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Executive Assessment (EA) – Format Vs. GMAT Focus Edition & Schools (2023)

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In 2016, GMAC collaborated with six prominent global business schools to create the Executive Assessment, a tailored assessment specifically developed to suit the admissions objectives of executive MBA programs globally. From a tool for evaluating Executive MBA candidate, the assessment has now been started accepting as an alternative to GMAT test for full-time MBA candidates as well.

Format of Executive Assessment

The exam lasts 1.5 hours, which is roughly half the time of the GMAT or GRE. The exam has three sections that are always administered in the following order:

1.  Integrated Reasoning

This section lasts 30 minutes and contains 12 questions. It assesses the capacity to evaluate information in various formats from various sources. These skills are required in today's data-driven world. Question types include:

i. Interpretation of Graphics  
ii. Two-Part Analysis
iii. Table Evaluation
iv. Reasoning from Multiple Sources

2. Verbal Reasoning

This section lasts 30 minutes and contains 14 questions. It assesses your ability to analyze arguments as well as read, comprehend, and correct sentences in standard English.

Types of questions include:
i.  Comprehension Reading
ii. Critical Reasoning
iii. Correcting Sentence

3. Quantitative Reasoning

This section lasts 30 minutes and contains 14 questions. It assesses the ability to use reasoning abilities to analyze evidence and draw conclusions. This section necessitates secondary school-level math skills. Types of questions include:

i. Data Sufficiency
ii. Problem Solving

Each exam section is divided into two modules. The Integrated Reasoning (IR) part comprises two modules of six questions each.

The first set of six questions will be of varying difficulty but most likely be on the medium level.

One can move around the module and answer the questions in any order. There are no negative markings for incorrect answers.

The second module appears after the first module is submitted; the performance of the first module determines the difficulty level. If everything is correct, the second module will be much more difficult. The second module will be much easier if one answers every question incorrectly. The Verbal part begins after the completion of two IR modules.

The performance in the IR section will determine the difficulty level of the first Verbal module (seven problems), and the performance in the first Verbal module will determine the difficulty level of the second module of seven Verbal problems.

The Quant module will function similarly to the Verbal module (the starting point is selected by IR, and the second module is decided by the performance of the first Quant module).

Schools Accepting EA – 2023 and Programs (from our Top 50 list)

The EA was first designed for Executive MBA (EMBA) programs, but it has gained popularity in recent years and is currently utilized for a wide range of programs.

The EA is accepted by the majority of the world's leading EMBA programs, including Booth (UChicago), Columbia, Haas (Berkeley), INSEAD, Kellogg (Northwestern), London Business School, MIT, Wharton, and Yale.

Surprisingly, in the last year or so, several part-time MBA programs and some full-time MBA programs have begun to accept the EA.

Columbia and NYU Stern stated in August 2019 that they would accept the EA for their standard full-time MBA programs. The following list includes all programs and schools that accept EA.

