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The Wall Street Journal
Jitters Over New GMAT
By Melissa Korn
How significant of an impact will the GMAT changes have on aspiring MBAs and the admissions process? So important that the country's most widely read daily newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, just ran an article on the topic, featuring expertise provided by Andrew Mitchell, Kaplan Test Prep's director of pre-business programs. Andrew is also a veteran GMAT instructor and presenter at business school admissions events.
Emphasizing the unprecedented nature of the question types test takers will find on the GMAT's new Integrated Reasoning section come June 2012 and why the exam changes are being made, Andrew says:
"You're much more likely to have to analyze an integrated set of data than you are to do a geometry problem." Geometry will still be covered within the GMAT's existing quantitative section.
Read the article in its entirety
In June 2012, GMAT® test takers will face a new section: Integrated Reasoning. Kaplan GMAT courses now include instruction for the new Integrated Reasoning section. Whether you're taking the current exam or the new GMAT, we've got you covered. For those students who want to take the simpler version of the test before the June 5th change, Kaplan is offering a number of GMAT prep courses ending in May.
Enroll today
The Integrated Reasoning section will contain four new, multi-step question types to master on top the five existing types in the Quant and Verbal sections. Integrated Reasoning will yield an additional score on which schools will evaluate GMAT candidates. For all test takers, Integrated Reasoning will mean more hours of studying for an already rigorous test. This page—created in consultation with GMAC, the test maker—is your definitive source on the test change.
The New GMAT - What's Changing?
Timeline for the New Test
April 2012
Scoring scale for IR released
June 2012
Switchover to new GMAT
Free Resources for the New Test
- Free practice with complete explanations
- GMAT Integrated Reasoning, a white paper demystifying the new section [PDF]
- Comparison Chart: Current GMAT vs. New GMAT [PDF]
Try an Integrated Reasoning Question
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Is the New GMAT Harder?
Is the new GMAT Harder? The Quant and Verbal sections aren't changing, but the new GMAT in June is "harder" in the sense that there will be substantially more to prepare for on the test, and quality preparation is a key component of doing well on the test.
The average number of hours of preparation (including class time, for those who take a course) that it takes to score 600+ or 700+ on the GMAT is 100 hours, according to the test maker (2010). Integrated Reasoning only adds to that number and in no way subtracts. Imagine that two equally skilled test takers have 100 hours to spare to prepare for the GMAT. Test Taker A takes the test before June 5, 2012, and Test Taker B takes the test after that date. Test Taker A will get a higher Total Score on the test, and since scores are valid for 5 years, Test Taker A will have an advantage. In other words, the new test presents test takers with an arbitrage situation.
For more information on the "arbitrage situation" presented by the test change, see the video at the right or our free white paper available above for download. To capitalize on the situation, check out the Kaplan GMAT program, available On Site, in our Classroom Anywhere environment, or On Demand.
*Discount is valid from March 1, 2012 to March 31, 2012. $75 offer applies to GMAT On Demand and GMAT Classroom Anywhere® courses. $150 offer applies to GMAT Classroom On Site and GMAT One-On-One Private Tutoring courses.