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How to Take the GMAT Focus Edition Online at Home: Complete Guide

The GMAT Focus Edition can be taken online from home with the same scoring (205–805), the same three sections, and the same acceptance at business schools as the test-center version. Here is how to register on mba.com, set up your workspace, and play the Focus Edition's unique features to your advantage.

What is the online GMAT Focus Edition?

The Focus Edition is a 2-hour-15-minute exam with three 45-minute sections: Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Data Insights. Each section is question-adaptive, all three count equally toward your total score, and the online delivery runs around the clock with live proctoring by Pearson VUE.

Unique to the GMAT: you can bookmark questions and review or change up to three answers per section before time runs out, and you choose the order of your sections — use both.

System and workspace requirements

• A Windows or macOS computer with a single monitor, webcam, microphone, and speakers — headphones are not allowed.
• Run the mba.com system test on the same computer and network in advance; corporate laptops with strict firewalls often fail it.
• A quiet, enclosed, private room with a clean desk; you will photograph your workspace from four angles during check-in.
• A physical whiteboard up to 30×50 cm with an erasable marker, or the built-in online whiteboard — practice your Quant scratch work on one before test day.
• A valid passport for ID verification, photographed during check-in.

How to register

Create an account at mba.com, choose "GMAT Focus Edition — Online," pick an appointment slot, and pay the fee. Appointments are available 24/7 and can often be booked within a day or two. Your account name must match your passport. You can reschedule or cancel for a partial fee up to 24 hours before the appointment.

Test-day rules and procedure

• Check in via mba.com up to 30 minutes before your appointment; a greeter verifies your ID and workspace photos before the proctor launches the exam.
• Stay in webcam view at all times; one optional 10-minute break is allowed between sections.
• No phones, watches, notes, food, or other people in the room — violations end the exam and forfeit the fee.
• Your unofficial score appears on screen immediately, and the official score report typically arrives within 3–5 business days.

Strategies for a top Focus Edition score

Choose your section order strategically — many candidates start with their strongest section to build confidence. Use the bookmark-and-review feature deliberately: flag time-sink questions, answer something, and return with leftover minutes. Data Insights mixes data sufficiency with multi-source reasoning, so drill it as seriously as Quant and Verbal. A compressed one-week prep sprint with daily timed sections is the fastest route to your target.