GRAD School / MBA News and GMAT / GRE Strategy

One of the most common questions that I get from folks beginning their GMAT prep as we head to the end of 2024, is which section order is the best? Before the GMAT released the new version of the test at the end of 2023, I would always say "whatever you prefer, just make sure you stick to your order after your third practice exam". Now, with every section possessing a uniform length and scoring impact, as well as a rumored (and likely) section adaptivity impacting your overall score, there is a more specific approach to ordering the sections. However, it does still rely to a degree on your personal proficiency, and you should definitely still finalize your order by the time you finish your third practice exam at mba.com.

The GMAT Focus is gone... Long live the GMAT Focus. As of July 2024, the GMAC has retired it's now temporary rebranding of the successor to the GMAT 10th Edition so that the test previously known as the GMAT Focus Edition, and all past GMAT exams, are now simply known as the GMAT. This is causing significant confusion among test takers and preppers, because there is now almost no way to readily differentiate between prep materials for the prior version of the exam that has been retired and the current version that was launched in November 2023, becoming the only available version of the exam as of February 2024.

After the GRE General Test started gaining traction as an alternative to the GMAT for business school admissions in the late 2000s, it soon became rather easy to find a GRE to GMAT conversion tool online. For a while, it was right on the official ETS GRE website. Applicants could plug their scores into the tool and in both directions a supposedly equivalent score would pop out.

While the GMAT Focus is still largely a derivative of the classic GMAT exam, there are some key distinctions that have become apparent as we at MyGuru become more familiar with this new version of the GMAC flagship business school entrance exam. Understanding how the GMAT Focus Edition is scored and what it tests can help MBA candidates immediately improve their performance. Furthermore, familiarizing yourself with the nuances of the exam will help you to aim for the top of that now 805 scoring scale!

I cannot count the number of times I've been asked by MBA candidates (and even folks considering the LSAT for law school admissions) who have for whatever reason been turned off by the GMAT - shouldn't I just take the GRE? After all, in every corner of the internet it seems that the GRE is championed as the easier exam - and why wouldn't it be?