What It’s Like to Take the GMAT Online
On the very first day that it was available, I took the Online GMAT exam. This at-home, live-proctored experience was certainly different from the in-person testing environment that I took the GMAT in in the past—and that I’ve been preparing b-school hopefuls for since.
While the structure and content of the GMAT Online exam is the same (outside of the lack of order selection and the elimination of the Analytical Writing Assessment), the difference in delivery has several quirks that are worth being prepared for. I hope my experience sheds some light on what you can expect of this coronavirus-prompted test.
Checking in for the GMAT Online exam
While the check-in process was simple, the path from sitting down to begin the exam to actually starting was a longer journey. It begins with the identification and workspace verification process. Snap a photograph of your ID, a picture of each angle of the room you plan to take the GMAT Online in, and you’re good to go! GMAC has a tool that allows you to walk through this process ahead of time, and I highly recommend doing so, just to be sure you’re all set for test day. (Note, however, that you will be asked to repeat the process officially at the time of your exam.)
As requested, I logged in 30 minutes early to get started, and since I’d practiced the check-in process, I completed that step in about two or three minutes. From there, a screen popped up telling me that I should be paired with a proctor in about 10 minutes. I was being recorded, and moving my face out of view of the camera could result in my test being cancelled.
“This was possibly the most jarring part of the online experience, as I ended up waiting about 35 minutes before being paired with a proctor. I wasn’t able to look off screen or otherwise keep busy until the start of the exam.”
From there, I spent a bit of time chatting with the proctor and trying to clarify a few questions that, at that point, hadn’t been made clear in GMAC’s instructions. It’s worth noting that the proctors administer a number of tests, and are only really briefed on Pearson-specific policies. So, if you have any uncertainty about policies or “dos” and “don’ts,” clarify with GMAC before sitting for your exam. The proctor complimented me on how well-prepared my room was for testing, and we were ready to go.
On your exam day, you’ll want to be sure you have a designated space free of the following: other people, noise disturbances, any decor with writing on the walls, and all books/writing utensils out of reach. You’ll also want to ensure any monitors or other screens (i.e. TVs) are unplugged.
Beginning the GMAT Online exam
Before getting started, I opened the on-screen whiteboard and adjusted it to the lower-right quarter of my screen. This size and placement worked well throughout the test. The only time it got in the way of the content on screen was in a graphics interpretation question later in Integrated Reasoning.
I settled in to the exam and began to get a feel for the experience of using the whiteboard to note down my Quantitative Reasoning steps. I’ll be totally honest… the whiteboard was quite awkward. Outside of the occasional glitch where the board would erase my field of text, most of the awkwardness could have been mitigated with a week or two of practice. Outside of the clunkiness of typing out my math and making adjustments to the whiteboard’s settings when geometry came my way, it was actually nice having the work next to the question on-screen.
With that said, the online whiteboard definitely took some getting used to. If you plan to sit for the GMAT Online exam, practice! I’d plan to give yourself at least a week or two to practice (and practice test!) under the same conditions you’ll face on exam day.
Here are a few suggestions worth considering as you practice with the whiteboard tool:
Find the best mouse sensitivity for on-screen writing. If you plan to use your mouse for writing out equations, you’ll want to be sure you can fit more than 2 + 2 = 4 on the screen. It may be worth adjusting your mouse sensitivity so that you can use your cursor without having to be too precise or too exaggerated with your mouse movements.
Determine in advance when you plan to use your mouse vs. the typing tool. Personally, my combination of left-handedness and my right-handed mouse left my on-screen handwriting looking like it was written by a toddler, so I opted for the typing tool for most of my scratch work. Regardless of where you fall in the mix, you’ll want to make sure you have a plan for what you intend to use each tool for. Do you organize tested cases into a table for data sufficiency? Know what that will look like on test day. Make sure you have a plan for how to attack each structure you use your scratch work for in practice exams so that you don’t find yourself completely pivoting your approach or relying entirely on mental math for success.
Take a bit of extra time to game-plan your approach. The cost for pursuing a route that doesn’t pay off in calculation is a bit higher now, so be extra cautious to front-load your time on the analysis of the question. Inventory what you know and how you might approach the question, and try to see the path to the answer before beginning to crunch the numbers.
