..read more

GMAC published the 2021 edition of its Official Guide series in late June and we’ve got all of the highlights for the main guide. Is it worth buying? Definitely. I wouldn’t study for the GMAT without using at least the main official guide (OG) book. There are four books in all: The GMAT Official Guide (aka, the main OG): Contains more than 1,000 problems across all three multiple-choice sections of the exam (Quant, Verbal, and Integrated Reasoning) as well as dozens of sample essay prompts. The GMAT Official Guide Quantitative Review: Contains more than 350 Quant problems that do not appear ..read more

Breaking: The GMAT Online now allows test-takers to use physical whiteboards (yay!). Here are the official requirements. You’ll also still have access to the online whiteboard—and there are great reasons to use both, actually. This post has been updated accordingly. When you take the GMAT Online, you’ll have to decide when to use the physical whiteboard and when to use the online one. The key is going to be knowing when to use which and practicing ahead of time so that everything feels seamless on test day. Our tech team replicated the online whiteboard tool used to take the GMAT Online so yo ..read more

Are you figuring out how to study for the Executive Assessment (EA) exam? The Executive Assessment was launched in March 2016 to provide a more streamlined version of the GMAT for Executive MBA (EMBA) candidates—but it has grown and is now used for some regular MBAs and other business Master’s programs. First, I’m going to assume that you’re already familiar with the basics of the Executive Assessment—if not, go read that post I just linked and then come back. I can wait. Next, if you are already familiar with the GMAT, then you can jump-start your understanding of the EA by taking a look at ..read more