The GMAT

The GMAT

GMAT Overview WHO

  • The GMAT (pronounced G-mat) is used by admission officers (AO’s) at the graduate level to evaluate incoming candidates’ ability to perform in a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program.

WHY

  • Most MBA programs require of candidates an official GMAT score to apply for admission. The MBA programs typically publish median or average GMAT scores of their latest enrollees and the middle 80% range in which total composite scores fall. The most competitive and selective MBA programs tout high average GMAT scores for incoming classes. To improve the chance of being admitted, test-takers strive to attain GMAT scores that meet or exceed the average scores published by their MBA program of interest.

WHEN & WHERE

  • The test is administered by Pearson VUE test centers in the United States and abroad.
  • You can take the GMAT exam at your convenience at the test center nearest you. Visit www.mba.com to look up test centers across the globe to find which dates and times are available in your area. You can schedule a GMAT test up to 6 months in advance or as little as one day in advance. However the closer you get to your desired test date, the more limited your options may be.
  • Additionally, test dates toward the end of the calendar year may fill up early because of looming application deadlines.
  • Be sure to consider your commuting time, the availability of parking, and the time of day when you’re apt to perform your best before scheduling your test. If you arrive late to the test center, you may not be allowed to sit for the exam.

GMAT Test Center Video Tour (courtesy of GMAC)

WHAT

  • The “GMAT” acronym stands for “Graduate Management Admissions Test.”
  • The GMAT is taken on a computer and is a computer adaptive test (CAT).
  • Calculators are not allowed. Dry erase notepads and pens are provided by the test center. You are not able to erase the notepads. You can get clean notepads during the optional 5 minute breaks (recommended) or you may raise your hand during the test and the proctor will deliver them to your computer terminal.
  • Each test taker will experience a different set of questions based on his/her individual performance.
  • You can only view one question at a time and you cannot move on without responding to the current question. Once an answer has been submitted, you are not allowed to return to that question at any time during or after the test.
  • Everyone begins with a question at a medium level of difficulty. If it’s answered correctly, a more difficult question will follow. If the question is answered incorrectly an easier question will follow and so on.
  • There are three sections on the GMAT: typed written essays, a quantitative section, and a verbal section.

Test Structure:

  • Analysis of an Issue (Typed Essay) – 30 min
  • Analysis of an Argument (Typed Essay) – 30min
  • Optional Timed Break – 5 min
  • Quantitative Section (Multiple Choice) – 75 min
  • Optional Timed Break – 5 min
  • Verbal Section (Multiple Choice) – 75 min

Analytical Writing Assessment Section

  • The test can begin with either of the two essay question types.
  • For an Analysis of an Issue essay you’re given a prompt which tends to be a bit polarizing in nature. You’re tasked with taking a stance either for or against the issue by providing organized evidence to support your opinion.
  • For an Analysis of an Argument essay you’re given a short paragraph that briefly outlines a situation and you’re asked to critique the validity of the reasoning used to define the situation. The key here is the focus on the structure of the argument, not your opinion on the subject matter of the argument. There is a one minute break between the two essays. After you’ve completed both essays, you’re given an optional 5 minute break.

Quantitative Section The quantitative section of the GMAT follows the essays and tests your understanding of the principles of arithmetic, algebra and geometry. You’re given 75 minutes to answer 37 multiple choice questions. That allows approximately 2 minutes to answer each question. Time constraints are important to be aware of, as your test final score will be downgraded (you’re penalized) for every question that is left unanswered. There are two formats in which quantitative questions appear on the GMA: Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency. You will see roughly 20 problem solving questions and 17 data sufficiency questions but this may be the other way around.

  • Problem Solving questions will appear most familiar as compared to the math questions in standardized tests that you have encountered in the past, at least in the US. Some questions will have an expression or diagram requiring you to solve for an unknown value. Others are word problems requiring you to first translate text into a mathematical expression in order to solve the question. Each problem solving question is followed by 5 numerical-based (with possibly a variable element that symbolizes a real value) multiple choice answer options.
  • Data Sufficiency questions test your ability to analyze a question and assess whether enough information is provided to solve a question. A question is posed and it’s followed by two statements. You have to evaluate whether each statement supplies enough information (is sufficient) to answer the question independently, or whether they do together or not at all. You have to rely on the information provided in the question and statements and any mathematical principles or rules that relate to the question. For data sufficiency questions, calculating a final numerical response is not necessarily needed to select the correct answer. Each data sufficiency question is followed by the same 5 multiple choice answer options:

 

- Statement (1) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (2) is not sufficient.

- Statement (2) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (1) is not sufficient.

- Both statements TOGETHER are sufficient, NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient.

- EACH statement ALONE is sufficient.

- Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT sufficient.

  • The quantitative questions are given in a random order mixing up both the topics and question types.
  • Keep in mind that review materials for the GMAT may list answer options as A, B, C, D, and E. However, on the actual exam letters are not used to label answer choices. There is just a blank circle to the left of each response.

