The GMAT Focus Edition Is Coming. Should You WAIT For It?

We hear some version of this every week now: "GMAC just announced a shorter GMAT, so I'm going to stop studying and wait for it." Say you're that person. You had a plan. You had momentum. Then one announcement turned you from a Test Taker into a spectator. Here's the blunt verdict: for most people, freezing your prep to wait for the new test is a BAD trade. Not always. But usually. Let's figure out which group you're in.

What was actually announced

Here's the test you can book today, according to GMAC's official GMAT overview, next to what GMAC has announced for late 2023, called the GMAT Focus Edition.

A few terms, in plain words. Integrated Reasoning is 12 questions where you pull answers out of charts, tables and short texts. Quant mixes Problem Solving (regular multiple choice math) with Data Sufficiency (you decide whether the facts given are ENOUGH to answer a question, without needing the answer itself). Verbal is Sentence Correction (fix the grammar), Critical Reasoning (break down a short argument) and Reading Comprehension (answer questions about a passage). The current test is adaptive question by question, meaning each answer you give helps decide your next question, and you can't go back to change an answer.

We walked through the changes in more depth in our first look at the GMAT Focus Edition. This post is about ONE question: should you wait?

Do the math on "shorter"

Today's test: 30 + 30 + 62 + 65 = 187 minutes of sections. The Focus Edition: 3 x 45 = 135 minutes. That's a difference of 52 minutes.

Stop reading and think about that number. Waiting saves you 52 minutes of sitting in a chair on ONE day. Now write down what waiting costs you. I'll bet that list is LONGER than 52 minutes. Weeks or months of lost momentum. Habits you built that start to rust. A launch window described as "late 2023," not a specific day you can build an application plan around. And a brand new test, while the current one has a deep library of official practice behind it.

Also: shorter is not the same as easier. Ask anyone who has raced a hard 5K and then jogged a slow 10K which one hurt more. Fewer minutes doesn't mean fewer chances to make silly mistakes. You still have to train for the FULL event, whichever event you pick.

The real question underneath

You're not really asking "which test is better?" You're asking "what do I want MORE: a shorter test, or a competitive score in hand before my deadline?" Answer these three questions on paper, and the decision usually makes itself.

1. When is your earliest application deadline? If you need an official score before late 2023 is over, the choice is already made. Take the GMAT that exists right now.
2. Where are your points coming from? If Sentence Correction and geometry are strengths, today's test lets you cash them in. If they're the two things dragging your score down, the Focus Edition removes them. But this is a DATA question, not a feelings question. Pull up your last full practice test and look at what you actually missed.
3. How do you feel about being an early adopter? Every brand new test starts with whatever practice material its maker has released so far. Some people are fine with that. Some people need a deep stack of practice to feel ready. Be honest about which one you are.

The mistakes we're watching people make

1. Stopping all studying to "wait." Skills you don't use fade. A two month pause can cost you more than the new format saves. INSTEAD: keep training on the skills that appear on BOTH versions (more on that below) while you decide.
2. Dropping Sentence Correction because it's "going away." If you're taking the test this spring or summer, Sentence Correction is ON your test. It's going away for someone else. INSTEAD: study for the exam you are actually booked to take.
3. Picking a test by gut feeling. "The new one sounds easier" is not analysis. As a future MBA, you are NOT allowed to make a big decision on a vibe. INSTEAD: make the choice from your deadline and your practice test data.
4. Letting "waiting" become a fancy word for procrastinating. Some people aren't waiting for a better test. They're waiting to feel like studying. INSTEAD: set a decision date this week. On that date, you choose, and you book.

Most of your training transfers anyway

Here's the part that should calm you down. Both versions have Quant without needing geometry to handle arithmetic and algebra. Both have Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension. The core skills are the same: take notes, break the prompt into pieces, and use the fast route instead of the long one. If you're battling the passages, stop pretending you can blast through them; we covered that in why speed reading won't get you to 700+. Work like this pays off on EITHER test. Try one.

Which way was faster for you: the algebra, or testing two answers? Be honest. Either way, notice that nothing in that question cares which version of the GMAT you take. That's the point. The training you do this week isn't wasted.

So, should you wait?

Waiting can make sense if your deadlines are far enough away, your data says Sentence Correction or geometry is costing you real points, and you're comfortable training for a brand new test. If that's not you, and for most people it isn't, the smart move is to train for the test in front of you and earn the score you came for. The GMAT gives you the score you EARN, on whichever version you sit for. Neither version hands out points for waiting.

Here's your challenge for today. Take out a sheet of paper. Write your earliest application deadline. Write the score from your most recent full practice test and the two question types costing you the most points. Then finish this sentence: "I am taking the ______ GMAT, and I will book it by ______." When you've filled in those blanks, go to GMAC's registration page and look at real dates. If you can't fill in the blanks by tonight, you don't have a test problem. You have a decision problem, and no new format is going to solve that for you.