I think the WAY in which we found out about the HBS (and, possibly, MIT Sloan) requirement for some candidates to submit a BWA score made it FEEL far more shocking that it actually is? 

Because: 

– The test is easy*, fast, and (relatively) cheap (I do think it should be free, but… I understand why they’re charging the $30) (*Note: by “Easy” I mean, if you’re smart enough to get to the interview stage at HBS, then this SHOULD be a total piece of cake)

– I estimate (caveat: estimate done on a Friday evening at end of a looooong week, so please be nice if I missed something!) that fewer than 200 people in Round 1 at HBS will even be impacted by this? 

Watch the video below to hear my reasoning for why the B.W.A. might not be THAT big of a deal after all, and also how I got to my sub 200 people estimate (note: while I’m pretty comfortable with the assumptions for how many GMAT test takers might be in the R1 HBS applicant pool, the variable that has the biggest impact is the hardest one to estimate: what % of GMAT scores submitted will be “GMAT Focus Edition” vs. “the old GMAT”???) 

Wait, what’s going on with this Business Writing Assessment thing? 

Last week, it was announced that applicants to Harvard Business School who are:

1. Invited to interview

2. Took the “GMAT Focus Edition” (the “GFE”)

3. Do NOT have a written English-language assessment (from the GRE, TOEFL, etc.)

…will be required to take an additional “Business Writing Assessment” for $30, from GMAC. 

 PUT ANOTHER WAY — if you attended a college where English was the primary language of instruction (E.g. most colleges in the U.S., U.K., Canada, India… or if you’re from a non-English speaking country but attended college in one of those countries) — AND if you’re invited to interview,  then you’ve gotta take this test. 

                                                         umm….SURPRISE!!!

Given HOW this information was disseminated, it was (I regret to say) done in a way that pretty much maximized “THE FREAK OUT FACTOR”. It was sort of hidden, it was completely unexpected…etc. a.k.a. all the things you are NOT SUPPOSED TO DO when introducing a new thing to people !!!  🙁 

So given that, Maria, why SHOULDN’T I be freaking out?

1. It’s fast, it’s easy, it’s cheap: If you’re a strong enough candidate to get to the interview stage at HBS, then this writing assessment should be a piece of cake (and if it’s not a piece of cake, then the debate-driven environment at HBS isn’t a good fit for you anyway??? No snark, just honesty)  

2. I think this will only apply to a couple of hundred people, at the most? CAVEAT: my calculations are done with LOTS of assumptions, and I made this video on July 26, 2024 (Friday evening at the end of a loooong week), about one week after this news came out, so CAVEAT that there’s a LOT we do NOT know.. but, given what we DO know… I suspect it’ll be about 200 people, max, in the R1 HBS applicant pool, who will have to take the Business Writing Assessment. 

I’ve been studying for months for the GMAT Focus Edition – should I change my plans? HELP!

No! While I think there are other reasons to take the GRE, if you’ve ALREADY been studying for the new GMAT and are in a groove for that, if you’ve already paid for it, etc… the mere possibility of MAYBE having to take a simple, cheap writing test later on… is certainly NOT a good enough reason to change course now! 

Why are they charging $30?

Because for the test to be valid, it needs to be proctored, that means a live person needs to be “watching” you while you type your answer. That costs $$$. So, I UNDERSTAND why they are charging… HOWEVER: since applicants did not know about this until mid-July, it seems pretty uncool to ask them to pay for it. 

My proposal is that GMAC eats the cost for anyone who registered for the GMAT prior to the date that this news became public.  Since, as my calculations show, for HBS alone it might be less than 200 people… we’re not talking about a HUGE amount of costs for them to eat, and the “Goodwill” PR benefits will outweigh that. And if there’s any organization in this entire ecosystem that could use some help on the “generating goodwill with MBA applicants” front, it’s GMAC?