The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the parent body administering the GMAT, has announced that, as of January 31, 2024, the old GMAT will no longer be available.

GMAT test takers now only have the option to take the new version of the GMAT, the GMAT Focus edition.

Comparing the Classic GMAT vs GMAT Focus Edition, we can observe the following 7 major differences:

  1. Three sections instead of four
  2. No AWA Section
  3. No Sentence Correction Questions
  4. No Geometry Questions
  5. Fewer Questions. Lesser Time
  6. Bookmark and Edit Questions
  7. Select Colleges after the exam

The introduction of the GMAT Focus Edition makes a lot of sense.

The number of GMAT test takers has been steadily dropping over the last few years, and it is the right time to introduce a shorter, more real-world-focused test.

Almost an hour shorter, the GMAT Focus Edition is surely the next big thing.

Sounds simple enough, but there are still a ton of questions that you might have about GMAT Focus Edition.

“How is the GMAT Focus Edition different from the old GMAT?”

“Does having a GMAT Focus score increase my chances of admission to a business school?”

“Heck! How does this change affect me?”

Buckle up!

We’re going to look at everything you need to know about the difference between the old GMAT exam and the new GMAT Focus Edition.

In this blog, we compare the Classic GMAT vs GMAT Focus Edition, highlighting the key differences and benefits. For a deeper dive into the currently active version, the GMAT Focus Edition, check out our complete guide for all the details you need! 

The old GMAT had four sections:

• Analytical Writing Assessment
• Integrated Reasoning
• Verbal Reasoning
• Quantitative Reasoning

The current version of the GMAT has three sections instead of four:

• Verbal Reasoning
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Data Insights

On the face of it, it seems like you have one section less to study for. But if you think about it, two of the four sections in the old GMAT did not contribute to the overall score. In other words, it was as good as having just two sections to study for.

So while it looks like you have one section less to study for, you actually have one section more to study for.

The new section called Data Insights (DI)has questions on data sufficiency, multi-source reasoning, table analysis, graphics interpretation, and two-part analysis.

If you are familiar with the Integrated Reasoning Section (IR) from the old GMAT format, you will know that most of the question types in the DI section were earlier in the IR section of the Classic GMAT.

But no one really paid any attention to these questions, as the IR score did not contribute to the overall GMAT score.

But the Data Insights score is just as relevant as the Verbal and Quants scores, and the question types in the Data Insights section are complex and very time-consuming.

Doing poorly in this section can cause your GMAT total score to sink even if you do well in the other two sections.

The Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section was one of those sections that people would think about a few weeks before the GMAT. Preparing for the AWA meant downloading an essay template that could easily be used to accommodate any topic.

The AWA was a mandatory section that tested candidates’ ability to analyze an argument and communicate their ideas effectively. But no one took it seriously since it did not contribute to the final GMAT score. It became even more irrelevant with the introduction of AI tools like Chat GPT which has pretty much killed the need to have writing as a skill.

Keeping all this in mind, the GMAC has removed the AWA section from the GMAT Focus test. So, overall, not having to tackle one not-so-relevant section is good news.

The advantage of Sentence Correction questions in the verbal section was that they could be answered in 90 seconds. This allowed candidates to spend more time on Critical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension questions. So, it’s disappointing that Sentence Correction is no longer part of the GMAT exam.

However, most candidates disliked this question type because they had to learn a lot of grammar rules to do well. No matter how many rules the candidates learned, the harder the questions got, the more complicated the rules became.

So, the good news for most test takers is that they don’t have to worry about learning grammar rules. Now that Sentence Correction questions are not a part of the GMAT Focus Edition, test takers can focus on other parts of the exam and improve their overall performance.

Geometry has always been a topic with a lot of formulas. Unlike arithmetic or algebra, which has fewer rules, every shape in geometry, such as circles and triangles, has its own set of formulas. Even though there were only 5 to 6 geometry questions on the traditional GMAT, a lot of preparation was needed to answer these questions.

The GMAC has realized that while arithmetic and algebra are important, knowledge of geometry isn’t as crucial in the business world. So it’s great news that the GMAT Focus will not have geometry questions.

However, if you want to be fully prepared and get a high score in the Quant section, you should practice questions on Coordinate Geometry. This is a tricky topic involving understanding slopes and distances between points.

As of now, only 35 questions or so are available in the public domain. So, it’s possible that you might not see any questions on it in the GMAT.

Overall, the removal of geometry questions from the GMAT Focus is a positive change. It reduces the preparation burden, allowing students to concentrate more on arithmetic and algebra, which are more relevant for business applications.

In the Classic GMAT, two sections – AWA and IR – did not contribute to the final score. This means you would have to waste an hour solving questions that didn’t matter. These sections have been removed from the GMAT Focus Edition. Thanks to this change, the GMAT Focus takes less time and has fewer questions.

However, this doesn’t mean that the GMAT Focus is a shorter test. Earlier, the GMAT had two main sections that counted, but now all three sections matter. This means the total time for solving questions that contribute to the final score has increased.

Also, the GMAT Focus only has one break of 10 minutes. With just one break and three sections, at some stage in the exam, you will need to tackle 2 sections together, either before or after the break. That means you will need to sit and focus continuously for 90 minutes! Imagine how mentally exhausting that will be!

How can you use this to your advantage? The only advantage, if you could call it that, is that everyone who takes the GMAT Focus will go through the same struggle. So there’s nothing to worry about 🙂

Two new features have been introduced in the new version of the GMAT.

The bookmark feature allows test takers to click on a particular question and bookmark it in case they want to revisit that question at the end of a section.

If you think about it, this is a small change, but it will reduce a great deal of stress.

Taking the GMAT can be quite nerve-wracking due to its adaptive algorithm. The algorithm decides the difficulty level of the next question based on the test-taker’s performance in the previous question.

This often causes stress, leading test-takers to spend too much time on a question or second-guess their answers.

However, bookmarking offers a sense of relief by allowing candidates to revisit answers, which eases the pressure to be sure about every single answer.

Once they bookmark a question, they can use the review and edit feature at the end of the section to change up to 3 answers per section.

But now that test-takers can change up to three answers at the end of the section, they need to come up with a new plan to figure out which answers they want to change.

Thankfully, the limit of three prevents one from getting overwhelmed and attempting to change every response.

• The new GMAT Focus Edition is shorter and has fewer questions, which may help reduce stress and make it easier to focus during the test.
• The new GMAT Focus Edition will have a separate section called Data Insights that will test data analysis skills, a highly valued asset in business education and many industries today.
• The new GMAT Focus Edition will have a new scoring system that focuses more on percentile rankings.

• There is still a lot of ambiguity surrounding the new GMAT Focus Edition, including the scoring scale and specific test-day strategies.
• The new GMAT Focus Edition will have fewer questions per section, which may result in harder questions and a more sensitive algorithm, potentially making it harder to achieve a high score.
• In the early days, there may be limited prep materials available other than the official guide, which may make it harder for test-takers to prepare adequately, especially for the Data Insights section.

In conclusion, if you’re already preparing for the GMAT, continue with your prep. Don’t lose momentum. If nothing else, CR, RC, and the quant section are not going to change. The rest you can always tackle with a little help, be it by learning one-on-one with our Personal Tutors or by learning with a group of like-minded GMAT candidates.

Is there any other aspect of the GMAT Focus Edition that you’d like to find out more about?

Please comment and let us know.

Or you can get in touch with our expert GMAT Advisors to find out how you can ace the new GMAT Focus Edition.