Make sure the whiteboard settings are adjusted to your preferences before beginning your work. I quite frustratingly found as I was approaching my first geometric figure question that the whiteboard automates shapes with a white fill, making overlapping shapes challenging to work with. This can be changed using the fill “alpha” on the board—and had I changed it at the start of the section, I would have saved valuable time and brain power when I reached that question.
Consider alternate methods for the process of elimination. If you normally write down and erase possible options, or use a specific structure for data sufficiency, consider using your alternate hand for process of elimination. Keep in mind that you can use “undo” to remove markings when applying the process of elimination, rather than rewriting the entire structure.
Breaks in the GMAT Online exam
I ended Quantitative Reasoning just in time. Though I knew that we’d be moving straight into Verbal Reasoning, ending the Quantitative Reasoning section and immediately seeing the 30-second countdown for the Verbal Reasoning instructions was still a bit nerve-wracking. I generally end up with quite a bit of time to spare in Verbal Reasoning, so rather than rush to pivot into the verbal portion, I took the 30 seconds (and a minute or so into the Verbal Reasoning section) to regroup, stretch, and shift my mentality. It wasn’t until I began this portion that I really got to see how much I missed the snack and stretch break.
I’ll be honest and say I definitely moved a little too quickly through Verbal Reasoning. I hadn’t anticipated needing to “game-plan” any changes to my approach. In fact, if anything, I had to resist the temptation to over-notetake with the ability to type on-screen and remind myself I was just trying to answer the question… not author an explanation for others! With that said, I definitely underestimated the fatigue factor, and could feel myself trying to “get through” the section as quickly as possible so that I could continue to experiment with the whiteboard tool and report back on how the exam went to my students.
Possibly my biggest piece of advice to those taking the online version of the GMAT is to make sure you don’t overlook Verbal Reasoning. I can see it being very easy for students to become concerned with adjusting to the change in process associated with using the online whiteboard for Quantitative Reasoning… so much so that they lose easy points on Verbal Reasoning because their focus shifted too drastically.
I chose to take my optional five-minute break before Integrated Reasoning. At that point, I was ready to get up, stretch, and walk around for a moment. (Note: this is the only point during the exam where you are permitted to leave the view of the camera.) Integrated Reasoning went smoothly.
The end of the test was far more abrupt than I expected, and a totally different experience from testing in person. No word from the proctor, no score on screen, no ability to cancel or accept—just a screen noting that the exam administration was complete and that I would receive a score within two weeks. (You will receive your scores via email within seven business days and will have the ability to send your scores at that point.)
I would argue that for me, the at-home experience with its clunky, on-screen whiteboard and lack of break time or ability to move around felt far more physically exhausting than what I remember from testing in-person. Now, there are certainly some advantages to testing in-home. I was able to go for a jog to wake up and clear my head shortly before the exam, and I had far more control over when I planned to take the test.
Was the at-home experience strange? Absolutely. Would it have taken some getting used to if I were a student attempting to maximize my performance for admissions? 100%. But, despite the less-than-ideal clunkiness of the online whiteboard and some of the uncertainty that comes with an at-home live-proctored exam, I’d argue that the format is learnable and less of a monster than we were all expecting when the new format and procedures were released.
My advice to students for the GMAT Online exam
Don’t rush to take the online exam tomorrow. But if you know you need to sit for the GMAT and are facing deadlines, give yourself a week or two to become comfortable practicing in the order, note-taking format, and duration of the online exam, and then give it a go! Your scores will be housed separately and are sent to schools only on your request, so in the worst case, you’ve spent a few hours and a (reduced) test fee. In the best case, you may find you love testing from the comfort of your own home and could knock your goal score out of the water!
A lifelong learner and career teacher, Hailey Cusimano is a tutor, curriculum developer, and the host of the Varsity Tutors Test Prep 4 All class series. She was a two-sport varsity athlete as an undergraduate, holds an MBA degree from Rollins College, and spends her free time hiking and running with her two dogs.