What is a good GMAT score? How to set your target GMAT score?

What is a good GMAT score? How to set your target GMAT score?

After months of GMAT preparation, the moment when the testing computer throws up the unofficial GMAT score can be a confusing one for many MBA aspirants. In a matter of a few minutes, one needs to decide whether the GMAT exam score is good, poor, or average, so as to report it to the target schools or cancel it altogether. In this article, we will focus on what is a “good” GMAT score for you and how you can set your target GMAT score.

Overview of Percentile Ranking

Considering you are competing with students from all over the world to get into a top business school, it is important for you to understand if your GMAT score is good in comparison to that of others. This is why the GMAT Percentile Ranking becomes important and the following table showcases the same.

Please note that according to GMAC – the owner of the GMAT exam the global average GMAT score from January 2018 – December 2020, is 568.21, which is roughly the 40th percentile. The global average GMAT score is not considered a strong score, as good universities require much higher than the 50th percentile score.

How is the GMAT scored?

The GMAT has four components and each section is scored in the range mentioned corresponding to it:

1. Verbal – scored between: 0 – 51
2. Quantitative – scored between: 0 – 51
3. Integrated Reasoning (IR): 1 – 8
4. Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA): 0 – 6

The total GMAT score ranges from 200-800 and is scored on the basis of the test taker’s performance on the Verbal and Quantitative sections. The scores in AWA and IR are separate and do not contribute to one’s score out of 800. A GMAT 760 or above will put you in the 99th percentile, a GMAT 700 in the 88th percentile, and a GMAT 600 in the 53^rd percentile. Scores above 700 are generally considered strong and those below 600 are considered very weak.

The following table showcases different possible combinations of scores on the Verbal and Quantitative sections and the overall GMAT score corresponding to each combination.

What is the Average GMAT score?

From January 2018 – December 2020, the average total score, according to GMAC, is 568.21. This, however, does not appear to be a very impressive average GMAT score, and chances that you will be able to target your dream school even if you achieve a score higher than the average GMAT score are bleak.

Section-wise Average GMAT Score

The table below provides the section-wise, average GMAT score for test takers, globally, between 2018-2020.

 
There are, however, some schools, which do not expect high GMAT scores and have average GMAT scores under 600. This is true for certain schools, which find themselves at the bottom of various rankings and do not have great post-MBA employment rates, as well as, in the case of part-time/online/weekend MBA programs, which target individuals with full-time jobs.

What is a good GMAT score to get into the top business schools?

Many test takers often wonder why their GMAT scores even matter to the top business schools and why schools make applicants write multiple essays and take interviews when they actually place so much emphasis on the GMAT score. The reason is that business schools view the GMAT score as a reliable indicator of a student’s ability to adjust to the demands of a rigorous business program. Classes at business school can be tough and it is important that students hold a basic level of competence in certain verbal, quantitative, and analytical skills in order to succeed in a highly competitive classroom. Candidates are motivated to take GMAT practice tests in order to understand their level of competence and preparation before scheduling the GMAT.

All business schools are different and have their own GMAT exam score expectations and while you may have a score above the average GMAT score, it may not be enough to get into your dream school. A school may consider a GMAT 700 as a “good” score while another may view even a GMAT 720 as a below-par score.

A view of the average GMAT scores for the top programs around the world may give you a fair idea of the score you should be looking to attain through focused GMAT preparation. Schools list information pertaining to the average GMAT score on their websites but a school’s GMAT preference may change from year to year. Remember, the school mentions only its average GMAT score, which means that it accepts students with scores both below and above that GMAT score.

Average GMAT score for Top 75 US programs

The table below provides the average GMAT score for the US top 75 MBA programs.

 

Average GMAT score for top European programs

The table below provides the average GMAT score for the top European MBA programs.

 

Average GMAT score for top Canadian programs

The table below provides the average GMAT score for the top Canadian MBA programs.

 

Average GMAT score for top Asian programs

The table below provides the average GMAT score for the top Asian MBA programs.

 

Average GMAT score for top Indian programs

The table below provides the average GMAT score for the top Indian MBA programs.

 

Average GMAT score for top Australian programs

The table below provides the average GMAT score for the top Australian MBA programs.

