The GMAT exam is a computer-adaptive test that assesses the candidates’ analytical writing, quantitative, verbal and reading skills in standard written English.
GMAT is a global exam. All over the world thousands of students give GMAT to get admissions into the top B-Schools of the world. Competition to the top B-Schools is definitely tough. However with the right strategy and mindset one can ace the exam.
GMAT (Graduate Management Entrance Test) is a standardized management entrance test that is administered by GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council) for admission into internationally reclaimed B-schools. The test is conducted online in a 3 hour and 30-minute time stretch. Many eminent B schools such as Harvard Business School, London Business School, INSEAD, Wharton etc. along with 2300 b-schools accept GMAT as a qualifying criterion for admission into their 7000+ post graduate courses. This year, GMAT will be held in a remote proctored mode. Usually, GMAT is a computer adaptive examination conducted in online mode across more than 600 test centers in 115+ countries. The four GMAT Sections are
However, this year, it can be taken at the comfort of your home with two of the major sections’ I.e., Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative reasoning time duration shortened by 13 and 10 minutes respectively. GMAC provides the GMAT aspirants with a feasibility of tangible slot booking and 5 exam attempts after every 16 days in a rolling 12-month period and 8 overall exam attempts.
GMAC which conducts the GMAT exam every year has taken a radical step towards helping MBA aspirants around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time, the GMAT exam will be conducted in an online mode to help candidates meet their B-school admissions deadline. GMAT online exam is open to all and would follow the protocols of the regular GMAT exam to support traditional ways of test-deliverance. The GMAT Online Exam is a remote proctored interim solution, as described by GMAC, in the interest of serious aspirants who do not wish to disrupt their future study plans due to COVID-19 related closures and the worldwide lockdown caused by the pandemic and a commendable step in the history of GMAT examination from the health and advisory point of view.
The exam is offered at limited availability and the scores are valid for five (5) years, same as the regular exam. However, the score will not count toward the twelve month and lifetime limits offered by the regular GMAT exam.
The GMAT online exam will have the same structure as the offline GMAT exam, with one significant change. The GMAT online exam will have only three sections, namely, Quantitative, Verbal and Integrated Reasoning, instead of four. GMAC has entirely removed the section of Analytical Writing Assessment Section for the GMAT online exam. The three sections will have the same number of questions and time limit as the regular in-person GMAT exam. The sections are as follows:
Section |
Questions |
Time allotted |
Quantitative Ability |
31 |
62 |
Verbal |
36 |
65 |
Integrated Reasoning (IR) |
12 |
30 |
GMAC has set the appointment times 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Students can book their slot up to 1 day before the obtainable testing window. Currently, the appointment dates are available from April 20, 2020, until December 31, 2020. GMAC will continue to monitor the situation regarding the pandemic and look to add future appointment dates if the need arises.
The GMAT Online exam will be available all over the world, with the exception of Mainland China, North Korea, Cuba, Iran Sudan and Slovenia due to regulatory and local data privacy rules. Also, the current proctor support for the GMAT Online exam is only offered in English.
The GMAT Online exam can be attempted on both Windows PC and Mac. GMAC is also encouraging the candidates to access a test center facility in their proximity, only if the facility is open and the candidates feel safe. Moreover, GMAC is strictly following local government directives to ensure the health and safety of test-takers and test center staff. All of the test centers that are currently open have enhanced safety and hygiene practices in place.
Before attempting the GMAT online exam, a candidate must be able to understand the exam structure and the time distribution. Here are some of the factors that need to be considered:
The GMAT Online exam will have the same type and number of questions and section times as the in-person GMAT exam. It will also use the same scoring algorithm and score scale for the Section Scores and Total Score as the test center-based version.
After receiving their score report, candidates will see individual section scores and the total score on their GMAT online exam along with their percentiles. GMAT online exam scores are valid for five years and will not count towards candidates' 12-month and lifetime GMAT limits.
GMAC has introduced a new flexible system for the GMAT Online exam that allows candidates to decide when they are ready to send their score to programs. Included with the GMAT Online exam fee, candidates will have two opportunities to send score reports to programs.
You'll have the option to select up to 5 programs during the exam registration itself. You can modify these selections up to 24 hours before your exam appointment time. Your second opportunity to select programs is after receiving your official score via email.
A point worth noting is that currently with the GMAT Online exam that there won't be an opportunity for candidates to preview their unofficial score at the end of the exam. If there is uncertainty, they can wait and select your programs after receiving their official score report via email. The official score will be sent to the candidates on their registered email within seven business days of completing their exam.
