What changed ? Traditional GMAT vs New GMAT- 

The old GMAT exam 10th edition-

The 10th edition GMAT exam that was launched in 2012, has been retired and since February 2024, the GMAT Focus Edition or New GMAT is the only GMAT exam available to take. 

However  the scores for the previous GMAT exam are valid till five years, ie. if you took the traditional GMAT exam in 2024, your score is valid till 2029.

The new GMAT 11th edition- 

The new GMAT exam is also called GMAT Focus Edition. The special name is to emphasize its focus on relevant business skills. 

Basis	Old GMAT	New GMAT
Total Score	200-800	205-805
Time	3 hours and 7 minutes	2 hours 15 minutes
No. of Questions	80 Questions	64 Questions
Structure	Quantitative reasoning  Verbal  reasoning  Integrated reasoning  Analytical Writing	Quantitative reasoning  Verbal reasoning  Integrated reasoning   Now -Data Insights
Geometry	Was there	Dismissed
Data Sufficiency	Was there	Data sufficiency will be included in data insights
Question Type	MCQ+ Writing Based	Only MCQ based
Chronology	To be followed as it is	Chronology not important
Scoring system	The quantitative and verbal section were scaled from 1 -51	All sections will be scaled on a range of 60-90
Review & Edit	Not allowed	Allowed upto 3 responses

The Changes explained- 

1.  Changes in GMAT score scale-

• In the old version (10th Edition), the total score range was 200 to 800.

• In the new Focus Edition, the total score range is now 205 to 805.

645 is the new 700- 

In the previous exam many students aimed for 700 as a good score.But now a  score of 645 in the new GMAT is equally good as the old score of 700 in the previous test as the score scale is different. 

2. Time-

In the New GMAT all three sections are timed 45 minutes each, hence the new exam duration will be 2 hours 45 minutes.

3. No. of Questions- 

The older GMAT had 80 questions in 4 sections while the New GMAT has 64 questions in 3 sections.

4. Structure- 

The old structure had 4 sections 

1. Quantitative Reasoning 

2. Verbal Reasoning 

3. Integrated Reasoning 

4. Analytical Writing 

The new structure has 3 sections-

1. Quantitative Reasoning 

2. Verbal Reasoning 

3. Data Insights  (earlier it was ‘Integrated Reasoning’), now this section will have a mashup of data sufficiency and integrated reasoning questions. 

 The Analytical Writing Assessment has been dismissed. 

5.  Sections/questions  which have been removed- 

• Essay writing

• Data integration 

• Sentence correction questions

• Geometry 

6. Type of questions- 

• The old GMAT had MCQ+ writing based questions.

• The new GMAT has only MCQ based questions.

7. Chronology-

• In the old GMAT, the chronology of the sections had to be followed as it is. 

• In the new GMAT, the chronology of the sections is not important and they can be attempted in any order. 

8. Scoring System- 

• In the old GMAT, the Quantitative Reasoning (Math) and Verbal Reasoning (English) sections were scored on a scale from 1 to 51.

• But in the new GMAT all the sections are scored on a new scale of 60-90.

9. Review and Edit- 

• In the old GMAT, review and edit was not applicable.

• In the new GMAT, review and edit is available and you can change upto 3 answers. 

Conclusion-

There isn’t addition of a new section or new questions in the new GMAT but only restructuring and reshuffling a few things. And in no way we can say that the new GMAT has become harder.