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GMAT Guide

The Graduate Management Admission Test® (GMAT) is a standardized test that graduate business schools use to help assess the qualifications of applicants. The test is designed to measure the core mathematical and English language skills required for success in business school. Vocational skills and business knowledge are not tested.

The official GMAT is administered by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) in North America and many international locations. According to the GMAC, the GMAT's purpose is to predict how students will perform in the rigorous courses of a graduate management or business program. What makes the GMAT distinct from paper exams is that it is a computer-adaptive test (CAT). In all sections except the essays, the GMAT exam uses an adaptive algorithm to home in on your exact proficiency. Len Swanson originally designed this engine, and he now works at Knewton.

It costs $250 to take the GMAT, and scores are valid for five years. The test is offered by appointment six days a week around the world (with schedules varying based on local needs) at more than 450 testing centers in 110 countries.

Quick stats

• The GMAT is used as an assessment tool by more than 4,700 MBA and graduate management programs in nearly 2,000 schools worldwide.
• In 2009, the GMAT was administered more than 267,000 times, a record that eclipsed the high reached the previous year.
• In the most recent testing year, more than half of GMAT test-takers were international (49% were U.S. citizens, 51% were not). This is the first time non-U.S. citizens have composed the majority of test-takers since the GMAT was created in 1954.
• China and India are driving rapid growth of international administrations; the number of test-takers in China has grown 181 percent in the last five years, and the number in India has increased by 128 percent.
• Men have made up about 60% of the GMAT test-taking population over the last ten years, but the number of women taking the exam has grown steadily. This year, more than 100,000 women took the GMAT, which is another first.
• More than half of all test-takers are between 24 and 30, though population of test-takers younger than 24 has grown by over 20% in the last five years.
• Twenty-one percent of all GMATs are taken by repeat test-takers; the test can be taken up to 5 times every 12 months.

(Info compiled from GMAC statistics. You can also check out their full report for more details.)

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Scoring the GMAT

The most important number on the GMAT exam is your total score, which will range from 200 to 800. You'll also have three other scores: a Quantitative score, ranging from 0 to 60; a Verbal score, ranging from 0 to 60; and a score for the Analytical Writing Assessment, ranging from 0 to 6.

Each of these scores also comes with a percentile rank that illustrates how you compare with other test-takers—your competition in the applicant pool.

The median score was originally set to 500 but has since migrated north to just under 540. The test was designed to have a scoring table resembling a bell curve, so with its standard deviation of approximately 100 points about 68% of test takers will score between 440 and 640. Top programs have average scores above 700—the highest 10^th percentile.

The individual scores give greater insight into your performance on the various portions of the test. Scores below 9 and above 44 for the Verbal section or below 7 and above 50 for the Quantitative section are rare. The total score does not simply break down into 400 points for each section; the scoring algorithm is rather complex.

The AWA score comes from two scores of 0 to 6, in 0.5 point increments. The first score is assigned by Intellimetric, a computer program which analyzes syntax and structure. The second score is rendered by a human reader, who evaluates the quality, organization, development, and expression of ideas and supporting arguments. If the two scores are within one point of each other, they are averaged. If there is more than one point difference, the essays are read by another human. The AWA has a mean score of 4.1, though most business schools don't weigh the AWA as heavily as they do the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the test. Some schools ignore the AWA altogether.

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