The new GMAT test, NYU's Damodaran on S&P

An interesting article to read about S&P downgrade of the sovereign rating for the US from AAA to AA+ from NYU's Stern MBA Finance professor Aswath Damodaran. Damodaran is favorite corporate finance professor at NYU Stern, and his classes are usually packed. It's an interesting class visit for everyone who's interested in business and not just finance buffs.  

GMAC started releasing videos about the GMAT Integrated Reasoning (IR) section, which will initially only provide schools with an additional score and not impact the current overall GMAT score.   
The GMAT new section will include 12 questions that will need to be answered in 30 minutes, and it will not be computer adaptive. Questions types include Table Analysis, Graphic Interpretation, Multi-Source Reasoning and Two-Parts Analysis.  Applicants will need to compare series,, analyze cause and result and more. This section will be more interactive than the current GMAT test  - you will be able to sort data (as in excel and other applications) and more.

The Analysis of an Issue section which currently takes 30 minutes will be cancelled, leaving candidates with only 1 writing section - Analysis of an argument. The total time of the test will still be 3 hours and 30 minutes.  The new GMAT is scheduled to start at June 2012 and the registration for the test is starting on December 2011.  To get more information, you can follow GMAC at their official website.

Should MBA applicants plan to take the new or the old GMAT test? Honestly, I don’t think it is going to matter in the next few years. First, the majority of applicants are expected to have the old GMAT score in the next 2 years. Also, It will take MBA programs time to compare the GMAT Integrated Reasoning results to students’ performance academically and professionally.