The GMAT exam is administered year-round and on demand at test centers around the world. Candidates interested in scheduling an appointment to take the exam have to first register on official website of GMAT.
Admission deadlines (last date for applying) for graduate management programs vary, so you should check with the schools to make sure GMAT exam appointment is early enough to allow scores to be reported before the schools’ application deadline. Available time slots at test centers change continuously based on capacity and ongoing registration.
When the exam was a paper-and-pencil format with a test booklet and an answer sheet full of bubbles, you had a limited choice of possible test dates, about one every two months. Now you have got much more flexibility when choosing the date and time for taking the test.
The best time to take the GMAT is after you’ve had about six to eight weeks of quality study time and during a period when you don’t have a lot of other things going on to distract you.
Case 1: You are ready to attend your MBA program
If you’re confident that you’d like to attend business school, you should consider taking the GMAT in the near future. After you know your score, you’ll be better able to narrow down the business schools you want to apply to. Then you can focus on the other parts of your application.
Case 2: You are considering attending business school
Your GMAT score may help you decide that you have got the skills to succeed academically in graduate business school. When you do decide to apply to an MBA program, you will have one key component of the application.
Case 3: You are about to earn your bachelor’s degree
If you are nearing graduation or have just graduated from college and you think you may want to get an MBA, it is better to take the GMAT now than wait until later. You are used to studying and tests. Math and grammar concepts are probably as fresh.
You don’t have to start an MBA program right away. Your GMAT scores are generally valid for up to five years, so you can take the test now and take advantage of your current skills as a student to get you into a great graduate program later.