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Graduate Management Admission Test

(GMAT)

The Test of English Proficiency and Aptitude for Students Entering Management Schools and Colleges

What is GMAT™ ?

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The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT™) is a computer adaptive test (CAT) intended to assess certain analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal, and reading skills in written English for use in admission to graduate management programs such as MBA. It requires knowledge of certain specific grammar and knowledge of certain specific algebra, geometry, and arithmetic. GMAT is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). According to GMAC, the exam assesses analytical writing and problem-solving abilities, while also addressing data sufficiency, logic, and critical reasoning skills that it believes to be vital to real-world business and management success. It can be taken up to five times a year but no more than eight times total. Attempts must be at least 16 days apart.

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Who needs a GMAT certificate?

 

More than 7,000 programs at approximately 2,300+ graduate business schools around the world accept the GMAT as part of the selection criteria for their programs. Business schools use the test as a criterion for admission into a wide range of graduate management programs, including MBA, Master of Accountancy, Master of Finance programs and others. The GMAT is administered in standardized test centers in 114 countries around the world. According to a survey conducted by Kaplan Test Prep, the GMAT is still the number one choice for MBA aspirants despite the increasing acceptability of GRE scores. According to GMAC, it has continually performed validity studies to statistically verify that the exam predicts success in business school programs.

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GMAT Online and On Campus

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The GMAT™ exam is available both at a test center and online – giving you the convenience and flexibility to plan your testing strategy.  On July 11, 2017, the GMAC announced that from now on the order in which the different parts of the GMAT are taken can be chosen at the beginning of the exam.

 

Three options will be available at the test center:

• Analytical Writing Assessment, Integrated Reasoning, Quantitative, Verbal (original order)

• Verbal, Quantitative, Integrated Reasoning, Analytical Writing Assessment

• Quantitative, Verbal, Integrated Reasoning, Analytical Writing Assessment

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What is the structure of GMAT exam?

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The GMAT exam consists of four sections: an analytical writing assessment, an integrated reasoning section, a quantitative section, and a verbal section. Total testing time is three hours and seven minutes. Test takers have 30 minutes for the analytical writing assessment and another 30 minutes to work through 12 questions, which often have multiple parts, on the integrated reasoning section and are given 62 minutes to work through 31 questions in the quantitative section and another 65 minutes to get through 36 questions in the verbal section. In April 2018, the GMAC officially shortened the test by half an hour, shortening the verbal and quantitative sections from 75 minutes each to 65 and 62 minutes, respectively, and shortening some of the instruction screens.

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The quantitative and verbal sections of the GMAT exam are both multiple-choice and are administered in the computer-adaptive format, adjusting to a test taker's level of ability. At the start of the quantitative and verbal sections, test takers are presented with a question of average difficulty. As questions are answered correctly, the computer presents the test taker with increasingly difficult questions and as questions are answered incorrectly the computer presents the test taker with questions of decreasing difficulty. This process continues until test takers complete each section, at which point the computer will have an accurate assessment of their ability level in that subject area and come up with a raw score for each section.

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Latest changes in GMAT?

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Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the GMAT was made available to take online and at home starting April 20, 2020. Top business schools, including Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan, announced that they would accept scores from the virtual exam. In April 2020, the GMAC announced a shortened "Interim GMAT" version to accommodate testing from home or remote locations that would be monitored by a proctor via webcam. The shortened version will not include the AWA section.

 

GMAT Scoring System

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The total GMAT score ranges from 200 to 800 and measures performance on the quantitative and verbal sections together (performance on the AWA and IR sections do not count toward the total score, those sections are scored separately). Scores are given in increments of 10 (e.g. 540, 550, 560, 570, etc.).  The final score is not based solely on the last question the examinee answers. At the end of the exam, an unofficial preview of the GMAT score earned is shown to the test taker, who then has two minutes to decide whether to keep or cancel the score at the test center. A test taker can also cancel a score online within the 72 hours after the scheduled exam start time. A cancelled score can be reinstated for 4 years and 11 months after the date of the test for a fee of $50. About 68% of examinees score between 430 and 670.

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Scheduling and preparing for the exam

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Test takers may register for the GMAT either online at www.mba.com or by calling one of the test centers. To schedule an exam, an appointment must be made at one of the designated test centers. The GMAT may not be taken more than once within 16 days but no more than five times in a rolling 12-month period and no more than eight times total, even if the scores are canceled.  The cost of the exam is $250. All applicants are required to present valid ID when taking the test. Upon completion of the test, test takers have the option of canceling or reporting their scores. As of July 2014, test takers were allowed to view their score before making this decision.

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