GMAT Online Exam: Changes For 2021 And Onward

As of early 2021, the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), the makers of the GMAT exam, has introduced bold new changes to the GMAT Online exam, that version of the GMAT designed for students to take at home rather than at a designated test center. The primary purpose of these changes, according to GMAC administrators, is to make the at-home experience even more like that of the formal test center.

GMAT Online Exam: An Overview

Here’s what has changed with the new, enhanced GMAT Online:

The Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA), a standard component of the test center version of the GMAT, will be a regular part of the GMAT Online. This will add 30 minutes to the length of the online test, which is currently about 2 hours and 45 minutes.
- Initially dropped from the at-home version of the GMAT, the AWA provides an important insight into the candidate’s reasoning and writing abilities. The GMAC has deemed this too important a component to omit from the GMAT experience.
The scores for the GMAT Online will be able to be viewed immediately upon taking the test, just as is the case for the test center exam.
Students who take the GMAT Online will be able to select the section order of the test from among the four sections: Verbal (V), Quantitative (Q), Integrated Reasoning (IR), and Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). This has also always been the case for the test center version.
- Students will have the same options for the section order as they do when testing at a test center:
  - Q-V-IR-AWA
  - V-Q-IR-AWA
  - IR-AWA-Q-V
  - IR-AWA-V-Q
With the GMAT Online, students will now have the option of taking two 8-minute breaks!

When Do These Changes Take Effect?

Registration for this enhanced version of the GMAT Online will begin February 17^th, 2021, and the first appointment dates for taking the exam will begin April 8, 2021.

GMAT Online Exam: A Viable Alternative to the Regular GMAT

Your plans for GMAT test prep online need not be altered by the pandemic. The GMAT Online allows you to take the test at home and is a viable alternative to taking the test at a designated test center. This GMAT at-home offering helps to eliminate any interruptions of your grad school admissions plans. Review your testing options here.