GMAT: Big makeover under way

This 10^th version of the GMAT is the result of a survey of faculty members from business schools around the world, who reported that they wanted to measure a candidate's ability to integrate data from multiple sources to solve complex problems. "These skills are necessary for success at business school," says Ashok Sarathy, vice-president for the GMAT program at the Graduate Management Admission Council, the nonprofit organization that administers the test, "and also in the corporate world".

Those planning to take the new test have numerous options. GMAT says it will eventually make test preparation material available, of course, but many of the major test prep companies are also hard at work updating course content in anticipation of the new exam.

Kaplan, a unit of the Washington Post, released its revised curriculum with a new set of online, on-demand videos called GMAT On Demand in January. The video workshops target specific topics, such as geometry and data sufficiency. Kaplan costs $1,549 for on-site course; $649 for online course; $449 for GMAT On Demand.

With about 300 to 400 students per month, Knewton in New York offers a variety of online tools. In addition to the traditional online course-which includes 36 hours of instruction -the company offers a more targeted way to fill in the gaps in students' knowledge. Instructors pose a question online, then follow up with those who got it wrong, giving them the extra help they need. Cost: $690 for traditional online course.

Manhattan GMAT, which was acquired by Kaplan last year, offers in-person and online courses. They include six computer-adaptive practice tests and the ability to schedule weekly 30-minute phone or online sessions with an instructor, one who has personally scored in the 99th percentile of the GMAT. More disciplined students can opt for self-study, which includes recorded class sessions and two private phone sessions with an instructor, in addition to study materials. Cost: $1,490 for traditional course; $1,090 for online course; $590 starting price for self-study.

Recently, Manhattan Review started to allow students to attend classes on an unlimited basis. If a student feels he needs more preparation, he can take the course again within 90 days, in person or online, at no additional cost. At Manhattan Review, courses range from one day to eight weeks and are available in 60 cities in 10 countries. As a bonus, anyone can receive a free MBA candidacy analysis. Cost: $850 to $1,550.

Princeton Review is about to revamp both its course content and practice tests to include questions similar to those in the GMAT's new integrated reasoning section. Princeton Review in March 2010 launched its revamped GMAT Live Online course, which features 22 hours of instruction from two instructors. It also began offering a standalone GRE/GMAT math fundamentals workshop, which offers refreshers on basics from adding fractions to understanding ratios. Cost: $1,249 for either classroom or online course.

Veritas Prep in California's Malibu offers a longer course than most (more than 40 hours of classroom time) that has students beginning with the basics.  It expects to fit in class work on the new section of the GMAT without a hitch. Veritas Prep recently began offering a concierge for all clients who want help beyond the classroom and all classes also receive a three-hour MBA admissions workshop. Cost: $450 to $1,750

www.businessweek.com