The legacy GMAT was retired three weeks ago. The transition GMAC announced in March, opened registration on in August, began administering in November, and closed on the thirty-first of January is, as of mid-February, complete.
Three things matter now for any candidate with a score on file or a test date on the calendar.
- 2023-03-08Focus announced
- 2023-08-29Registration opens
- 2023-11-07Focus begins
- 2024-01-31Legacy retired
Old scores still count
A legacy GMAT score is valid for five years from the administration date. A 720 sat for in 2022 remains on file through 2027. The retirement of the test does not retroactively expire the scores already earned, and every M7 program we have surveyed accepts legacy scores within the validity window. Most have published a one-line policy on their admissions FAQ confirming as much.
If you have a legacy score and you are satisfied with it, the retirement does not change your situation. Submit it.
No new legacy scores exist
For any candidate who does not yet have a score, the only option is Focus. There is no path back. We mention this because we have spoken to half a dozen candidates this month who were waiting on the legacy test to "stabilise" before sitting it. The test has stabilised — just not the way they hoped. The next sitting is Focus.
The concordance table is the only honest translation
GMAC published a concordance table alongside the Focus launch. It maps Focus scaled scores to legacy-scale equivalents — a Focus 645 corresponds to a legacy 700, a Focus 705 corresponds to a legacy 750, and so on. This table is the only translation that should appear in any conversation about what a Focus score means in old-scale terms.
What admissions has said
Several top programs have published transition policies in the last six weeks. Three observations.
First, every program accepts both scales for the next two-to-three application cycles, while legacy scores remain in the validity window. There is no school where one scale is strictly preferred.
Second, most programs continue to report class profile numbers on the legacy scale for now, converting Focus scores via the concordance for reporting purposes. This is administrative housekeeping, not a preference signal — they have years of historical data on the legacy scale and the conversion preserves year-over-year comparability.
Third — and this is the one most worth knowing — no admissions officer we have spoken to treats a Focus score as a weaker signal than a legacy score. The "Focus is easier" rumour that circulated in late 2023 is not held by any of the programs we have asked.
What we updated
Nothing dramatic. Our diagnostic and our engine were calibrated for Focus from day one of our alpha. We have never carried legacy-format items and never carried legacy parameter estimates. The retirement closes a chapter for the prep industry but is mechanically a non-event for Brightroom candidates.
One thing worth flagging: a legacy mock score on file from another platform — TTP, Manhattan Prep, Kaplan, e-GMAT — is no longer a useful reference for Focus performance. The item pools were built against legacy difficulty calibrations, and the timing patterns differ. The thirty-item diagnostic at /register gives a more current read on a Focus band in twenty-five minutes than any legacy mock score is now worth.
What to do
Three lines.
Holding a legacy score you are satisfied with. Submit it. Apply.
Considering a retest. The only option is Focus. Data Insights is the section most candidates underprepare for; a real week on it before the test pays more than a token weekend.
Starting prep now. Drop every piece of legacy material. The format, the items, the pacing instincts — none of them transfer cleanly. Take the diagnostic, see your Focus band, start there.
Closing note
Eleven months from announcement to retirement is fast for a test-format transition. GMAC handled the cut cleanly — no extension, no half-measure, no parallel-administration window. The candidates who have to live with the new shape of the test now know what it is. The prep industry has about six months to catch up. Most of it will not.
— Brightroom Research