GMAT vs GMAT Focus – What Should I Take?

Here, I am giving my opinion on this topic. The decision whether to continue with GMAT or switch to GMAT Focus depends on a lot of factors which are different for each test taker. But these are some general guidelines. Use them to figure out what is better for you. If in a dilemma, mail us at admin@anaprep.com and we will let you know what we think is the best way forward for you. Here are the key takeaways:

In GMAT Focus, there is less content to prepare for

GMAT Focus has less content on which one needs to work. If you disliked Geometry (disliked by many, I believe!) and/or Sentence Correction, good for you! These two topics are extensive and there is a lot of content you need to go through for them. All of it gets eliminated. On the flip side, you will likely have to work harder on the content that is remaining!

Quant becomes more important in GMAT Focus

Quant will be more important in GMAT Focus. It is part of two sections (for Quant and DS in Data Insights). Certain topics in Arithmetic – Ratios, Variation, Percentages – become more important (for Quant and the entire Data Insights). Now 66% of your score depends on your Quant fundamentals though it is still, essentially, a test of logic and reasoning.

Change in difficulty level of Verbal? Undecided!

Verbal becomes harder to prepare for since Critical Reasoning and Sentence Correction are question types that you can prepare for in a month or two. You can improve by leaps and bounds in this time. But Reading Comprehension takes more regular long-term effort. So, if you are not an avid reader, you may struggle. But GMAC expects Verbal to get easier for people. Why? I don’t have an answer to it yet. Perhaps because of the extra few seconds of time available in GMAT Focus for Verbal questions. But will it be a game changer? After all, Sentence Correction questions were the least time consuming, and they are being eliminated. I guess only time will tell!

The Top Ten Scores – harder to come by in GMAT Focus

Overall higher scores will be harder to come by in GMAT Focus because you will have to do well in all three sections, not two. Schools might want to see a decent performance in all three sections. Previously, even if they could have ignored the Integrated Reasoning score, they can’t now.

Also, will test takers be happy with 635 (85%ile) when they used to aim for 700 score (86%ile) earlier or will they still try to cross the psychological barrier of 700? The switch may be neither easy nor instantaneous. A 705 in GMAT Focus is equivalent to 760 in GMAT (99th percentile). So, to get to the top 10 – 11 scores, one would need to be in the 99th percentile!

Who should stick to conventional GMAT?

If you have been preparing for a while (say 6 months or more), in most cases it will be a good idea to take the conventional GMAT. GMAT Focus is a different test, and it will take a considerable amount of time to switch to it. Yes, you will take a lot of your learning to Focus but test taking strategies will be different for GMAT Focus.

Also, Integrated Reasoning will become so much more important, a topic in which you would have likely not spent a lot of time till now. You must have done a lot in Geometry and Sentence Correction already.

Who could switch to GMAT Focus?

If you are great at Quant but struggle in Verbal, you could switch. Quant is two-third of the test now. For some time yet, the schools may evaluate GMAT Focus scores by comparing them with conventional GMAT scores (based on percentile). You could be better placed provided you are comfortable with Integrated Reasoning questions. Else, it might be a case of replacing one well-known evil with another lesser-known evil!

GMAT Focus is the future!

That said, GMAT Focus is the future. If you feel that there is time to go before you will be done with GMAT (say more than 6 months), you will do well to prepare for it starting now. Focus hard on Arithmetic – a good understanding of number comparisons (Ratios, Variation) and Percentages will help you save a lot of time and effort in ‘Integrated Reasoning kind of Data Insights questions.’ Also, Number Properties will help.

As an aside, a point to note for the Indian test taker – GMAT is a bit more aligned with Indian MBA CAT now, though they are still very different tests, and one does not prepare you for the other. ‘Data Interpretation’ in CAT and ‘Data Insights’ in GMAT are very different though both are dependent on your Arithmetic, Number Properties and Data management skills.

Detailed Analysis of percentiles etc. are coming up soon. Stay tuned!