GMAC has listened!
The most annoying things about the at-home exam were pretty clearly:
That you cannot see your score for several days after taking it and must exist in a state of score purgatory;
That you must take the exam in a fixed order even if you’ve learned from practice exams that you do better otherwise; and
That you do not get any breaks.
All of these things felt like arbitrary penalties for sitting for the exam at home. Was there any reason for them?
With this latest announcement, GMAC solved all 3 problems:
This definitely tips the scales further in favor of taking the exam at-home, and shows that this is likely going to be a permanent option.
The downside?
Some people will be disappointed to see that the essay has joined the online format, but to me that is a small price to pay. Think about it this way: What you finished your GMAT and I said, “You can wait 4 days for a score, or if you spend the next 30 minutes writing an essay, you can see it immediately,.” Wouldn’t that seem like a good deal?
My only other complaint is that GMAC is not yet offering Enhanced Score Reports (ESRs) for the at-home exam, which is now the one remaining advantage of test-center appointments.