The answer to this is subjective and depends on what you want from the GMAT Coaching Classes. Is it the best teachers? Or is it the best material? Or the best location? For some of the above our answer varies.
However, there are some points that one must look for before going into any GMAT coaching classes.
These were one of the few touchpoints which can be modified according to your need. But before you come to any conclusion here is something worth considering.
We at Career Launcher, are dedicated to produce toppers every year.
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But now again a dilemma arises. Online coaching or offline coaching?
Since we are dedicated to resolving your problems, let's make it easier for you.
Don't feel like traveling long distances after hectic work or college timings?
Then this one is definitely for you. Here let's list out the advantages of online coaching-
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The GMAT shortlisting Is done based on five important parameters that candidates need to describe in their GMAT registration form. Here are the four important components:
GMAT Scores: GMAT Score Report Comprise of five main elements I.e Verbal Reasoning score, Quantitative Reasoning score, Integrated Reasoning score and Analytical Writing Assessment score. GMAT Score report can ideally take 20-25 days after the examination. A candidate can view the unofficial GMAT score report right after he/she completes the exam. The preliminary shortlisting in all the B schools is done after assessing a candidate’s GMAT score.
Professional Industry Experience: B-schools generally seek for students who possess relevant industry experience that showcases their expertise and career progression in terms of decision-making skills, managerial skills, leadership and strategy management.
Recommendations: Recommendation has a great deal of importance as it is an overview of your responsibilities and how well you executed them in your previous organization. What others say about you can make or break the effectiveness of your GMAT Application. Hence, chose your contenders wisely and make sure that they were on the same level as yours and belonging to the similar department to help you fetch the recommendation letter.
Essay: Another crucial step for you to foresee it is the essay writing. Here, your writing ability and readability is put to test which is an indirect assessment of your communication skills.
Statement of Purpose/GMAT Video Interview: This is the final step of your admission and surpassing this step will attest admission in your choicest B school. Throughout this step, your thought procedure, prognostications and ambitions are put to test and your genuineness is evaluated minutely. You need to remain conscious about not falsifying any information related to you, whether you are writing an SOP or giving a video interview. In case of a discrepancy, the admission committee will consider your documents frivolous and that will negate your GMAT score, thereby cancelling the admission.
After a candidate completes its GMAT Exam, the raw scores flash on his/her screen at that very time. Based on the raw score, a candidate has to make a quick decision whether he wishes to accept or discard the score. In case a person accepts the score, the scorecard will be sent forward to the institute which resembles their MBA course criteria. After this, the B-school starts selecting the students for various MBA programmes provided by them. Hence, GMAT score is a primary factor in getting your targeted b-school which cannot be ignored at any cost. Let us now look at the complete selection procedure of the B-Schools accepting GMAT. The procedure might differ from college to college, but the general prototype of all the colleges remains the same.
Here is a list of documents that will be mandatory for you to procure during the entire admission process through GMAT:
Verbal Reasoning
Many GMAT verbal preparation tips revolve around the basics I.e. understanding the relationship between the text and its meaning, critical reasoning and sentence corrections and acknowledging the difference between right answer and wrong answer. Apart from these basics, one needs to also read and grasp basic rules and regulations firmly and enduringly.
This section has 36 multiple choice questions. It is divided further into Critical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension and Sentence Correction. This section purely tests the caliber of an aspirant to understand the logical flow of the passage and concept. A candidate needs to have excellent written communication skills to ace this section. The main parts of this section are:
Critical Reasoning: It analyzes a candidate’s ability to understand arguments and devise a plan of action to counter it.
Reading Comprehension: It analyzes a candidate’s ability to draw inferences, logically relate to the given information between two entities, judge the tone of the passage, find out the main idea covered, and answer questions based on that idea.
Sentence Correction: Questions belonging to this section evaluates two broad aspects I.e. ability to identify grammatically correct and structurally sound questions and an effective expression while pointing to sentences that give an idea of a clear grammatical relationship.
