If you are thinking of applying to business school you have likely already heard that as of April 16th 2018, the GMAT will be getting shorter. The verbal section will shrink from 41 to 36 questions and the quantitative section will shrink from 37 to 31. What does this mean?
To me, it means that if in practice tests you tend to consistently run out of energy and/or time towards the last few questions of the verbal or quantitative section, then this new test is going to be better for you.
At the same time however, if you tend to take a few questions to find your feet and get rolling, and may perform better towards the end of the verbal or quantitative section, then the current format might suit you better (although in general you're at a disadvantage as on these kinds of tests doing well at the start and achieving tougher questions faster is generally better).
At the end of the day it's a moot point - from April 16th the new and shorter GMAT will be the only choice for everyone.
To read more on the logistics of the change and how it impacts the number of questions you need to solve as well as the time available per question, read this well-written analysis courtesy of Dan Edmonds at NoodlePros.
John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com
