The New GMAT: Which GMAT Should You Take in 2023-2024?

8700a393ab67482eb20da912c61ccf01The GMAT is changing, and there is a brief period of overlap between the “old” GMAT and the “new” GMAT known as GMAT Focus. If you plan to take the GMAT in Q4 2023, or if you are flexible between taking the GMAT in late 2023 or in 2024, then you have a choice whether to take the current GMAT or its replacement, GMAT Focus. So, which should you take?

Timing is the number one factor. If it’s after Q1 2024 currently, you’re reading an old blog post. The old GMAT has been discontinued and GMAT Focus is what everyone must take – that’s one fewer decision that you have to make. It’ll be GMAT Focus for you. 

If you are taking the test in Fall 2023 to apply to business school in winter/spring 2023, you can still register starting August 29th for a test date in Q4 to take GMAT Focus, the “new” GMAT. If you need to take the GMAT sooner, go ahead and take the current/old one. 

“Friendliness” is the next primary concern. The new GMAT is shorter and has less to prepare for. If timing does not dictate your decision, then I would recommend taking the new GMAT, GMAT Focus: your preparation and test-taking experience will both be streamlined and easier.

Competitive advantage may be on your mind. Some people might have the idea to take the old test because it seems harder and they want to do well and have a GMAT score that looks as good as possible on their applications. I can assure you that admissions officers will not think of GMAT scores in this way… in fact, they have to view compare old and new GMAT scores together (just for this one year). In other words, I wouldn’t worry about whether it’s “better” for your application to take the old GMAT or the new one — I suggest focusing on the timing and the friendliness considerations, as just mentioned above. 

Retaking the GMAT is an important question for many people. If you have already taken the GMAT, and your test score is still valid, and your score is “good enough” (which is a another question entirely), there’s no need to take either the “old” GMAT again or GMAT Focus. However, if you think you get burned bad by Sentence Correction or Geometry questions when you first took the GMAT, it might be worth taking the new GMAT (GMAT Focus), if you have the time and energy and if your schedule for applying to business school allows. 

At GMAT Free, we are just starting to update our course for the new GMAT. We will share more details soon.

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