Dheeraj Govardhanam

The recent coronavirus outbreak has impacted people and businesses from all walks of life. This unprecedented adversity has caused many institutes and businesses to undertake unconventional ways to keep all the processes running smoothly. To curb the spread of coronavirus, most countries in the world have imposed a lockdown and have asked people to maintain social distancing. The world governments have also asked most businesses to remain shut barring the essential services. To minimize the losses caused due to this shutdown, people have turned to conduct meetings and classes online via video calls. Coronavirus has also had a huge impact on the GMAT testing and also on MBA admissions. With most GMAT centers closed, test-takers are worried about their plans and are left wondering whether the test centers will open in time for their scheduled tests. Students are also left wondering about the deadlines for applications at their desired B-schools and whether they will receive their scores in time for them to complete their applications. Business schools have understood this need and are either extending their deadlines or are evaluating the applications without the score of the standardized GMAT test. Understanding that failure to give this GMAT test will have a huge impact on the future of the students, the owner and administrator of the test – The Graduate Management Admission Council or the GMAC has decided and is functioning to put out a temporary online substitute to the popular admissions test for business school admissions. They opted for this decision because as mentioned earlier coronavirus or COVID-19 has caused many test centers to shut down. According to various sources, the GMAC is aiming to release the online test by mid-April. The only difference between the traditional test and the newer online test is that the online variant of the test will not have the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section. With an exception of the AWA section, all the other aspects of the test based on the structure, time, number of times and scoring are the same as the exam given in test centers. This temporary test shall be offered at a lower cost than the regular $275 in the US and Canada. The price point was increased by 10% this year. A statement issued by GMAC said, “Our focus is on maintaining a valid and rigorous assessment, with the relevant security practices and protocols in place, to evaluate a candidates’ ability to succeed in a graduate school business program.” The alternate exam is a priority for the GMAC as they wish to support the test takers and also the business schools in most of the impacted markets outside of mainland China. The company said that they are actively in talks with the government of China regarding suitable substitutes for the test-takers in the mainland of China also. The GMAC said, “We look forward to helping candidates and schools with an alternative that upholds our high standards for validity and reliability for the world’s most widely used assessment for MBA and business master’s programs.” In the time of this adversity with disruptions in the administration processes of many schools, the pace at which the test providers are giving online exam alternatives to students is a true example of people coming together to support each other in these times of crisis. These times of adversities can be anxiety-inducing for many test-takers. All that the test takers should currently focus on is ensuring that they are ready with the best GMAT prep to give their final test. Many online GMAT classes are still functional with lectures and tests are given via video conferencing. Students can opt for these classes if they need guidance to prepare for the test.