 
The figures in the table above suggest that if you have a GMAT 740, you have an above-average GMAT score for even the top-notch business schools in the world; you may begin to believe that if you have a GMAT score above 740, you will be able to make it to the top-ranking school in the world. However, even this score cannot guarantee the fact that you will gain admission to the program for even though the GMAT score is an extremely important component of the applications process, there are various other elements of your application, particularly your professional experience, extra-curricular activities, essays, and recommendations, that matter, as well. The top business schools evaluate your profile in a holistic fashion and accord importance to each of these aspects. Thus, even a GMAT 760 will not be of much value if you cannot put forth a story that makes a convincing case for you. Besides, there are a large number of individuals who amass high scores and schools only have a limited number of seats.

What are GMAT Percentiles?

GMAT Percentile Rankings are available on the score report and help you understand your overall score, as well as, your section-wise score in comparison to others who appeared for the test. Thus, for instance, GMAT 700 will give you a Percentile Ranking of 88%; this means that you performed better than 88% of test takers and 12% test takers did as well as you or better than you. While your GMAT score will not change, your Percentile Ranking may change as Percentile Rankings are recalculated every summer on the basis of exam scores from the previous three years.

The tables below showcase Percentile Rankings from the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) from January 2015 to December 2018. The table with the total score is followed by section-specific charts on the Verbal, Quantitative, Integrated Reasoning, and, Analytical Written Assessment sections.

Percentile Ranking – Overall

 

Percentile Ranking – Verbal Section

 

Percentile Ranking – Quantitative Section

 
You should notice the difference between the Percentile Ranking on the Verbal and Quantitative sections. As the table suggests, a score of 51 on the Verbal component would put you in the 99th percentile but the same score on the Quantitative component would put you in the 97th percentile. Similarly, a score of 46 would place you in the 99th percentile on the Verbal component but keep you in the 56th percentile on the Quantitative component. The reason for this difference in the Percentile Ranking is because more students tend to attain a higher score on the Quantitative component than on the Verbal component primarily because a large number of test takers are non-native English speakers and have trouble with scoring on the Verbal component. To take a step towards achieving a higher percentile ranking, download the free GMAT mobile app and you can even learn on the go.

Percentile Ranking – Integrated Reasoning Section

The table on Integrated Reasoning Percentile Rankings shows that a perfect 8 on the IR component will place you in the 90th percentile; this implies that 10% of test takers get a perfect 8 on the IR component. Generally, a GMAT score above 6 on the IR section is considered to be a high score.

Percentile Ranking – Analytical Written Assessment Section

From the table above, it can be deciphered that 12% of test takers get a perfect 6 on the Analytical Written Assessment component. Overall, a GMAT Score of 5 or above on the Analytical Written Assessment component is considered to be a high score.

Which GMAT sections are most important?

Business schools value the overall GMAT score followed by the score on the individual Verbal and Quantitative sections. However, from the viewpoint of GMAT Practice, you must look at achieving a balanced score, as a skewed GMAT score may showcase your weakness in a certain component of the GMAT.

The scores of the Integrated Reasoning and Analytical Writing Assessment sections are not included in the overall GMAT score. Hence, students often wonder how important these sections really are. The fact is that these sections are important but not as important as the Verbal or Quantitative sections on the GMAT. The Integrated Reasoning section is a recent entrant in the GMAT scheme and was only introduced in 2012; thus, it is not an analytical tool, which schools have been using since a very long time. At the same time, while schools do receive a copy of the essay written by the test takeras part of the AWA component, they may not consider an essay written in a span of only thirty minutes as a major factor in assessing the candidature of the test taker. MBA admissions provide numerous opportunities for students to share essays and the Admissions Committees may not place a lot of emphasis on a sample written under pressure.

To answer the question at hand:

• One cannot estimate the actual importance of the IR and AWA sections, as schools do not tend to mention information in a section-wise manner and only release the average overall GMAT score of the incoming batch of students.
• The AWA section assumes greater significance in the case of non-native English speakers. Thus, if you can perform well on a timed essay, it helps portray your fluency in the language and definitely amplifies your chances of admission.
• A survey conducted by Kaplan Test Prep in 2015, revealed the increasing importance of the IR score to the business schools. According to the survey, 59% of MBA admissions officials claimed to assess the IR section as an important component of the test taker’s profile as compared to 41% of the same pool of officials a couple of years prior to the 2015 survey.

In a crux, you must place the same emphasis on preparing for the IR and AWA section as you would for the other two sections for even though you cannot ascertain the importance that schools attach to the IR and AWA sections, a low GMAT score in these sections will definitely have an adverse effect on your overall application.

