Executive Assessment vs GMAT: which test fits a working professional

You work full time and you are applying to an executive MBA or a part-time program. Sooner or later you face a choice between two tests from the same publisher: the Executive Assessment (EA) and the GMAT. Both come from GMAC and test related skills, but they are built for different candidates. The right one depends on your programs and on how much time you can give to prep.

Start with your programs, not the test

Before you compare formats, open the admissions page of every program on your list and check which tests it accepts. Some programs take the EA, some take the GMAT, and some take either. If one program on your list takes only one of them, the choice is made. If every program takes both, read on.

The format, side by side

• Length: the EA runs 90 minutes. The GMAT runs 2 hours 15 minutes, with one optional 10-minute break.
• Sections: the EA has three 30-minute sections: Integrated Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning. The GMAT has three 45-minute sections: Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning and Data Insights.
• Questions: the EA asks 40 questions: 12 Integrated Reasoning, 14 Verbal and 14 Quant. The GMAT asks 64: 21 Quant, 23 Verbal and 20 Data Insights.
• Review: the GMAT lets you bookmark questions in a section, then change up to three answers with the time left.

What that means when your calendar is full

The EA is shorter, but it is not casual. Fewer questions means each one carries more weight, and 30 minutes for a whole section leaves little room to recover from a slow start. Pace matters too: train yourself to reach the end of each section with a minute to spare, so a slow start never turns into a rushed finish.

Integrated Reasoning asks you to read tables, graphs and data from several sources, much as you do at work, but on a clock and with exact answer formats. Give it its own practice time, not the minutes left over after Quant.

How to decide

1. List the tests each of your programs accepts.
2. If both work for every program, look at a sample of each format and note which one feels closer to how you think under time pressure.
3. Count the weeks you can really study, around work and family, not the weeks you hope to have.
4. Pick one test and commit. Splitting prep between two formats burns the time you are trying to save.

Train with the real thing

Whichever test you choose, official practice exams give you the truest read on your pacing and your score. Third-party tests can imitate the format; official exams use real questions and real scoring. The EMPOWERea Full Course includes all 4 official EA practice exams, and both plans include 1 and 2 month study plans across Quant, Verbal and Integrated Reasoning.

Not sure the course fits the way you work? Open it for 24 hours with no automatic charge, look at both study plans, and decide from there.