Changes to GMAT in 2012

[atrivedi]

I wanted to know if the changes to the GMAT in 2012 are going to impact the length of time that my GMAT scores will be valid. I plan to go to B-school in the next 5 years and I wanted to take the exam this month (right out of college when I have the time to study). If I do take the exam now and apply to business school after 2012 will my scores still be valid, and if so will business schools frown upon the fact that I took an older version of the exam?

[StaceyKoprince]

GMAC has not made any announcements about changes to the length of the validity of exam scores. When they switched from paper to CAT in 1997, the paper scores were still valid for 5 years and, at that time, the schools did not have a preference for the old versus the new test.

The schools can, of course, choose to do whatever they would like, so perhaps there will be some schools that decide that they prefer the new test. I would expect a period of transition, though, for at least a year if not longer. The schools will not have the same amount of data initially about the new test, so they will be struggling themselves to figure out how to interpret and use the new data. For at least some significant period of time, then, I would expect the schools NOT to prefer the new over the old.

In short, I think it's okay to take it now and apply in a few years. Certainly, if I were in your situation, I'd rather take the older version because there's a lot more material available to help me prepare. (The same thing was true when they transitioned from paper to CAT. In fact, I took the very last administration of the paper GMAT for the exact reason that I already knew how to take the paper one and I wanted the score on my record in case I decided to go to b-school. I didn't want to have to bother with the CAT!)