Reading Comprehension |
Critical Reasoning |
Sentence correction |
Ensure you keep an eye out for answer options that repeat the statement given in the passage, but do not answer the question |
Trust yourself. Be certain that you have the intellectual ability to interpret the question. Possibly, you would search for facts, claimed proofs and inferences. |
Reads and try to make out the purpose of the sentence. |
Solve all the questions based on what the passage expresses or suggests. |
Determine the consistency, the position and the relevance to the conclusion. |
Assess the highlighted part of the sentence. Look out for grammatical mistakes before you reach out for the answer options. |
Go through all the options before answering the question. |
Go through the question and determine what is being asked in it |
Decide how appropriately does each option rectify the actual sentence |
Familiarize yourself with the passage and avoid wasting time on complex words. Pay attention to what the author wants to convey, rather than what the difficult word might mean. |
Go through the answer options carefully and examine their credibility with respect to the question. |
Consider all possible solutions which would correct the sentence. You need to consider the overall clarity, grammar, use of phrases, logic of the sentence and the tonality. |
Speed is necessary, but understanding is crucial. Give as many mocks as you can to master your approach. |
Use Venn diagrams to solve reasoning questions and examining reasoning in everyday context. |
Read the sentence again, this time after fitting in your answer choice. Is the sentence making any sense? If no, then understand that some sentences do not require any corrections. |
Career Launcher’s GMAT Verbal Program is a one-stop destination for all your doubts regarding GMAT verbal reasoning and boosting your preparation streak over lakhs of other candidates. Get in touch with our course counselors for a detailed information on the program and relevant handouts of the same.
Quantitative Reasoning
The quantitative section of GMAT consists of questions of two types mentioned as under :
Problem Solving: It analyzes a candidate’s potential to bring in logic and analytical reasoning effectively for solving such questions.
Data Sufficiency: It identifies a candidate’s ability to pick out parts of information that are relevant to the question and predict at what point there is enough data to solve the question.
Both the Problem Solving and the Data Sufficiency sections have 18 questions. Quant topics other than these are mentioned as under:
Start Strong
You should fire it off by starting with simpler and more direct-concept-based questions. The questions should be of easy-to-moderate level. Solving a set of 10 questions everyday will help develop familiarity with the concept and hence make it easier for you to identify solvable questions during the mocks and the actual exam. Also, this would enable you to cover the quant syllabus on a broader scale.
Group Learning
Group learning increases interaction between the same set of candidates. You can pair with your fellow aspirant and learn collectively. If he/she struggles with something, you can help him/her out of it and vice versa. Knowledge grows when it is shared. A focused study group would help you increase your calculative ability and discuss unique methods of solving a question.
Do not break a sweat
Quant is the last section of the paper. This implies by the time a candidate reaches this section, he/she would feel the fatigue empower their thought procedure. Hence, this should be kept in mind beforehand and full-length mock tests should be taken frequently to counter it.
Proctored Mock tests
Proctored Mock tests replicate the exact structure and difficulty of the section. You can explore sectional mock tests that would indulge you to several categories of test questions and help you analyze your own performance. This would, in turn, furnish your preparation strategy for enhanced speed and accuracy. These tests are readily available on the internet. Proctored mock tests provide a detailed analysis of the section and your AIR rank with respect to other mock takers.
Focus on Weak Areas
The thumb rule of a great preparation is to focus on the weak areas and overcome the mistakes that one is making. During preparation, one must focus on learning, practicing and revising the QA topics in which they are weak. You require perfect conceptual understanding to prepare for this particular GMAT section. The GMAT Quant Program delivered by Career Launcher is a 3-month online program for students who aspire to perfect their quantitative skills in an accelerated mode.
Integrated Reasoning
The Integrated Reasoning Questions in the GMAT Syllabus 2020 consists of the data present in the form of graphs, passages, table or a combination of the three. Based on the data provided, four types of questions are asked:
Analytical Writing Assessment Section
This section basically evaluates the written communication skills of a candidate. The questions are based on two topics I.e., Issue and Argument essay. Here in, the passage could belong to any area of interest and it is advised that a student sticks to a neutral opinion while answering the passage. This is a non-scoring section of GMAT which is not included in the overall score. However, AWA reports are demanded by all the major universities in the world separately. This is the only reason why AWA is an important section of GMAT.
Preparation tips for AWA Section
GMAT coaching has been a thoroughfare exercise for all the GMAT aspirants. Despite being one of the most challenging examinations in the world, it is cent per cent possible to crack GMAT with the help of GMAT coaching which helps with the correct guidance, mentorship, conceptual learning and practice.
Originally, taking GMAT classes had been a taboo for students who considered themselves academically sound and extremely intellectual. However, winds of change had altered the perspective of people who understood that GMAT is an aptitude screening paper and the questions are “computer-adaptive”. Hence, there is a specific way to tackle these questions, a way which you can only know once you seek directions with GMAT veterans through GMAT online classes.
Here are six major reasons as to why should you go for GMAT online coaching:
To view Career Launcher’s GMAT coaching classes, click here.
Let's look at a few important and handy pointers that should help you select the most appropriate coaching center to aid your GMAT preparation.