School Program accepting EA Program accepting EA Program accepting EA Program accepting EA Program accepting EA Program accepting EA Program accepting EA
Stanford MSx Program            
Wharton Philadelphia MBA for Executives Global MBA for Executives San Francisco MBA for Executives        
Booth Executive MBA Program Weekend MBA Evening MBA        
Columbia The Executive MBA Program The Columbia MBA          
Kellogg Evening & Weekend MBA Program Executive MBA          
MIT Sloan Executive MBA Sloan Fellows Program          
Duke Fuqua Global Executive Weekend Executive Daytime MBA Accelerated Daytime MBA Master’s of Quantitative Management: Health Analytics Accelerated Masters of Science in Quantitative Management: Business Analytics Masters of Science in Quantitative Management Business Analytics
London Business School LBS Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy EMBA-Global Americas and Europe Executive MBA Program        
INSEAD The Global Executive MBA Program Executive Master in Finance          
Yale Yale MBA for Executives            
Darden Global MBA for Executives MBA for Executives Full-Time MBA Part-Time MBA      
Haas MBA for Executives Evening & Weekend MBA          
Ross MBA, Weekend Part-Time MBA, Online          
NYU Stern Full-time MBA Program Andre Koo Technology and Entrepreneurship MBA Fashion and Luxury MBA Masters in Science, Quantitative Management Langone Part-Time MBA for Working Professionals Executive MBA  
UCLA Anderson MBA, Full Time Executive MBA Fully Employed MBA Program        
Cornell Cornell Executive MBA Metro NY Cornell Executive MBA Americas Executive MBA/MS in Healthcare Leadership        
McCombs Full Time MBA, Austin Executive MBA, Austin Working Professional MBA Programs in Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Houston      
IESE Global Executive MBA Executive MBA Munich Executive MBA        
IE Executive MBA Global MBA          
Oxford Oxford Executive MBA            
Cambridge Cambridge Executive MBA            
HEC Paris International Executive MBA            
Tepper Full-Time MBA Part-Time flex MBA Part-Time Online Hybrid MBA        
UNC Evening Executive MBA Weekend Executive MBA          
Rice Jones Online MBA Executive MBA MBA, Full Time Professional MBA      
Vanderbilt Owen Executive MBA Full Time MBA Global Executive MBA – Americas        
NUS MBA Part-Time MBA program            
Foster MBA Hybrid MBA Evening MBA Technology Management MBA Global Executive MBA Executive MBA    
USC Marshall USC Marshall Online Master of Business Administration            
Mendoza College Executive MBA Executive MBA, Chicago          
ESADE Executive MBA            
Rochester – Simon School of Business Full Time MBA            
Georgia Tech Scheler School of Business Evening MBA            
HKUST Executive MBA Program            
WHU Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA            
Paul Merage School of Business Executive MBA            
BU Questrom School of Business Executive MBA            
McDonough Flex MBA Executive MBA Full Time MBA Master of Arts in International Business and Policy      

GMAT Focus vs. Executive Assessment Edition

The GMAT Focus Edition is intended for full-time MBA applicants, whereas the EA is intended for working professionals looking for non-residential programs.

Programs: GMAT Focus Edition covers 7700 programs at over 2400 business schools, whereas EA is limited to 250 programs at 100 B-schools.

In terms of exam structure, the GMAT Focus Edition comprises three portions (64 questions) that can be done in any order you like: Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Data Insights. EA includes three sections (40 questions) organized into six modules that must be completed in a specific order: Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Integrated Reasoning.

Timing: GMAT Focus Edition allows 2 hours 15 minutes with one optional 10-minute break, whereas the EA exam must be finished in 1.5 hours with no breaks.

Test Results: GMAT Focus Edition lets applicants examine their unofficial results right away and receive official scores within 3-5 business days. Offline results for EA are available within 24 hours, whereas online test results are accessible after 7 business days.

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About the Author 

Atul Jose - Founding Consultant F1GMAT

I am Atul Jose - the Founding Consultant at F1GMAT.

Over the past 15 years, I have helped MBA applicants gain admissions to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, Chicago Booth, Kellogg, Columbia, Haas, Yale, NYU Stern, Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, IE, IESE, HEC Paris, McCombs, Tepper, and schools in the top 30 global MBA ranking. 

I offer end-to-end Admissions Consulting and editing services – Career Planning, Application Essay Editing & Review, Recommendation Letter Editing, Interview Prep, assistance in finding funds and Scholarship Essay & Cover letter editing. See my Full Bio.

Contact me for support in school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative advice, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing and guiding supervisors with recommendation letter guideline documents. 

I am also the Author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, covering 16+ top MBA programs with 240+ Sample Essays that I have updated every year since 2013 (11+ years. Phew!!)

I am an Admissions consultant who writes and edits Essays every year. And it is not easy to write good essays. 

Contact me for any questions about MBA or Master's application. I would be happy to answer them all 

Winning MBA Essay Guide - A Complete Guide for M7 and Top 15 MBA Application Essays 


F1GMAT's Winning MBA Essay guide will teach you how to transform your essay into a life journey with trials and tribulations that will move the admission team.

