The GMAT is changing in June 2012 and coverage recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal, with information provided from Kaplan Test Prep. You can read the full article at www.testchange.com or http://on.wsj.com/uDMQXO.
WSJ reports: The idea behind the “integrated reasoning” unit—which will be added to the existing verbal, quantitative and analytical writing sections—is to gauge how well applicants can extract and analyze complex data. The change comes as schools fall under increasing pressure from corporate recruiters to introduce more data-driven courses to better prepare students for the challenges they’ll face after graduation. “You’re much more likely to have to analyze an integrated set of data than you are to do a geometry problem” in business school, says Andrew Mitchell, director of pre-business programs at Washington Post Co.’s Kaplan Test Prep. Geometry will still be covered within the GMAT’s existing quantitative section.
Given the “jitters” that the article describes, your advisees may be wondering, “What do I need to know about the changes? Should I be concerned about anything if I do not intend to apply to business school for a few years?” The key takeaway: juniors and seniors who 1) are serious about business school and 2) can commit to a GMAT preparation schedule this winter and/or spring can gain an advantage in their future application by taking the GMAT prior to June 2012.
The nature of this advantage is that, before June, test takers won’t have to prepare for Integrated Reasoning. Many aspects of the new Integrated Reasoning section are still to be determined, but the sample questions released to date indicate that the section will require serious preparation time. Everyone who takes the test before June is saved that prep time, and can spend it on the “main” section of the test – Quantitative and Verbal. Those test takers, in general, will get a higher Total Score and will be at an advantage.
