Score the surface of GMAT with the sharpest knife!
The GMAT score evaluation is performed based on several factors that are taken into consideration by the test administrator. As you might know, the fact that you have got at least five attempts to clear your GMAT, you must also not turn a blind eye to your performance in each of the five test attempts. A well above average performance ranging between 550-700 will only help you achieve a vantage of a weighted average GMAT score. Based on the "adaptive" nature of the exam, it becomes easy for the candidate to adjust their difficulty level for each attempt and manually manoeuvre their targeted GMAT scores. After a candidate submits the test, the system displays their unofficial exam score report (apart from the essay score). A candidate can either choose to send the test report to their choicest B-School or can disregard it by clicking on cancel and putting their next test attempt into their scoring perspective.
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The one thing that every candidate ponders about post their GMAT Exam is "What is a Good GMAT Score?", naturally. As with most things in life, there is no definitive answer to this question. The answer to the question, "What is a good GMAT Score?" depends on the expectation that one has. A good GMAT score is over 640 (around the 70 percentile) and an excellent score is 700+ (around the 90 percentile) as per the standard norms set by GMAC. However, a good score not only depends on what you have been able to achieve on your scorecard but also your overall academic profile maintained to date.
The GMAT score is totalized on a scale of 200 to 800 and is reported in the intervals of 10-point increments. Also, the report will be a compilation of four subjects (involving a calculated score and a percentile rank) and a fifth total score as mentioned below
Analytical Writing Assessment (on a scale of 0 to 6)
Integrated Reasoning (on a scale of 1 to 8)
Verbal (on a scale of 0 to 60)
Quant (on a scale of 0 to 60)
Total score – Verbal and Quant together (on a scale of 200 to 800)
Know more about the GMAT test pattern in order to understand the format and the type of questions asked in the examination.
There are some GMAT scores that cannot be classed as anything but exceptional. These GMAT scores would comfortably clear the cut-off for all the top Ivy League colleges.
The highest average GMAT Score for the Ivy League colleges is 732 for the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, and Kellogg School of Management. Harvard Business School acknowledged to be one of the best Business Schools in the World, has an average GMAT score of 730 along with the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.
Generally, any GMAT score above 720 is considered to be an exceptional score. However, this score does not guarantee the candidate a seat in the best of colleges. Each college has its own set of selection procedures generally including a Statement of Purpose (SOP)/ Essay and an Interview Round.
It is important to understand the getting exceptional GMAT Scores is not the only way to entered the hallowed halls of the Ivy League Colleges. Above-average GMAT Scores can be just as helpful for the students to get into the best colleges if they have the profile to back it up.
Scores in the range of 680 and 720 are generally considered to be well above average with the average score being around 550. In fact, for Indian aspirants, the GMAT Score of anywhere between the aforementioned range would get them calls from the best institutes in India.
In fact, for Indian aspirants, the GMAT Score of anywhere between the aforementioned range would get them calls from the best institutes in India. The cut offs for some of these colleges are mentioned below:
| College | Cut Off |
|---|---|
| IIM Ahmedabad | 680 for EPGP, 700 for PGPX |
| IIM Bangalore | 680 for EPGP |
| IIM Lucknow | 620 for IPMX |
| IIM Kolkata | 680 for PGPEX |
| ISB Hyderabad | 690 for YLP, 660 for PGP |
Any GMAT Score between 600 and 680 is considered to be a good score. GMAT score along these lines translates to you being ahead of most of the pack. This is also the score range where small changes in the GMAT Score can boost the candidate's percentile by a huge margin.
An increase of GMAT score from 600 to 680 can boost the candidate's percentile score from around 56%ile to 73%ile. For candidates with these kinds of scores, Ivy League colleges may be slightly out of range. However, they do have access to several other colleges of their desired choice.
Some of the best colleges which accept scores in this range are:
|
HEC Paris |
|
IMD Switzerland |
|
University of Cambridge (Judge) |
|
Carlson University of Minnesota |
|
University of Toronto |
|
National University of Singapore |
|
HKUST Hong Kong |
|
CEIBS China |
The overall score for GMAT ranges from 200 to 800, and the mean overall score is 555+. As GMAC attests, approximately 66% of students appearing for GMAT obtain 400-600 marks.
These are the average test scores from 2015-2017
| SECTION | AVERAGE GMAT SCORE |
|---|---|
| Verbal | 26.86 |
| Quantitative | 39.4 |
| Integrated Reasoning | 4.23 |
| Analytical Writing Assessment | 4.44 |
| TOTAL SCORE | 556.04 |
GMAT percentile ranking is a comparative component in your GMAT scorecard which can let you interpret the percentage of people whom you have surpassed in terms of your section scores.For example, if you see 72% mentioned next to your verbal score, it means that 72% of the test takers scored lower than you did in the verbal section. These percentiles are calculated annually using GMAT scores from the last 3 years.
Do not leave any answers at the end of the exam as you might be penalized on time.
Do not engage in aimlessly guessing the answer as GMAT is a computer-adaptive test.
You can risk marking multiple answers wrong, which can penalize your overall score.
Maintain a steady pace to effectively manage your time.
Avoid going too fast by estimating the answers as it might result in constant popping up of low-tiered questions which would downgrade your overall performance. The balance between difficult and easy questions is very necessary.
As mentioned above, a 750 GMAT Score is not required to get into Ivy League colleges. Scoring high enough to qualify while working on improving your profile is the formula that candidates need to crack when they target the top-10 MBA Schools.
As mentioned above, a 750 GMAT Score is not required to get into the Ivy League colleges. Scoring high enough to qualify while working on improving your profile is the formula that candidates need to crack when they target the top-10 MBA Schools.
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As mentioned earlier in the article, the GMAT Score is only one aspect of the admission procedure that most colleges follow. The Statement of Purpose (SOP) or Essay also plays a significant role in the selection procedure. Following this round, the Interview round is conducted. This interview round has enough weightage in the final selection of the candidate.
At the same time, it is important to understand that GMAT Scores are also only important, but not of paramount importance. Low GMAT Scores can be application killers no matter how good a profile is.
As mentioned above, a 750 GMAT Score is not required to get into Ivy League colleges. Scoring high enough to qualify while working on improving your profile is the formula that candidates need to crack when they target the top-10 MBA Schools.
What a good GMAT Score is, is extremely personal for each individual. To arrive at the target GMAT Score, the candidate needs to do quite a bit of groundwork.
You need to cement the fact that your academic record plays a significant role in assessing your overall application grade points. If you have maintained a decent academic record, then there is a fair chance of you getting a call from your dream B-School. If you were an average student throughout your academics, it is required that you score exceptionally well, I.e., above 680 to qualify for some of the best business schools ever known. According to the world’s leading B-Schools, your business acumen is highly dependent on your reflective determination and never-say-die attitude.
This article has talked about the GMAT Score in quite a bit of detail. It includes information of how the GMAT Score is calculated, along with the rough hierarchy with which the colleges accept scores. It also helps students in setting the GMAT target score so that they do not have to think about what is a good GMAT score after the GMAT Exam rather than before.