What is a good GMAT score for you? How to set your target GMAT score?

A good GMAT score is one that facilitates your entry into the school of your choice; it must fit into the range of scores that the business program of your choice prefers or accepts. A good GMAT score is, therefore, a relative term, for a high GMAT score for one aspirant could be a low GMAT score for another.

Considering a good GMAT score depends on the business school you are targeting, it is imperative that you set a target GMAT score. This step becomes important for you to understand the extent of GMAT preparation required and the areas of study that need greater attention. Such planning will help you channelize your energies in an optimum manner.

Let us now go on to discuss how you can set a target GMAT score.

Step 1: Identify your target school

• Explore the programs you are interested in attending and make a list of the ones you plan to apply to.

Step 2: Research on crucial application requirements

• Check whether your target schools have any peculiar requirements and figure out what the application deadlines are so you are aware of the time you have to prepare for the GMAT, as well as, complete the other components of the application.

Step 3: Research the average GMAT score for each program

• Visit the website of each school to garner information pertaining to the average GMAT score of the most recent incoming class. If you cannot find the information on the website, you could always find the same on GMAT Club or by subscribing to US News & World Report. Once you have the desired information, consolidate the same on a table in the following manner:

Step 4: Set your target GMAT Score

• To amplify your chances of gaining admission to your target business school, you need to target a GMAT score that is higher than the average GMAT score of the recently admitted class of that school. Therefore, to determine you target score, choose the highest score under the column located on the right side of the above table and add 20 or 30 points to the same. The score you get should be your target score.

While achieving your target score does not guarantee you admission, it will give you a strong chance of getting into some of your target schools, provided you apply to a reasonable portfolio, which has a combination of practical schools, dream schools, and safety schools. Moreover, having a target always helps channelize your preparation in the desired direction. Needless to say, the higher your score is, the more likely you are to make it to your dream school.

In a nutshell: What is a good GMAT score?

It is time to now recapitulate:

• A good GMAT score is one that helps you make it to your target business school.
• The website of each of your target schools will give you information pertaining to the average GMAT score of its incoming students. This average GMAT score will give you an idea of the score you must aim for.
• You must use your target score to plan your GMAT preparation.

If you need a thumb rule for “what is a good GMAT score?”, here is an over-simplified answer for you-

• Generally, 760 and above are considered extraordinary scores as they represent the 99th percentile. Scores in the 730-750 range are considered brilliant. Scores in the 700-720 range are considered a very respectable. Scores below 600 are considered weak. To understand the ground on which you stand, you could take the free GMAT practice test.

How to get started with your GMAT prep? How to get a good GMAT score?

Now that you know how you can set your target GMAT score, please find below a step-by-step approach for a structured and efficient GMAT preparation, as well as, the main tips that you should follow and mistakes that you should avoid, for the same.

0. Take a full-length mock test
However uncomfortable you may find it to start your prep with a complete mock test, it is the best thing to do. A full-length mock test will acquaint you with the GMAT format and the broad scope of questions and concepts that you will find on it. This step will also tell you what the basic level is that you are starting out from and how far you will have to go to reach your target. So, overcome your inertia and take a full-length test to kick off your GMAT preparation. Since you might have been away from books for a while, it is quite likely that you will not score very high. This is not an issue, understanding your weakness early on will help you understand how to overcome it.

1. Develop concepts
The next logical step for you to take is to develop the concepts tested on GMAT. Remember, GMAT is a standardized test. This means that the sections, number of questions in each section, type of questions in each section, and number of questions of each type are all predefined, as well as the scope and syllabus. So, with an organized approach, you can easily master the concepts in a limited amount of time. What is important is to find a good resource and then make use of it in a structured way. You should not start with the official guide. Even though the guide is a fantastic resource, it does not delve into the concepts; the rich bank of retired GMAT questions that it carries must be saved for a later point in preparation. You have to start your preparation by developing your concepts and then move on to practicing the questions.

1.1 Qualities of a good concept development course
Pay close attention to the spread of concepts, all four sections should be covered (many courses ignore the IR and AWA). Try to find a course that covers small concepts, one at a time. This will allow you to understand a concept and then apply it to GMAT like questions. Avoid sources that have a very broad breakdown of concepts, for example “Algebra”. It is doubtful that they will go into enough detail. Furthermore, you might find it difficult to grasp such a broad topic in one go. Smaller topics will be much easier to understand.

