What is the GMAT Focus Edition? Everything You Need to Know

On March 8th, 2023, the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) announced the biggest changes to the GMAT since the inception of the test in 1954. 

The new version of the GMAT is being called the “GMAT Focus Edition” and will be rolled out “later this year.” 

Our guess is that the new test version will not be available before the middle of the year, but we will update this page as more information becomes available. 

The current version of the GMAT will be available through “early 2024,” and we are recommending that most students study for this version through the 2nd round of the upcoming application cycle.

GMAT Focus Edition — Quick Facts

At this point, there is much that is not known about these changes, but here is what we know for sure from MBA.com about the GMAT Focus Edition:

What Other Changes Do We Expect?

Here is what is likely true but not officially confirmed (this is based on screenshots from the preview option at Amazon of the 2023-24 Official Guide):

Our Recommendation for Students

With any change like this, it is beneficial to wait a little while and gain more information from those who have taken the new test and to see what new resources become available for preparation.

Likely, there will be some delays and/or issues with the new version upon its inception. 

For sure, it will be a confusing 12 months as the new test is rolled out and the current version continues to be administered. 

We advise the following to our current students and those who are interested in signing up:

At this point, we do not know anything about the scoring scale for the new edition or how MBA programs will use the two different exam versions for their application decisions. 

What we can say confidently is that this shift in the exam favors the style of preparation that we have always used in our curriculum: strategic and analytical preparation vs. content-based preparation. The goal of the GMAT has always been to assess higher-order thinking, and this new Focus Edition version will shift even more from assessing “who knows things” to “who thinks the right way” to succeed in business school.