Applying to Harvard Business School (HBS) with the GMAT can come with an unwelcome surprise: If you’re invited to interview, you’ll need to complete an additional writing assessment to supplement your GMAT score.
The HBS website explains the reasoning behind this requirement:”Writing is an essential component of the MBA program. Therefore, to be admitted to HBS … students must have an official writing assessment.”
But wait—doesn’t a high GMAT score demonstrate writing ability?
Not anymore.
The current iteration of the exam is called the GMAT Focus Edition when contrasting it with the old version (GMAT 10th Edition), but it’s generally just called the GMAT since it’s the only version of the test administered now. It no longer includes the 30-minute Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA).
Nowadays, GMAC instead offers the Business Writing Assessment (BWA), a standalone test not included as part of the GMAT exam itself.
In this article, we’ll break down the writing assessment requirement, why HBS introduced it, and how it might impact your application strategy.
Note: If you took the old version of the GMAT (the 10th Edition, administered prior to November 2023), you don’t need to take the BWA, since your test included a writing component. That said, if you took the GMAT a long time ago, check that your score is still valid—it expires after five years.
The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) launched the GMAT Focus Edition in November of 2023, replacing the old GMAT. It tests much of the same material as its predecessor and is still a question-adaptive assessment that can be taken online or at a testing center.
However, there are some key differences. The GMAT Focus exam is shorter than the previous version, lasting 2 hours and 15 minutes rather than 3+ hours. Also, the new exam contains no Geometry, Data Sufficiency, or Sentence Correction (SC) questions.
Further, and most importantly to top business schools, the entire Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) was removed from the new exam. This is significant because, without a writing section, admissions teams do not have a standardized measure to assess how your writing abilities compare to those of other applicants.
In response, at HBS, GMAT Focus scores can be submitted, but applicants are required to take a separate business writing exam: the GMAC Business Writing Assessment.
Specifically, prospective Harvard MBA students are asked to take the exam after receiving an interview invitation. You can take the exam before you’re invited to interview, but it is not a requirement for your initial application and could end up being a waste of time if you don’t get the interview invite.
Developed by GMAC in collaboration with HBS, the Business Writing Assessment (BWA) was designed to highlight test takers’ reasoning and written communication abilities (skills that used to be assessed on the GMAT Analytical Writing section).
The GMAC Business Writing Assessment is taken online, lasts 30 minutes, and costs $30. This $30 is not covered by Harvard Business School or included in the cost of the GMAT Focus exam.
You can register for the BWA here. After purchasing the test, you can schedule your online appointment. Appointments are available 24/7.
The GMAC offers prep resources for the writing assessment. These include a free guide to practice with exam essay prompts. This guide also includes test-taking strategies, details on scoring, and sample essays with scoring explanations.
You can also purchase the Official Practice on the GMAC website for $30. This resource includes four unique essay questions, which will be scored according to the same essay-scoring rubric used by the BWA. You’ll also receive feedback on your ability to find and analyze flaws in the given argument, support your claims, and write an organized, grammatically correct response.
According to the GMAC, this writing assessment asks test takers to “analyze the reasoning behind a given argument, and then write a critique of that argument.” Argument topics vary and do not require any specific content knowledge.
Each argument is followed by this statement:
“Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.”
The assessment is scored in 1-point increments on a scale of 0 to 6, based on the following factors:
There is no minimum score requirement for the BWA.
Scores will be available three to five days after taking the exam and can be sent to schools for no additional cost.
The increasing popularity of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is the main reason behind HBS’s decision to mandate an official writing assessment. Since applicants can’t be prevented from using AI when working on their essays—or even, at a later stage, their post-interview reflection—HBS wants a more reliable measure of your writing skills.
Written communication skills are vital for success in any MBA class, so the HBS MBA admissions office needs to ensure that it is admitting you based on your own (rather than ChatGPT’s) writing.
The HBS website states, however, that the writing assessment requirement can also be satisfied with a valid GRE, GMAT 10th Edition (i.e., pre-Focus: before November 2023), or English language test score—this last option is only for people who have not previously studied at a (solely) English-speaking institution (i.e., many international students).
On top of the time you already took to prep for—and sit—the GMAT Focus, if you’re invited to interview for the HBS MBA program, you will need to dedicate another two to six hours to preparing for the writing assessment.
If you want to reduce your preparation time (and hopefully avoid the costs of numerous exam retakes) consider hiring a private GMAT tutor or taking a GMAT prep course.
As stated earlier in the article, HBS will contact applicants who only submitted a GMAT Focus score about taking the separate assessment after interview invitations are sent. Applicants are given just over a month to take the writing assessment and submit their scores.
You can choose to take the GMAC Business Writing Assessment before you are invited to interview. This may be advantageous since it gives you time to retake the test if you aren’t satisfied with your first score.
On the other hand, if you take the test early and then get rejected before the interview stage, you may feel you’ve wasted your time and effort.
The additional test is not a requirement for your initial application, and submitting a score early will not impact your admissions decision. The writing assessment will be reviewed holistically together with the rest of your application materials.
If you don’t want to take the supplemental exam, you must submit a GMAT 10th Edition score (this version of the exam is no longer administered, so you can only do so if you already took it in the past and your score is still valid) or a GRE score.
HBS will not combine test scores from different sittings, meaning your options are to
That said, applicants from institutions where English was not the (sole) language of instruction can satisfy this requirement using an English language proficiency test (TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, or Duolingo) instead of the BWA. But these other tests aren’t an option if your undergrad was at a solely English-speaking institution.
In other words, if you are an HBS applicant with a degree from an English-speaking university and a GMAT Focus score, you will be required to take the supplemental exam.
Harvard Business School is one of the top MBA programs in the world, carrying huge prestige and influence. Now that they are requiring applicants to take a separate exam due to the lack of a writing section on the new GMAT Focus Edition, it can be assumed that other schools will follow their lead; MIT Sloan has already introduced the same BWA requirement as HBS.
Even if you’re not targeting HBS, don’t let your writing skills get rusty or assume a chatbot can do the job for you. Effective written communication remains a valuable asset in the business world, and top business schools continue to value it highly in applicants and, of course, admitted students.
If you’re worried about the GMAT or the BWA, consider reaching out for a free consultation with our expert GMAT tutors.
Hailey Cusimano
Director of Tutoring
Education: BA, MBA
Hailey is a 99th-percentile performer and a self-proclaimed standardized test nerd. Drawing from her years of experience as an instructor, she knows how to assess students’ main obstacles and strategize accordingly, maximizing efficiency in short study windows. Plus, her enthusiasm is infections, and most students find studying with Hailey actually becomes—dare we say—fun.
