GMAT Scores
Unlike language tests such as TOEFL and IELTS , where you have to wait to find out your test result, you will get your GMAT test score on the test day, once you have completed the test. However, it takes 20 days before you receive your “Official Score Report”, which also means that it also takes about three weeks before your test result reaches the universities or educational institutions that you have selected when registering for the test.
How to read your GMAT test score
When you get your result from the GMAT test, five results will appear:
- A grade for your essay in section 1
- A result for each of the other three sections
- An overall score that can range between 200 and 800 points
The grade for your essay is not included in the overall score. In addition, the other results, will show a percentage ranking that indicates how you have performed in relation to the other test participants.
GMAT Score Range
As mentioned above, the GMAT score ranges from 200 to 800. The average GMAT score for all test takers during the last 10 years is 555, according to GMAC, the GMAT test maker. While the average total score doesn’t make any sense when applying to a particular business school, the following table shows average GMAT scores for admitted students school by school.
| Business School MBA Program | Average GMAT Score |
| Stanford University Graduate School of Business | 734 |
| University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School | 732 |
| Harvard Business School | 730 |
| University of Chicago Booth School of Business | 730 |
| Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management | 730 |
| MIT Sloan School of Management | 727 |
| Columbia University Business School | 727 |
| University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business | 725 |
| Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business | 723 |
| Yale School of Management | 720 |
GMAT Good Score
What is a good GMAT score? It really depends on which school you will be applying to. In general, a GMAT score between 650 and 700 is considered good. A score of higher than 700 is great as you have the potential to compete with most talented applicants around the world.
GMAT Score Chart : GMAT Percentiles
During the GMAT test
On the actual test day, you have a total of three and a half hours to complete the four sections of the GMAT. Arriving well in advance is good for the registration itself and to get in place without stress. Also remember to bring photo ID as well as your confirmation of registration for the test at the current date and location.
1: Analytical Writing Assessment – AWA (30 minutes)
In the first section of the GMAT test, your ability to critically relate to a text and to argue for your positions is assessed. You will be presented with a piece of text with a central statement or theory in the argumentation, which you must analyze and summarize in an essay.
In the essay, you must explain the thoughts and motives behind a statement or theory in the text, followed by your evaluation and critique of how well-argued the theory or statement in the piece of text is.
2: Integrated Reasoning (30 minutes)
In the second section of the GMAT test, you will be asked 12 questions. Here, your ability to evaluate different types of data and information from different sources is put to the test. You will be tested in four areas:
- Interpretation of text and numbers in graphs (Graphics Interpretation)
- Two-Part Analysis
- Analysis of data in tabular form (Table Analysis)
- Selection of relevant data (Multi-Source Reasoning)
Together, these provide a picture of your ability to integrate “Big Data” and solve complex issues. These are important competencies in the labor market of the future.
3: Quantitative (75 minutes)
In the third section of the GMAT, you will get 37 questions where your math skills come into play. Overall, the exercise involves analyzing and concluding on a quantity of data, and there are two types of questions:
- Problem solving – you are faced with mathematical problems and equations that you have to solve
- Data sufficiency – you need to identify whether you have the relevant information to solve a given problem
It requires mathematical skills at the high school level to solve the tasks. If it’s been a long time since you last had math, it’s a good investment to spend a lot of time preparing for this section.
4: Verbal (75 minutes)
Your language skills are the focus of the final section of the GMAT test. Here, your ability to read and understand English at the academic level is put to the test via three subtests:
- Reading Comprehension – you need to analyze a piece of text and draw a conclusion
- Critical Reasoning – you must select the best argument for a given claim
- Sentence Correction – you must correct grammar and word choice in a given piece of text
There are a total of 41 questions in the section that allow you to show that you are not alone in being able to rewrite a text so that it is correct grammatically and linguistically. You must also demonstrate the ability to evaluate statements.