GMAC and ETS offer online versions of the GMAT and GRE, but test-takers are often unsure about which version to take. Part of the problem is that there are a handful of confusing differences, especially with regard to the GMAT, and some of those differences ARE important. But before we get into the more complicated subtleties that occur with the different versions of the GMAT, let’s begin with some general considerations that apply to both the GMAT and the GRE.
General Considerations
There are some generic differences between In-Person and Online testing that might lead a person to prefer one option over the other. These considerations are especially relevant to the GRE: since the GRE does not have the complicated differences that the In-Person and Online GMAT have, these considerations really are the only factors to consider.
First, there are some advantages to taking the GMAT or GRE at the test center. First of all, there’s less of a chance of technical difficulties. While these don’t happen all the time with the online versions of the tests, we have seen many test-takers have issues, especially with the Online GMAT. The pages can be slow to load, things can crash, or sometimes it’s as simple as waiting and waiting for the proctor to arrive to start the test. This actually happened to me during my Online GMAT attempt and the truth is that it was very stressful. I didn’t know whether to quit the test and log back in or what. For anyone interested in reading more about that experience, my debrief is on GMATClub.
Another reason some of our students choose to take the test at the test center is that it just feels more “real” to them. Taking the test at home, especially if you are in your bedroom, just doesn’t have the feel of being in a test center.
That said, some people prefer the Online version of the GMAT and GRE for exactly that reason: they prefer the comfortability of testing from home and the reduction in anxiety that it brings. Some people just get nervous being in the test center itself! Anecdotally I will say that my experience with the Online GRE was wonderful: it was just so nice being able to take the test in the comfort of my office. In fact, after the test I was struck by the feeling that I may never see the inside of a test center again!
The other advantage of at-home testing is that you are less likely to be distracted during the test (assuming that you can take the test in a location that is relatively quiet and free from distraction). At test centers there will be people getting up and sitting down while you are taking the test, so if you are easily distracted, then the Online GMAT or GRE might be advantageous for you. One tip on the distractions at home: if you buy a sound machine or have a fan that you can use, that will drown out the sound of distracting noises (and the sound machine or fan itself is not really detectable through the mic on your computer, so proctors should have no problem with it).
The More Difficult and Nuanced Considerations of the GMAT
Ok so things get more complicated with the GMAT. The above factors are still significant, but there are others that may trump the ones mentioned already. Let’s start with the most important considerations…
First of all, when you take the In-Person GMAT you can get the Enhanced Score Report (ESR) whereas, as of this writing (January 2023), you cannot get it with the Online GMAT. I have to believe that this will eventually change, but the GMAT has been offered online since April of 2020 and GMAC still does not offer the ESR for the Online GMAT. This is not an absolute deal-breaker, but it’s frustrating to take the GMAT and then not be able to access the detailed information that the ESR provides about what went well and what didn’t. Obviously if you crush the test then maybe it won’t matter, but trust us: we have seen MANY test takers take the online GMAT, not be able to access the ESR, and then swear that they will never make that mistake again. We’ll come back to this below and discuss how you could perhaps take the GMAT in-person and online and stagger them in such a way as to get some of the benefit. And just to note, the GRE does not have this discrepancy. You can get the free “Diagnostic Service” whether you take the GRE in-person or online.
Another significant factor is that, again as of this writing, you can cancel scores from the In-Person GMAT (and still get the ESR even if you cancel, by the way), but scores from the Online GMAT cannot be canceled. In truth this shouldn’t be that big a deal because in our experience schools don’t care about low scores on a score report: they just take the highest score. I’ve been tutoring the GMAT and GRE since long before one could cancel scores and I’ve seen people with 540 and 710 on their score report get into top 5 mba programs. That said, some people just really prefer the ability to suppress bad scores and you can’t do that on the Online GMAT (there’s one workaround…more on that below). But don’t discount the way you may feel going in to take the GMAT or GRE and knowing that you can throw away the outcome without anyone ever seeing it. It really does lower the temperature for many people and make them feel less anxious. (Side note: the GRE does not allow you to cancel scores, but for both versions of the GRE, you can choose which score or scores to send to schools, so none of the above is a factor on the GRE..)
Strategies for the In-Person vs. Online GMAT
First, if you have a strong preference for testing at home and don’t care about the ESR or the fact that you can’t cancel and thus suppress a bad score, you can just take the Online GMAT. That is not unreasonable, especially for people who think they will really have an issue testing at the test center and believe they will perform much better at home.
In our experience at Reason Test Prep, that is not most people’s choice, however. Overwhelmingly, for all the reasons mentioned above, people tend to prefer to just take the GMAT at the test center. But there are some additional strategies that you can leverage, and some of our students follow a path similar to what will is described below.
What we often recommend, especially if a client is on a very tight timeline, is to take the In-Person GMAT first, and then potentially take an Online GMAT soon after that. There are a few reasons why this is sometimes a good strategy. First, the scores for the In-Person GMAT and Online GMAT live on separate score reports. In fact it’s as if they are really separate tests, and that is sort of how GMAC currently treats the two versions of the test. So if you do poorly on the first Online GMAT, you can take the rest of your tests at the test center, and schools need not ever see the score from your Online GMAT, since you don’t have to send that score report. Another confusing factor is that although there is a 16 day waiting period between GMAT attempts, that is only applicable if you take In-Person and In-Person or Online and Online. If you take the In-Person GMAT and then the Online GMAT, you can do them in quick succession, days apart even if that’s what you want to do.
We usually recommend the In-Person GMAT first, since you’ll be able to get the ESR and have a window into what went well and what you may need to do differently to increase your score. If you are on a tight timeline, you could then take an Online GMAT soon after – perhaps a few days or a week. How long you wait depends on a bunch of factors, probably the most important of which is how much work you think you need to do to have a better outcome. But some people just feel like they botched something in the first attempt and want to get right back in there ASAP, so in that case being able to take the Online GMAT days later is a nice option.
One more advantage of the above strategy is that you get to see which version you prefer. BUT, it’s worth noting that, in our experience, for those people who want to take the GMAT a third or fourth time and who’ve taken both versions of the test in their first two attempts, the majority choose to take the GMAT at the test center, mostly because once they taste the ESR, they can’t live with knowing that they will not be able to access ESR after their next try!
So if you are not on a tight timeline and were absolutely fine taking the GMAT at the test center, then it’s probably best to stick with the In-Person GMAT and not even take the online version. The ability to access the ESR and really understand what happened on the test is really reason enough to stick with the In-Person GMAT, and that’s what we see with most of our GMAT students. And, whether schools care or not, most people just like knowing that they can cancel bad scores.
Final Thoughts
It’s unfortunate that the policies for the In-Person and Online GMAT are so complicated – it really just sows confusion in test-takers, and we often spend a fair amount of time explaining all of the above to our students and helping them plan their testing journey. With the GRE, it’s much more simple and it’s really just a question of preference based on the “general considerations” mentioned above. Those factors are also important with regard to the GMAT, but the differences in access to the ESR and the ability to cancel scores really do make it a different calculus when it comes to the GMAT. If you have a strong preference for online testing or if you’re on a tight timeline, it may make sense to take the Online GMAT, but our general recommendation (and what we see with most of our students) is that the In-Person GMAT is the better option.