2. Practice Plenty of Questions
Once you have developed your concepts begin practicing questions rigorously. Spend the first few weeks, just focusing on accuracy without paying attention to speed. Once you have developed this accuracy, you should start timing yourself to strike a balance between accuracy and speed.

2.1 Pay close attention to reading comprehension questions
GMAT aspirants often ignore Reading comprehension questions, even though they are some of the most important. Reading comprehension makes up one third of the verbal section and can take a long time to master. If this section is not fully mastered, it will not only lead to a lot of wrong answers, it will also be a massive time sink. Not to mention that being good at reading comprehension questions means that you will have improved your ability to read and comprehend information, which will be of great benefit to when doing all types of GMAT questions.

2.2 Qualities of good practice questions
Above all else, look for sync in quality with the real GMAT questions. GMAC spends a lot of time and resources in coming up with their questions and not many companies can match their quality, while capturing their essence. If your practice questions do not fully represent the GMAT’s you will find that your preparation will take much longer and your understanding of the concepts will become confused. You should also take a close look at the number of questions offered and whether or not the course has an adequate amount of explanations. If the course has video explanations, that is a significant advantage.

3. Take a mock test every 7-10 days
It is quite common for GMAT aspirants to find that their accuracy in full-length tests is much lower than their accuracy in the shorter exercises. This is because there is a lot of difference between answering a few questions, under a self-imposed, or relaxed time limit and answering a far greater number of questions under a live clock. No matter how much you have practiced, you will still very much need to do a lot of mock tests. You will also need to take these tests with a fresh mind and exam like discipline, attempting all four sections, honoring break timings, and not pausing the test unless you absolutely have to.

3.1 Qualities to look for in a good GMAT test series
The first thing to check is whether or not the quality of questions is in sync with those of the GMAT. Since some test series only cover quant and verbal, make sure that yours covers all four sections. Look at the quality of explanations and the depth of analysis of performance given by the software. You also need to take a good look at how well your scores on these mocks match up to your scores on the official GMAT mocks, the GMAT Prep tests in terms of number of mistakes per section, sectional scores, and overall scores. Of course, look at the number of mock tests being offered.

4. Periodically revise the concepts
It would be quite naïve to assume that you can simply hold all the concepts you have learned, in your mind, for months. You really will need to keep going back to your conceptual material and notes. You might find that whenever you return to a good conceptual resource, you will find a few concepts that you earlier overlooked.

5. Pay attention to your mistakes
Don’t get upset at the questions you get wrong; these questions are actually stellar learning opportunities. In fact, past a certain point in your preparation, looking at the questions you got wrong is probably going to be your main source of learning. Spend enough time on these questions to understand why you (1) chose the incorrect answer choice and (2) eliminated the incorrect answer choice. If you can answer these two questions for every question you err on, you will see serious improvement in no time.

6. Solve the official guide questions
A few weeks before the exam, you should get down to it and solve the official guide. Most of these questions are of only an average difficulty level. So, if you have followed steps 1-5, they should not pose much of a challenge. Time yourself to get high accuracy in these questions, while maintaining speed. As earlier, analyze your performance closely and ensure due learning from the questions that you get incorrect.

7. Take the GMAT Prep tests (official mocks)
Take one GMAT Prep test, the week when you decide to schedule your GMAT appointment. The official mocks will give you the best understanding of your raw GMAT level and based on that you can get a sense of how long it will take you to reach your target score. The second GMAT Prep test should be taken a week before you give the exam, to realistically understand what type of score you can expect. If your score is much lower than your target, you might want to consider postponing your exam. In case you feel that you need more official practice tests, you can purchase Exam Pack 1 and 2 respectively- each pack contains two full-length tests and costs $50 apiece- hence, $100 for total 4 tests.

8. Consolidate your preparation
Your last two weeks of preparation should be focused on consolidating your preparation which means two thing, (1) revising all the conceptual material thoroughly and (2) re-attempting all the questions that you got incorrect. This is not the time to try anything fancy, by the way. Stick to what you know and what has worked for you. Do not opt for a completely new study material, do not change your decided section order, mind your routine and ensure being active around the hours of your GMAT exam, and stick to the test taking strategy that is working for you.

