最佳的GMAT考试安排！

We’ve all been there—scouring the internet for the cheapest airline ticket to travel sometime between December 20 and January 5. Whether you’re a university student trying to make it home for winter holidays or the head of household of a family of four, you know there are only a limited number seats on a limited number of “ideally timed” flights and NEVER at an ideal price. So you start playing cat-and-mouse with yourself—”Do I buy now or see if prices drop in week?”—only to discover that the flight you want is sold out and the red-eye flight that leaves before the world is awake is double the cost of your original flight. And then you swear you’ve learned your lesson and will never wait so long again…

So why, then, do GMAT test takers wait until the last minute—a week, or sometimes even a DAY—before a crucial program deadline to schedule their GMAT testing appointments?

Making a GMAT appointment is much like making an airline reservation, minus the hassle and angst of cost fluctuation (fortunately, the price of the GMAT has not changed in several years and there are no plans for price changes in 2010). Appointments are available in real time to candidates around the globe. There is no advantage to scheduling online versus calling GMAT customer service (though more than 95% of appointments are made on mba.com each year) in terms of what’s available.

What we’ve learned from GMAT registration behavior is that most people tend to schedule between 30 and 60 days in advance of their intended testing date. Also, people tend to prefer to test over the weekend or on Fridays. As you might imagine, those Saturday and Sunday appointments fill up very quickly, so it’s important for you to have a plan.

Once you decide to apply to a graduate management education program, it’s important to allow sufficient time to prepare for the exam (typically six to eight weeks), as well as time to submit your score to the program and allow for a re-test if necessary. Remember, you can only test once during a rolling 31 day period, so it’s better to err on the side of caution when scheduling.

We do hear from people who are unhappy about the rescheduling fees that are assessed when they need to change a test date. Remember—when you schedule an appointment, you’re also preventing another person from testing at that time. During peak testing seasons, especially prior to large program deadlines, seats are at a premium. Scheduling an appointment can be difficult, not only identifying a date and time that is convenient with your schedule, but also identifying a date and time prior to your deadline (especially if it is less than two weeks out!)

While Pearson VUE and GMAC are committed to ensuring that any GMAT test taker around the world can find a testing appointment within 30 days, please recognize that 30 days might be “too late” when faced with a deadline. So plan early, plan your time generously, and leave a little extra room for those last-minute life happenings that might force you to reschedule.