Verbal Section The last section on the GMAT is the Verbal section. You’re given 75 minutes to answer 41 questions, which allots just less than 1 minute and 50 seconds to answer each question. Keep in mind that you will also have to read four passages of up to 350 words during this time frame as well. There are three types of verbal questions: Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension.

  • Sentence Correction questions test your understanding of standard written American English grammar, usage and style. There are approximately 15 questions on each test. Each question consists of a sentence with an underlined portion (up to the entire sentence) that may or not need to be corrected or improved in someone way. The first answer choice for every sentence correction problem restates the original underlined portion. If you believe the sentence is correct in its original form, the 1st answer choice would be the correct answer. If you believe the sentence can be improved in some way, you select the best option from the 2nd through 5th answer choices. Topics covered include:
  • Subject-Verb Agreement
  • Verb Tense, Mood and Voice
  • Modifiers
  • Pronouns
  • Parallelism and Comparisons
  • Style of language
  • Idioms
  • Critical Reasoning questions test your ability to analyze the structure, soundness and organization of an argument in short form. There are 14 – 15 critical reasoning questions on the test. Most questions provide a few sentences describing a situation, possibly an excerpt from a document, text used in an advertisement or maybe dialogue between two parties (a complete or partial argument). You are tasked to select the answer choice that does one of few different things:

  • Identify the answer choice that MOST strengthens or weakens the argument.
  • Identify an inference, assumption or main idea implied by the author.
  • Identify errors in reasoning or resolve a conflict presented in the argument.
  • Identify the structural components of an argument, like the conclusion, supporting evidence or premise and understand their roles.
  • Reading Comprehension questions test your ability to understand written material and evaluate arguments presented. There are four reading comprehension passages on the GMAT, up to 350 words each. The subject matter of each passage may be a physical or biological science, business, or humanities. Each passage is followed by 3 – 5 questions directly related to the passage. The passage is always visible on the left side of the computer screen and the questions are displayed on the right one at a time. While you may have outside knowledge related to the content of the passage, be sure to only rely on the information provided in the passage to identify the correct answer. Reading comprehension questions typically ask you to:
  • Describe the main idea or purpose of the passage. Understand the implications of the tone used by the author.
  • Identify something explicitly stated in the passage, like a date, the order in which events occurred, or the mean of an uncommon word or phrase.
  • Identify the author of different viewpoints presented in the passage. Be prepared to compare and contrast parallel viewpoints.
  • Strengthen or weaken various elements of the passage.
  • Take the passage one step forward and infer how the author of the passage would interpret an event based on the ideas expressed in the passage.
  • Aside from the questions directly related to each reading comprehension passage, you can get verbal questions in any order at all. A mix of sentence correction and critical reasoning questions or even two reading comprehension passages back to back.

After the Test

  • Once you have finished the verbal section you’re done with the test. You will have to navigate through a few screens asking you about your academic profile and whether you would like to receive communication from different MBA programs based on your performance. You are also given 10 minutes to decide if you will view or cancel your test score. If you opt to cancel your test score you will never see the results. Additionally, your official score report (for the next 5 years) will show what day you sat for the test and that you elected to cancel your score. If you chose to have your score sent to specific schools when beginning the test, your score will be sent out if you decide to view it. If you do not elect to send your score report to schools at the test center, you can send your score report to MBA programs at a later date at the cost of $28 (currently) for each school.

GMAT Score Your score GMAT score will have four components:

1) Analytical Writing Assessment Score: 0 – 6 (0.5 intervals)

2) Quantitative Raw Score: 0 – 60

3) Verbal Raw Score: 0 – 60

4) Composite Total Score: 200 – 800

  • The raw verbal and quantitative scores correspond to a percentile rank that indicates how your score compares to other test takers over the last 3 years. The scales are different for the verbal and quantitative portions, so they cannot be directly compared. For example, a raw verbal score of 36 may correspond to 78%, meaning 78% of test takers score less than 36 on the verbal section. While a 36 raw quantitative score may correspond to 45%, meaning that only 45% of test takers score less than a 36 on the quantitative section.
  • Immediately following the test, all but the analytical writing assessment score is displayed on the computer screen and provided on a print out that you will receive upon leaving the test center. Within 3 weeks your official score report will arrive by mail or made available online based on what you selected when registering for the test. The official report will include the analytical writing assessment score. GMAT scores are considered valid at most MBA programs for up to 5 years. Additionally, specific MBA programs have specific dates by which you must take the test to meet their application deadlines. Contact specific schools to find out what dates their testing cutoff dates are.

Retaking the Test

  • If you feel that you can significantly improve your GMAT score, you can consider taking the test again. Be aware of application deadlines as you are only allowed to take the exam once every 30 days and no more than 5 times per calendar year.

HOW

  • The current cost to take the GMAT is $250.
  • Reschedule: If you need to reschedule your test date, you can do so at the current cost of $50, seven days before your existing test date.
  • If you reschedule your test date within seven days of the existing test date, the fee increases to $250.
  • Cancel: If you decide to cancel your test date seven days in advance, you will receive a partial refund of the testing fee, currently $80.
  • If you cancel your test date within seven days, the cancellation fee increases to $250. Schedule your test date with care.

Test Preparation

Demo Information

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