GMAC Continues Transition to Long-Term Support of Schools and Candidates Through Full Application Cycle, Increasing Parity Across Test Center and Online Exams
New Delhi: The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), administrator of the Graduate Management Admission Test™ (GMAT™) and a global association of leading graduate business schools, introduces additional flexibility and convenience with the opportunity for candidates to take the GMAT™ Online exam two times. Beginning September 23, candidates will have an additional opportunity to retake their GMAT Online exam, increasing the number of attempts from one to two. In conjunction with this enhancement, future GMAT Online exam attempts will now be included in the GMAT rolling 12-month and lifetime limit caps. Any online exams taken prior to September 23 will be excluded from the lifetime limit cap to honor GMAC’s stated policies prior to this policy update.
“Since our introduction of the GMAT Online exam, less than six months ago, our ongoing enhancements have helped transition the exam from meeting an immediate application cycle need to providing the flexibility and support to meet the needs of schools and candidates throughout the current cycle into 2021,“ said Vineet Chhabra, senior director and head of the GMAT product at GMAC. “It’s important to us that candidates feel confident to be at their best on exam day, whether in a test center or at home, and the ability for candidates to retake the online assessment is consistent with that mission. This change brings with it the opportunity for test takers to improve their score, while also providing peace of mind and the flexibility of having an online retesting option should there be uncertainty of test center availability.”
Since the outset of COVID-19, GMAC’s singular focus has been to help candidates and schools continue to operate in a virtual, ever-changing environment. When the pandemic started, GMAC quickly implemented an online solution allowing candidates to meet critical b-school application deadlines while also providing schools the ability to continue their evaluation of talent. As the pandemic evolved, GMAC extended GMAT Online exam availability through the end of 2020 while also making ongoing candidate-focused enhancements. These include the ability for test takers to review their score before sending it to schools, the use of physical whiteboards, and the introduction of accommodations for test takers with disabilities.
As GMAC aims to achieve parity between its online solutions and test center versions, and as availability of appointments across both channels begins to stabilize, the organization also announced the reinstatement of cancelation and rescheduling fees and an alignment on price for the GMAT Online exam and the in-person GMAT. Beginning September 23, the price of the GMAT Online exam will be US$250, and the fee to reschedule the GMAT Online exam appointment will be US$25 with a US$100 fee to cancel an exam.
“As COVID-19 began to take hold, we showed a proclivity for speed, putting solutions in place to support an immediate need, while recognizing the suddenness and challenges facing our test takers and schools,” Chhabra continued. “Now that we’ve made the transition to include a virtual option, we will continue to provide candidates with flexibility and choice.”