Ready to tackle business school? You'll probably need to crush the GMAT first. The Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) serves as the primary standardized admission exam for business school. While some MBA programs do not require the GMAT for admission, many of the most established programs consider GMAT scores when making their admissions decisions.
This guide will provide important insights into how the GMAT scoring system works and how to improve your score by addressing common errors. Most importantly, you will be able to make a solid plan to study for the exam, with study tips and links to top-shelf resources, which can make preparing for the exam interesting and effective.
Do You Have to Take the GMAT for MBA Programs?
Some master of business administration (MBA) programs require GMAT scores for admission, and others do not. Each individual school determines whether or not to include the GMAT in their admission requirements and how to weigh its value if they do include it. Some schools require a minimum total score while others may look for a certain percentile. Alternatively, programs may place specific emphasis on a prospective student's score in a particular section of the GMAT.
Programs that require the GMAT place value on it for two major reasons. First, it can serve as a predictor of academic success in business school. Second, as a standardized test it provides a single metric by which to consider all applicants.
In general, top business schools expect GMAT scores above 700. Midrange business schools typically look for scores of around 650 or better. Some schools, such as online institutions and for-profit colleges, may accept the GRE in place of the GMAT. Schools may offer a GMAT waiver to applicants who have prior applicable work experience or graduate education. Executive MBA programs and programs offered at small schools may not require the GMAT.
What Does the GMAT Look Like?
The Structure of the GMAT
The GMAT consists of four sections: an analytical writing assessment, an integrated reasoning section, a quantitative reasoning section, and a verbal reasoning section. The test takes three hours and seven minutes to complete, or 3.5 hours with two optional eight-minute breaks. However, the basic structure of the GMAT can change over time.
On test day, students may choose the order in which they'd like to complete the test from three options. Completing the analytical writing section takes 30 minutes. The integrated reasoning section includes 12 questions over 30 minutes. The quantitative section, which contains 31 questions, takes 62 minutes, and the verbal section, which includes 36 questions, takes 65 minutes.
The quantitative reasoning and verbal reasoning sections are computer-adaptive. The first question in these sections is generally of medium difficulty. The test's algorithm then uses the examinee's previous answers to serve questions of varying difficulty. When computed, the section's final score takes into account the difficulty of the questions answered correctly.
Delivery Format
Students can create an online account to register for the test, find a nearby testing center, and pay the applicable registration fee. They can also register by phone, fax, or mail. Test-takers should let the testing center know if they require disability accommodations prior to scheduling their exam.
On exam day, test-takers should bring valid identification to the testing center. Examinees should be aware that personal items, including computers, calculators, notes, and pens, are not allowed in the testing room.
The GMAT is administered on a computer, which helps ensure consistency and fairness for test-takers regardless of testing location. The computer exam allows students to track their time and progress and also enables them to receive preliminary scores immediately upon completing the test.
The Analytical Writing Assessment Section
The analytical writing assessment (AWA) section assesses students' ability to understand, analyze the reasoning behind, and critique a written argument. The argument in question relates to a topic of general interest, often within business. It is important for students to remember that the test is evaluating not their knowledge of the subject matter, but rather their ability to analyze and write a logical response to an argument.
The Integrated Reasoning Section
Consisting of 12 questions, the integrated reasoning section tests students' abilities to organize, interpret, and synthesize data from multiple sources. To answer these complex problems, students need to analyze data presented in both verbal and quantitative formats. Students encounter four types of questions: multisource reasoning, table analysis, graphics interpretation, and two-part analysis.
This section is unique in that many of the questions require multiple responses. In order to receive credit for a question, all responses must be correct. Test-takers have 30 minutes to complete this section.
The Quantitative Section
The quantitative reasoning section assesses examinees' strengths in quantitative problem-solving, mathematical reasoning, and graphical data interpretation. There are 31 multiple-choice questions in this section, and students have 62 minutes.
Questions fall into two categories: problem-solving and data sufficiency. For problem-solving questions, students must choose the best of five possible answers. Data sufficiency questions ask examinees to determine whether or not a question and two accompanying statements provide adequate data to determine the question's answer.
The Verbal Section
The verbal reasoning section of the exam measures examinees' reading comprehension skills and ability to analyze and evaluate written arguments. The section consists of 36 multiple-choice questions split into three areas: reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and sentence correction. In general, test-takers can expect 13-14 reading comprehension questions, 9-10 critical reasoning questions, and 12-13 sentence correction questions. Completing the verbal reasoning section takes 65 minutes.
How Is the GMAT Scored?
The GMAT provides five scores: quantitative, verbal, and integrated reasoning scores, the AWA, and the total score, which combines the quantitative and verbal scores.
The total score stems from your performance on the quantitative and verbal sections. Determined in ten-point intervals, this score lies in a range between 200-800.
The AWA section is scored at least twice — once by a computer and once by a human reader. The final score for this section comes from the average of the two scores. The AWA score falls between 0-6, in .5 increments.
The integrated reasoning score falls between 1-8, in intervals of one. Remember that each question with multiple responses must be answered completely correctly to get points.
Scores for both the quantitative and verbal sections fall between 6-51. The number of questions answered, the difficulty of the questions, and the number of right answers all contribute to the overall score for each section.
There are several ways to interpret these scores. Some schools may look exclusively at the total score, while others might consider only certain sections when making admissions decisions. Some schools expect applicants to score in or above a certain percentile.
Immediately after completing the exam, examinees receive unofficial GMAT scores. You should be prepared to accept or cancel these scores on test day.
Score Ranges on the GMAT General Test
| GMAT Section | Score Range |
|---|---|
| Analytical Writing Assessment | 0.0-6.0 |
| Integrated Reasoning | 1-8 |
| Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning | 6-51 |
| Total | 200-800 |
What Is Your Percentile Ranking?
The GMAT score includes a percentile ranking that refers to the percent of test takers who score lower than you on the exam. For instance, a percentile ranking of 65 means that the test-taker scored better than 65% of the people who took the GMAT in the prior three years. It does not mean that the examinee answered 65% of the questions correctly.
The quantitative and verbal percentile rankings are merged to calculate the overall percentile rank. For example, a test-taker may score in the 83rd percentile in the verbal section and the 84th percentile in the quantitative section but receive an overall percentile ranking of 87%. In addition, a test-taker's percentile ranking may change though their score does not, as it is recalculated each year based on the data from the prior three years.
In general, top business schools expect applicants to hold a GMAT score in the 90 plus percentile. Mid-range schools may accept lower percentile scores.
What's an Average Score on the GMAT?
The average total score for GMAT test-takers between 2015-2018 was 563.43. About two-thirds of test-takers' scores fall between 400 and 600.
In the same period, the average test-taker scored 4.41 on the integrated reasoning section, 27.08 on the verbal reasoning section, 40.2 on the quantitative section, and 4.49 on the AWA. Individual schools often provide reports on the average scores of their applicants.
On test day, examinees can send their scores to up to five schools. Students can request to send scores to additional schools or other recipients for a fee.
Average Scores on the GMAT, 2015-18
| GMAT Section | Score Range |
|---|---|
| Analytical Writing Assessment | 4.49 |
| Integrated Reasoning | 4.41 |
| Quantitative | 40.2 |
| Verbal | 27.08 |
| Total | 563.43 |
How to Prep for the GMAT
Scoring well on the GMAT can show that a student is prepared to excel in business school. Like most standardized exams, the GMAT requires months of study in advance. Here are six helpful study tips for future test-takers:
