The exam
The GMAT Focus Edition, explained
The GMAT was rebuilt in 2023: shorter, three sections instead of four, no essay, and a new scoring scale. If your mental model of the test comes from an older sibling's prep books, most of it no longer applies.
Three sections, equally weighted
Each section runs 45 minutes and counts the same toward your total. That last part matters: Data Insights is as important as Quant, and it's the section most test takers have never practiced properly.
Quantitative Reasoning
21 questions · 45 minutes
Arithmetic and algebra as problem solving. No geometry to speak of, and no calculator. The difficulty comes from reasoning under time, never from exotic math.
Verbal Reasoning
23 questions · 45 minutes
Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning. Sentence Correction is gone, so grammar drills no longer buy you anything. Argument logic does.
Data Insights
20 questions · 45 minutes
Data Sufficiency plus charts, tables, two-part analysis, and multi-source reasoning. The on-screen calculator lives here and only here. This section is where most prep material is thinnest.
How scoring works
The test is question-adaptive: answer correctly and the next question gets harder, miss and it eases off. Your score reflects the difficulty you can handle consistently, so two people with the same number right can land far apart.
On the current scale, a 645 already puts you around the top tenth of test takers, and 705 or above is roughly the top 1 to 2 percent. Competitive applicants at top-20 US programs mostly land between 645 and 735. Check the class profile of each school you're targeting rather than chasing a universal number.
Review and edit, used well
Unlike the old GMAT, you can bookmark questions and return to them before the section ends, changing up to three answers. The strategy implication: stop grinding on a question that's eating your clock, answer, bookmark, and move. Practicing that discipline is worth real points, which is why our mocks reproduce the mechanic exactly.
How long to prepare
Most people who move their score meaningfully put in 8 to 12 weeks of consistent work. A 30-point lift is a different project from a 130-point one, so start by finding out where you actually stand, then plan backward from your application deadlines with a mock every week or two in the final stretch.
Find out where you stand on it
The free diagnostic samples all three sections and scores you in 30 minutes.
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