+ Over 245 Sample Essays (Read Previews of F1GMAT's Winning MBA Essay Guide Sample Essays here)

+ Top 15 MBA Programs (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, Booth, MIT, Kellogg, Yale, Haas, Darden, INSEAD, LBS, NYU Stern, Tuck, Duke Fuqua, Ross)
+ The Art of Storytelling 
+ Leadership Narratives
+ Review Tips
+ Persuasion Strategies
+ The Secret to "unleashing" your unique voice
+ How to prepare and present for the Video Essay
+ How to write about your Strengths
+ How to write about your Weaknesses
 
 

Want to try the individual school Essay Guides before upgrading to the Winning MBA Essay Guide? Try below.

F1GMAT's Essay Guides

  • Harvard MBA Essay Guide (20 Sample Essays)

    Growth-Oriented Essay: Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (up to 250 words) 

    Example #1: Persistence Narrative 
    Background Information: The applicant – a design and music talent, shares her journey through several setbacks. She attributes curiosity to her growth.  
    Curiosity: Philosophy  
    Curiosity (Explained): Curiosity as a philosophy is tough to translate into a narrative unless you are from the creative industry or your contributions had an influence on a solution or an initiative.  
    MBA Essay Strategy: I wanted to capture the humanity of the applicant and her influence in music instead of just highlighting how she overcame multiple roadblocks to gain attention as a designer.  
    Theme: Persistence  
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Life Starts at NO (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example) 

    Example #2: International Community Building 
    Background Information: The applicant, a Machine Learning (ML) entrepreneur specializing in healthcare diagnostics, shares how his curiosity to learn other ML algorithms’ evolution in diagnosing Alzheimer’s, cancer, and heart disease transformed his platform into a global community. 
    MBA Essay Strategy: I wanted to show the applicant’s contributions in diagnostic from 2020 to 2024 by citing two events. Such examples build credibility instead of engagements that were recent. The evolution of the platform from an AI development community to a community for discussing the application of AI in diagnostics is captured through a ‘curiosity’ angle.
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Growth through Collaboration (AI in Healthcare) (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #3: Culture
    Background Information: The applicant, an Entrepreneur from India narrates his first entrepreneurial experience – facilitating exchange of stamps in the late 1990s.
    Theme: Culture
    MBA Essay Strategy:  Instead of addressing the biases in the investor community that could turn preachy, I wanted to focus on the applicant and his entrepreneurial journey by citing two entrepreneurial experiences – a platform(club) for stamp collection and his Grocery delivery App.
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – The American Dream (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #4: Addiction
    Background Information: The applicant – a beneficiary of the foster home system, captures the sacrifice his adopted grandparents made to save him from a path of addiction. Paying it back through early intervention among teenagers and community engagement is the curiosity narrative.
    Theme: Addiction
    MBA Essay Strategy:  My strategy is to capture a gratitude narrative in the first one-third of the essay to demonstrate motivation for starting the venture and dedicate the latter part of the essay to the unique solution
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Drug Addiction and Gaming (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #5: Scarcity
    Background Information: The applicant, an education major, recognizes that 70% of all students in Kenya don’t have a computer. The curiosity that drives him to pivot from one solution to another is the growth narrative.
    Theme: Innovation
    MBA Essay Strategy:  Often, innovation is captured with a ‘hero’ narrative where the applicant is the sole originator of an idea. I wanted to break that cliché and include a person from whom the applicant learned to use a concept called ‘scaffolding.’
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Scarcity (Growth-Oriented HBS Essay Example)

