Moderator Note (Andy): This is a syndication of survey done by Kaplan test prep entitled "Test Prep Survey: Business Schools’ Opinion of New GMAT Integrated Reasoning Section Slips; Uncertainty Remains as Applicants Prepare to Submit First Round of Scores". It is based on results from their 2012 survey of business school admissions officers. The survey was conducted in August and September and includes responses from 265 MBA programs, including most of the top 25.
As a new crop of business school applicants prepares to submit the first set of applications with GMAT scores that include the newly launched GMAT Integrated Reasoning section, Kaplan Test Prep’s 2012 survey of business school admissions officers* suggests that the opinion of business schools of the new GMAT section may have slipped – though it is too early to pass judgment on the new section. Here are some of the major findings:
In Kaplan’s 2012 survey, 41% said IR would make the GMAT more reflective of the business school experience, a big drop from the 59% who answered that way in Kaplan’s 2011 survey. Those who weren’t sure if IR would make the exam more reflective rose from 37% in 2011 to 49% in 2012. Admissions officers who said IR would not make the exam more reflective increased from 5% in 2011 to 10% in 2012.
Somewhat similarly, 54% “do not know” if Integrated Reasoning makes the GMAT more reflective of work in business and management after business school; 36% say it does; and 10% say it doesn’t.
There is still dominant uncertainty, however. More than half of MBA programs are unsure of how important Integrated Reasoning (IR) scores will be in the evaluation process, with 54% responding “Undecided” to the question, “How important will a student’s Integrated Reasoning score be in your evaluation of their overall performance on the GMAT?” 22% say IR scores will be important, while 24% say IR scores will not be important.
Continue reading the article at Kaplan (kaptest.com)
More info on the new Integrated Reasoning section from kaptest.com:
The Integrated Reasoning section contains four new, multi-step question types to master on top the five existing types in the Quant and Verbal sections. Integrated Reasoning also carries an additional score on which schools will evaluate candidates.For all test takers, the addition of Integrated Reasoning means more hours of studying for an already rigorous test. Prior to the test change, top-scoring GMAT takers had to put in an average of 100 hours of prep time, making 120 hours the best practice for planning. With the new section, however, that number has increased to 150 hours of preparation.
I recently took the new GMAT and found the IR section to be an annoyance. It's not difficult but with 12 questions and tons of data to look at, managing your time becomes even more challenging than the regular quant and verbal sections. You also don't get your IR score right away (no idea why), and it's NOT adaptive. So everyone gets the same questions. When I took it, in addition to the data analysis types, there was also a few logic game questions somewhat similar to what you would find on the LSAT-albeit a lot easier.
My guess is as long as you get at least a 6 on IR, it shouldn't really matter since it does not factor into your overall score, which is ultimately what b-schools care about.
Hello all, I want to just point out a comment that I heard adcom make about the integrated reasoning section: She said that they were still trying to figure out how to use the information, and right now there just isn't enough data to make a judgment. However, she did say something to the effect of, "If you got an 8 or a 1, I would probably pay attention, but otherwise, it's just not a factor." FWIW
This makes perfect sense. If it's too low, then it would raise concern about one's ability to analyze data and make inferences. This is something that is tested during consulting interviews where you are presented with graphs, charts, other data, to analyze. A very bad score could thus raise concerns aobut the applicant's ability to perform well in high-pressured job interviews.
Overall though it won't matter too much for applicants this year. I think next year or the year after, adcom will figure out a way to better incorporate IR into its admissions metric. So for instance, they might say, "if a person has a slightly lower quant than we would like but got a 8 on IR, we will take that into consideration."
I think it will take even longer for them to figure out how to use the data. It takes several years to have any valid correlations. For example, they are still trying to figure out how the GRE score compares to the GMAT, (but I do admit that there will be more data points on IR than on the GRE.)
PS: why aren't you watching baseball?
The GRE-GMAT correlation is something that i've been thinking a lot about. I took both exams and am not sure whether i should submit both. My gmat quant percentile is higher than gre quant since the former is obviously a lot more difficult, but i did a lot better on gmat verbal than gre verbal. Weird. My impression though is that although b-schools say that they will take either exam, they take the GMAT a lot more seriously even when an applicant submits both scores.
They take the GMAT more because they know what to do with it. They can slice and dice GMAT scores over long histories, but they cannot with the GRE. There's just not enough info. Right now it seems that most of the people who are looking at the GRE are doing joint degrees. Some business schools still don't even take it (last year Berkeley, Kellogg and Chicago didn't take it, I think. Not sure if they've changed their policy), so it seems to limit choices, and schools like Harvard's Kennedy School takes the GMAT. I guess you can submit both. If you got 80% quant on the GMAT, that's a bit like checking a box these days.
I got a 48 quant, which is now 78%; it used to be in the low 80's. On GRE quant, i got 92%. I was a bit worried at first, but everyone said that 48 quant is fine for the top b-schools and checks the box.
Yes, i'm applying to joint degrees in mba and policy.
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