GMAT Integrated Reasoning Overview
In June of 2012 the GMAT will undergo its most significant change in more than a decade. After years of analysis and consultation with business schools, the Graduate Management Admissions Council has decided to keep the majority of the GMAT intact, but replace one of the Analytical Writing Assessment essays with a new Integrated Reasoning section. The addition of an Integrated Reasoning section will add a new dimension to GMAT score reports, and schools will begin to incorporate that scoring into their admissions decisions in the first application rounds of late 2012. We cover a lot more detail on our GMAT Integrated Reasoning Frequently Asked Questions page!
What exactly is the new Integrated Reasoning section?
In short, it asks students to analyze a small compilation of data — presented various forms, including words, charts, and tables — and pull out key insights to answer multiple questions about the data. The questions will vary by type, and may ask the test taker to judge whether a statement is true or false or to interpret the cause of a certain trend in the data.How will the Integrated Reasoning section be scored?
The Integrated Reasoning section will be given its own score, much like the AWA section today. The “main” GMAT score — say, 720 — is going to be instantly comparable to others, whether you take the test today, tomorrow, or in late 2012, and all indications are that business schools will continue to use that score as their primary standardized metric.How will the Integrated Reasoning section be different than what is currently on the GMAT?
The new Integrated Reasoning section will go beyond the traditional “pick one of these five answer choices” format. It will ask test takers to assess information in a variety of formats, synthesize the information given, and draw conclusions from the information given.These new Integrated Reasoning questions certainly can be more open-ended in that you may be asked to select which statements are true given a set of data, and one, two, or even all five statements could possibly be true. In this case, students won’t be tasked with simply converging on THE right answer each time. However, there STILL will be a correct way and an incorrect way to answer a question. See our Integrated Reasoning FAQ to learn more about how the questions will work.
Why we love Integrated Reasoning questions
Integrated Reasoning questions get even closer to measuring the type of analytical skills that truly matter in business school and beyond. The new Integrated Reasoning format actually looks very similar to the mini-case studies MBA students get when interviewing for management consulting or brand management jobs. This sort of exercise — “Here’s a pile of information. Can you pull out the two or three things that matter and tell me what’s going on?” — is a great measure of someone’s analytical abilities. So often applicants hear “analytical” and assume this means “quant” or “numbers,” but great analysis actually goes much deeper and is much more challenging than just crunching numbers. That skill is just what many recruiters at top business schools look for.Veritas Prep has developed Integrated Reasoning sample problems to help you get ready for the new section of the test. We will frequently add new new sample problems, so check back often!