    Example #6: FinTech
    Background Information: The applicant captures a vulnerable moment of a beneficiary to compare his journey of side hustle before a technology giant noticed his talent. Although cryptocurrency is not a flavor for the year, capture niches where innovation is still happening. 
    Theme: Education, Child Welfare
    MBA Essay Strategy:  Empathizing with a techno solution is tough without a strong backstory around the beneficiary. For the essay, I wanted to clearly establish the beneficiary – Rami, before the applicant narrates the similarities to his journey and finally shares the solution that emerged from his curiosity.
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – FinTech as a Tool for Good (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #7: Learning from the best
    Background Information: The applicant – a Remote Engineer in the Oil and Gas industry, reflects on a value that has helped her learn from the best regardless of her geographical limitations.
    Theme: Learning
    MBA Essay Strategy:  The effectiveness of the case-study method depends on the assumption that peers in a Harvard MBA class will help elevate your learning experience. For the essay, I have highlighted the applicant’s recognition of this value proposition with three examples.
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Learning from the Best (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #8: Military & Search for IMPACT
    Background Information: The most common narrative for US military applicants is to quote 9/11 and the reaction your immediate family had while watching the events unfold. The horrifying moment is captured as a motivation to join the Military. On digging deeper, most applicants would share that their motivations were diverse.
    Theme: Career Choice
    MBA Essay Strategy:  I wanted to quickly highlight that the applicant had the choice of entering any industry. One achievement to demonstrate his curiosity that I shared in the first half is the invention of a game. Since the game is mentioned in the resume and verifiable through search, I didn’t quote the name. By clearly highlighting the person’s curiosity and career options, the family legacy is used as a factor in joining the military.
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Career Choice after a Military Career (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)
     
    Leadership-Focused Essay: What experiences have shaped who you are, how you invest in others, and what kind of leader you want to become? (up to 250 words)

    Example #9: Small Business Values
    Background Information: The applicant - a second-generation Asian American, is familiar with the values of fiscal conservatism, building relationships, and understanding the daily struggles of the community through his family’s department store.
    Theme: Customer-Centric
    MBA Essay Strategy:  The applicant’s role in developing an App for the store is highlighted in the essay at a crucial part of the narrative so that the essay is not all about his father. I have also humanized the journey – by sharing how upset the father was when the revenues fell by 40%. The essay is about the transformation in the applicant’s value from a person chasing productivity and optimization technique to someone who is truly thinking about the customers. 
    Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Small Business Values (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #10: Breaking Away from Family Business
    Background Information: A unique challenge that applicants whose parents are public figures or CXOs of businesses or entrepreneurs are the pressure to live up to the parent’s standards or milestones. For the leadership narrative, the burden of legacy is established before the narrative addresses his leadership principles.
    Theme: Authenticity  
    MBA Essay Strategy:  For the essay, I want to capture an entrepreneur’s journey to rise above his entrepreneur father’s image. But I didn’t want to make the entire essay about this complex dynamics. The narrative is around the applicant’s focus on customers and surrounding with teams who keeps him grounded. 
    Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Breaking Away from Family Business(Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #11: Creativity and Communication 
    Background Information: When the overall percentage of users with internet access is 62% in South Africa and the inequality accentuated by the rural and urban divide, the applicant endured the lack of digital infrastructure, and spending close to 22% of the family income on gaining relevant information on schools, global exams, and financial assistance. 
    Theme: Creativity, Communication
    MBA Essay Strategy:  The strategy is to share why the applicant values no distraction in a child’s home for optimum education experience. Then I highlight the many roadblocks the applicant’s non-profit faced in receiving fee waiver for their cooperative run ISP.
    Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Non-Profit (Telecom) (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #12: Mental Health
    Background Information: The applicant like most didn’t pay much attention to the mental health epidemic until tragedy hit home.
    Theme: Communication, Innovation
    MBA Essay Strategy:  A question we frequently get from applicants is whether they should cite tragedy in the family as a motivation for a venture or a non-profit initiative. As long as you don’t linger too much on the tragedy and offer a balanced narrative, there are no restrictions on leveraging unique stories from your life. 
    Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Mental Health (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #13: Trauma, Healing & Finding Authentic Self
    Background Information: The applicant narrates the absurdity of war in the narrative about the duties in Kabul, and the trauma. Instead of wallowing in on the horror, the applicant takes what makes military applicants strong and guides unprivileged children build life and leadership skills.
    Theme: Resilience
    MBA Essay Strategy:  Capturing PTSD in an essay, the healing process, and the cues that helped the applicant are too sacred to be shared in a Harvard MBA application essay. However, with the right motivation and narrative arcs, you can capture the essence of your journey without sharing the darkest secrets. That is what I did by merging two stories – the horrors of the war with a non-profit engagement.
    Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Military & PTSD (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #14: Addiction, Setback and Leadership Mantra
    Background Information: In this narrative, the applicant captures Peru’s Silver mining boom of 2006. The growth experienced in her father’s business shifted the family’s economic status to a new stratosphere. Through the changing economic and family dynamics, the applicant finds her voice in a unique way, initially to record her unheard voice but later as one of the youngest subject matter experts in mining and commodities.  
    Theme: Failure
    MBA Essay Strategy:  For the essay, the strategy is to show how life’s unpredictability is a blessing. By narrating two setback events, the essay demonstrates the applicant’s resilience and her acknowledgment of people who made a comeback possible.
    Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Addiction, Setback and Leadership Mantra (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #15: War, Immigration and Starting Over Again
    Background Information: Despite a raging war in Syria, the family of the applicant was unblemished by the chaos. The strategic government assets near the applicant’s house would have made the region an easy target, but it was not. The calmness of her journey is shattered in one event. From the privileges of a cocooned life, the applicant is forced to think about survival, her sister’s future, and her future in the US. The second half of the narrative captures the change that was forced on her. 
    Theme: Gratitude, Resilience
    MBA Essay Strategy:  I consciously chose not to start the essay with a dialogue or trauma. Two lines are allocated to set up the narrative before the trauma event.
    Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – War, Immigration and Starting Over Again (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Harvard MBA Business-Minded Essay: Please reflect on how your experiences have influenced your career choices and aspirations and the impact you will have on the businesses, organizations, and communities you plan to serve. (up to 300 words)

