Executive Assessment or GMAT:
which test should you take for an Executive MBA or a master’s program while working?

The GMAT and Executive Assessment come from the same organization, but have different formats

GMAC administers the GMAT and the Executive Assessment (EA). The GMAT has 64 questions across three 45-minute sections, for a total of 2 hours 15 minutes: Quantitative Reasoning (21 questions), Verbal Reasoning (23), and Data Insights (20). Its total score ranges from 205 to 805, and each section is scored from 60 to 90. The EA has 40 questions across three 30-minute sections, for a total of 90 minutes: Integrated Reasoning (12 questions), Verbal Reasoning (14), and Quantitative Reasoning (14), in that order. Its total score ranges from 100 to 200, and each section is scored from 0 to 20.

GMAC describes the EA as a test designed for working professionals and says it is accepted by more than 300 programs at over 130 schools: full-time MBA programs, hybrid or part-time MBAs, master’s programs, and online programs. That count comes from GMAC; it does not tell you whether your programs are included. Check each program’s requirements before choosing.

Online or at a test center: GMAC’s EA policies

The EA is offered at GMAC test centers or online from home. For the online version, the GMAC page reviewed on October 15, 2026 lists a fee of USD 350, plus applicable taxes, with unlimited rescheduling and score sends. Under the Online policies, rescheduling is free up to 24 hours before the appointment; canceling by then results in a USD 250 refund, with USD 100 retained. The Fees page gives a different cancellation deadline, detailed below. You can take the online test up to three times, independently of test-center attempts, with at least 24 hours between appointments. Official results are posted to the candidate’s account within seven business days.

The EA online page also says candidates can review and change answers within a section. For the GMAT, review is available only after answering every question in the section and if time remains, and you can change no more than three answers. The Question Review & Edit article explains these rules. For a test-center appointment, GMAC policy also lists a USD 350 fee, plus applicable taxes: rescheduling is free up to 24 hours before the appointment and impossible afterward; canceling up to 24 hours before gives a USD 250 refund, meaning USD 100 is retained. Phone transactions incur an additional USD 10 fee. For the online option, official pages differ: the Fees page allows cancellation up to the appointment, while the Online policies require 24 hours’ notice for a partial refund. Keep that buffer and ask GMAC to confirm any late cancellation.

For the GMAT, this site’s guide lists prices in euros for France and a limited number of free score sends. Do not compare those figures with the EA figures without checking the same item under the same conditions: a price in dollars and prices in euros, recorded on different dates and for different test formats, are not directly comparable.

Four tests accepted for the HEC Paris Executive MBA

The current HEC Paris Executive MBA admissions page requires one of the following exams: the GMAT, GRE, Executive Assessment, or HEC Paris’s own management test. An FAQ dated October 20, 2022, says there is no preference among the four. The list of tests was checked again on the current page on October 15, 2026; ask the admissions team for advice on a target score for your application.

This example shows how format comparisons can help you choose among options that a program accepts. It says nothing about other schools. Another Executive MBA or master’s program for professionals may accept the EA but not the GMAT, the GMAT but not the EA, or require its own test. Check the requirements of the program you are interested in, even if it is also called an Executive MBA.

Three steps to decide without assumptions

Start by listing the programs you are considering; do not rule one out because you do not know which test it requires. For each one, open the admissions page and note the accepted exams, required score validity, and how scores must be sent. If the page is unclear, ask the admissions team and keep its answer in writing.

Next, identify the tests accepted by all your top-choice programs. If only one works for all of them, choose it. If you have several options, compare what you actually need to prepare: the number of questions, the length of each section, the role of Integrated Reasoning on the EA or Data Insights on the GMAT, and your application deadlines.

Finally, compare the preparation involved: trying each format can help you choose which test to prepare for. You may need to prepare for both if there is no test accepted by all your top-choice programs; confirm this before preparing for them in parallel.

• List of target programs, with a link to each admissions page.
• Accepted tests, score validity, and score-submission method noted for each program.
• Common test selected, or a specific reason to prepare for two.
• Test date, based on the earliest application deadline.

Two applicants, three programs

In a hypothetical case, Camille works full-time and is considering two Executive MBA programs and a master’s program for professionals. She notes in a table that the first program accepts the GMAT, GRE, and EA; the second accepts the GMAT and EA; and the third accepts only the GMAT. The only test common to all three is the GMAT; the EA covers just two of the three. So she prepares for the GMAT, and would reconsider only if her priorities changed.

In a second hypothetical case, Idriss is considering two programs that both accept the GMAT and EA and state no preference. Both tests remain options. He takes a diagnostic test in each format, sees where he loses time, then chooses the one he thinks he can prepare for fully within his schedule. His decision is based on the accepted formats and his workload.