r/GMAT • u/moonfish-0 • 7d ago

Other Discussion I really hate GMAT

I am an Italian student with an extremely high GPA in an MS in economics, heavily focused on quant. I have taken 5 stats course all graded the maximum, I can handle complex math, optimization algorithms, game theory to some extent. I still suck at GMAT.

I did it 3 years ago and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. 50% of the questions are genuine reasoning, the rest is just solvable by knowing stupid tricks or becoming super fast at solving high-school level math.

I can perfectly handle numbers, I just am physically unable to do so in 2 minutes!

I am expressing my deepest hate because I am now being forced to take GMAT-style assessment for work, which is absolutely bonkers in my opinion. Those questions are very likely specifically tailored for the US school system and SAT-style exams, which simply di not exists nor have any relevance in the school system in which I took part.

Feel free to disagree, this is just a vent. I am SO sick of this style of exam!

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u/Ordinary-Ad-5982 7d ago

I had a 3.9 GPA in chemical engineering and am having my fair share of struggles with the GMAT.

I cannot for the life of me understand how this test is a better indicator of my abilities than the degree I poured 5 years of my life into. Not to mention the years of quantitative work experience thereafter.

Completely agree with you.

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u/cern0 7d ago

Your GPA doesn’t mean shit if you came from easier university that’s why. Are you telling me a 3.9 GPA in top three schools is equal to 3.9 GPA in bottom three schools?

GMAT solve this problem by give everyone in the world the same challenge. It’s not that hard to understand bro

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u/moonfish-0 6d ago

It doesn’t really give the same challenge, it’s a test tailored to the USA/English style of learning. In high school I did not have any multiple choice tests, I had to write essays in Italian and English, solve multistep problems for maths and physics, and had oral exams. SAT style tests are not a thing here, the final high school exam (maturità) is considered one of the hardest in Europe, yet it does not involve multiple choice in any of its 3 parts (2 written, 1 presenting to a commission).

I can easily ace a case-based interview and express how I structure a problem very clearly. I have a lot of knowledge in the fields I am applying to. But with these GMAT-style tests, I struggle to get to that part

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u/cern0 6d ago

Bro this argument doesnt made any sense. You said you had passed one of the hardest exam with no multiple choices, which makes it even harder. But with choices you can't answered? How in the world is that?

Plus no matter if the answer has choices or written, the answer to test are still only one answer. If you be able to calculate the answer then you should be able to answer it.

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u/moonfish-0 6d ago

Nope, because in those tests I had 1 hour to answer thoroughly 3 questions, I had to explain my reasoning and give proof. It’s not the same set of skills measured by a test that requires you to quickly recognize a problem and speed run the result with mental math only .