    Example #16: Creative or Finance
    Background Information: The applicant starts the narrative with the origin of her talents. The unbridled enthusiasm receives a reality check when in high school, the applicant’s father has a conversation with her about academics. While the applicant picked up her quant skills, she was reaching over 50,000 loyal fans, and her videos captured 1 million views. 
    Theme: Passion, Talent
    MBA Essay Strategy:  Capturing vulnerability is the toughest part for Harvard MBA applicants. For this essay example, I have captured the applicant’s uncertainty about career choice throughout the essay. Here the goal is to show vulnerability in the career choice essay while for leadership and growth essay, I could capture one example each from creative and PE industry respectively to balance the narrative. So don’t follow this example without a strategy.  
    Read: Harvard MBA Business-Minded Essay – Creative or Finance (Business-Minded HBS MBA Essay Example)

  • Stanford MBA Essay Guide (24 Sample Essays)
  • Columbia MBA Essay Guide (21 Sample Essays)
  • Wharton MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays)
  • INSEAD MBA Essay Guide (19 Sample Essays)
  • Darden MBA Essay Guide  (21 Sample Essays) 
  • Yale SOM MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays)
  • Tuck MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays)
  • Haas MBA Essay Guide (18 Sample Essays)
  • NYU Stern MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays + 6 Examples - Visual Essay)
  • LBS MBA Essay Guide (6 Sample Essays)
  • MIT Sloan MBA Essay Guide (6 Sample Cover Letters + 3 Sample Video Statement Scripts + 3 Sample Optional Essays)
  • Kellogg MBA Essay Guide (11 Sample Essays)
  • Chicago Booth MBA Essay Guide (12 Sample Essays)
  • Ross MBA Essay Guide (31 Sample Essays)
  • Duke Fuqua MBA Essay Guide (10 Sample Essays + Two 25 Random Things Samples)
  • Cambridge MBA Essay Guide (12 Sample Essays)

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