9. The day of your GMAT!
Take the evening before your exam to relax and make sure to get plenty of sleep that night. You must reach the exam center well in time, as 15 minutes of tardiness is considered a no-show. The day of the exam is not the time to try anything new, just stick to what worked for you in the mocks. If the test feels unfamiliar to you, different from the mocks, just tell yourself that most GMAT givers feel that way. It is usually just their nerves getting the better of them. Hang in there; the test will start feeling “normal” soon enough. Avoid analyzing “how am I doing?”- just focus on the question in hand. Don’t get stuck on a question, if one takes longer than two minutes mark an answer at random and then move on. On GMAT, you can get the 99th percentile even if you get ~20% questions incorrect.

10. Common preparation mistakes to avoid

Starting with the official guide- as mentioned above, you need to save the official guide for the stage of your prep where you have attained a fair grasp over the concepts.

Not emphasizing enough of developing concepts- one of the most common GMAT prep mistakes is to start practicing without duly developing the concepts. This approach often ends up with the aspirant doing a lot of material without much increase in accuracy and the duration for GMAT preparation becoming excruciatingly long. Please develop concepts before going all out into solving questions.

Ignoring reading comprehension preparation- reading comprehension proficiency is critical to a good score. Reading comprehension questions make up ~40% of the verbal section and poor reading comprehension skills lead to not only incorrect attempts but also a great deal of wasted time. On the other hand, good reading comprehension skills help you read and analyze data quickly- a skill that will help you in every section of GMAT!

Focus on “tricks” rather than “concepts”- “tricks”, “techniques”, “short-cuts” can only take you so far. A good score on GMAT is a product of a thorough understanding of the concepts. This is why you must focus on “concepts” rather than “tricks”.

Focus on ‘rules’ rather than ‘meaning’ in sentence correction- ironically, most GMAT courses teach sentence correction in terms of “what is correct on GMAT” rather than teaching “how to ensure that correct meaning is conveyed effectively”. There is no end to “rules” and such an approach shall neither lead to confidence nor performance. Focus on “concepts” rather than “rules” for conveying the intended “meaning”.

Leaving the mocks for the end of preparation- knowing concepts is one thing, applying them on live questions is another thing, and performing on full length tests is a third thing- the three things are interrelated but significantly different and each is important. To get a good GMAT score, you need to be able to be at the top of your concentration for 3.5 hours and solve a test with different question types testing different skills under strict time pressure. The exam temperament and skills take a while to develop. Hence, please do not leave the mocks for the end of your preparation- include one mock every 7-10 days in your prep and increase the frequency as you get closer to the actual GMAT.

How Experts’ Global has taken care of the aforesaid factors

At Experts’ Global, we have dealt with these issues by taking the following steps. We have divided the entire preparation into three phases- Understand, Practice, and Master. The purpose of Phase 1 “Understand” is to develop concepts. To this end, we have split the entire scope of GMAT into 100 small pieces, each one having a corresponding concept video (5-10 minutes long), to explain it. These videos are all followed by a dedicated concept exercise and explanation videos, to ensure that you fully understand the concept. We also provide a set of e-books that cover all GMAT sentence correction concepts in very fine detail. In phase 2 “Practice”, you will solve thousands of practice questions, all of which are hosted on a GMAT like interface and then learn from highly detailed solutions and video explanations. In Phase 3- “Master”, you solve almost one thousand 700+ level questions. These questions are also hosted on the same screen, which also has a timer that lets you know if you are taking more time on a question than will be available to you on the GMAT, by turning red. The software also provides very solid analysis of your performance and options to repeat complete exercise or just the questions you got wrong. There are also detailed solutions and video explanations that will make sure that you can learn from your errors.

Our program comes with 15 full-length mock tests, so you will never have to worry about running out. We have received feedback on our tests from students across the world and the unifying theme is just how precisely our tests represent the GMAT in terms of quality of questions, scope of the syllabus, language as well as tonality, user interface, and most importantly- scoring. Hundreds of students have complimented the sync that they found between their scores on our mocks, the official mocks and even their final GMAT scores.

What’s more is that we have developed several highly innovative features in our software that will help you with your preparation. One such feature is our collection of GMAT Shot videos, ~200 two minutes long videos that cover the GMAT concepts. When you have a spare two minutes, we suggest that you watch these videos to enhance your GMAT concept understanding. Our software also has “stickies”, little notes that you can pin to your “wall’. As you use the software, you will realize dozens of interesting features that will make your preparation engaging and fun!

Please, follow this link to take up a free trial of what is factually “the world’s most complete GMAT program” and take a well-informed decision-

https://expertsglobal.com/gmat-preparation-online

We hope this post could be of some help.

All the best with your GMAT preparation!