So you started preparing for the GMAT and you are wondering, “What is a good score?” While there is no simple answer to the question of what a “good score” is, here are two ways to evaluate your GMAT score and assess how much preparation you should do (or if you have taken the test already, whether you should apply with the score you have).
Personal Best Effort
Your personal best effort means that you have done all that you can do to achieve your highest possible score. Defining your best effort can be tricky, but you must consider whether you have invested all the resources at your disposal to help you achieve your score. You will have to look critically at what you have done in preparation for the GMAT and what you could have done. You have to consider what you have invested (not just financially but also mentally) in preparing for the test and whether that is all you could have invested.
The chart below shows the correlation between time invested preparing for the test and GMAT score. 
Over a period of 6 – 10 weeks this would mean investing no less than 10 hours per week working on the improvement of your GMAT score. Assessing whether you have given your personal best effort requires that you ask yourself, at the very least, the following questions:
1. Have I done all the homework and attended all the classes that were in the syllabus?
2. Have I taken all the practice tests that were recommended?
3. Have I evaluated my results and identified specific areas to improve?
4. Have I made my best effort to learn and implement the approaches described?
5. Have I sought out additional help (tutoring, extra classes, email or other online support)?
6. Have I allowed myself enough time to learn, digest, review, and practice the things I was taught?
If you know you did not prepare as well as you should have, then it makes sense to continue to prepare and to take the test again. However, if you know you have put in all the time, money, and mental energy you could into preparing and achieved a score that reflected your best effort, then you should put the GMAT aside and work on improving the other areas of your application.
School Range
Given that the GMAT's only purpose is to help admissions committees (adcom) evaluate candidates for admission, a “good” score can also logically be defined as the score that doesn’t eliminate you from consideration at the school you want to go to. A high score is generally thought to indicate that a candidate possesses the quantitative, analytical, and verbal skills needed for the academic rigor of typical MBA programs. Submitting a score that does not force the adcom to question whether you can handle the work at their school will demonstrate that you are serious about applying to the school and have done your due diligence on the program. When asking yourself if your GMAT score is a “good” score, you should know the range of scores for admitted students at the school you are targeting. For example, consider the table below, which contains several of the top 30 business schools in the country.
If you had a GMAT score of 680 and applied to Stanford, which has a mean GMAT of 720, you would still have a "good shot" at admission, since you would fall within the range of applicants. If you were to apply to Kelley, your GMAT score would place you above the mean but would not necessarily make you a better candidate for Kelley than for Stanford. At both schools your appeal to the adcoms will be based more on your other criteria than on your GMAT since your GMAT would be in the acceptable range. Your goal should be to get a GMAT score that makes the GMAT fundamentally irrelevant in your admissions decision (which means that it does not raise questions about your ability to handle the work). If your GMAT score is within the range of the school you would like to go to, then you probably have a “good” score.
Understanding what is needed and setting realistic goals will allow you to make more informed decisions about your continued preparation for the GMAT or whether it is time to move on to the other components of your application. No matter what, you must realize that getting a good GMAT score generally requires a significant commitment of time, energy, and money. This is especially true for those who are starting significantly below the mean score of 535. You should be ready to invest all that you can in your GMAT score and business school future.
Bell Curves invites you to one of its upcoming free info sessions.
At their GMAT Information Sessions prospective business school applicants will be introduced to the GMAT and how to effectively prepare for the test. One of their dynamic instructors will give you an overview of the GMAT, explain its relevance to the admissions process, demonstrate key strategies, and advise you how to prepare most effectively. They will answer all your questions about the test anything from "when should you take the exam?" to "what are the key skills and content that you should focus on during your preparation? "
Dates:
Monday Nov 17, 2008 6:30pm-8:30pm
Saturday Dec 13, 2008 11:00am-1:00pm
Wednesday Jan 21, 2009 6:30pm-8:30pm
Saturday Jan 31, 2009 1:30pm-3:30pm
Wednesday Feb 18, 2009 6:30pm-8:30pm
Address:
Bell Curves, the educational services company
Toll free: 877.223.3828 | fax: 646.414.1675
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- Alaska Pacific University
- American Jewish University
- Arcadia University
- Augsburg College
- Azusa Pacific University
- Baker College Center for Graduate Studies
- Baldwin Wallace College
- Brenau University
- California Baptist University
- California State University - Chico
- California State University - Stanislaus
- Campbellsville University
- Christian Brothers University
- City University of Seattle
- Clark University
- Clarkson University
- Clemson University
- Cleveland State University
- College of Santa Fe - Albuquerque
- Colorado State University
- Cumberland University
- Davenport University - Grand Rapids
- Delaware State University
- DeVry University, Oakbrook Terrace
- Dominican University of California
- Eastern Michigan University
- Fairmont State University
- Florida Atlantic University
- Florida International University
- Florida Southern College
- Frostburg State University
- Georgia Southwestern State University
- Humboldt State University
- International Technological University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Johnson & Wales University
- Kansas Wesleyan University
- Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
- Lynchburg College
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Mesa State College
- Morehead State University
- Murray State University
- National-Louis University
- Northern Kentucky University
- North Park University
- Northwest Christian College
- Nova Southeastern University
- Oklahoma Christian University
- Oklahoma City University
- Oral Roberts University
- Pacific Lutheran University
- Pacific States University
- Park University
- Pfeiffer University
- Piedmont College - Demorest
- Point Park University
- Regent University - DC
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Rowan University - Glassboro
- Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
- Saint Peters College
- Salve Regina University
- Shenandoah University
- Southern Utah University
- Southern Wesleyan University
- Southwestern Adventist University
- St Ambrose University
- St Edwards University
- St Thomas University
- Stanford University
- Stevens Institute of Technology
- Strayer Education, Inc.
- Sul Ross State University
- Sullivan University
- Tarleton State University
- Texas A&M International University
- Texas A&M University - Commerce
- Troy University
- Troy University - Atlantic Region
- Troy University - Dothan
- Troy University - Montgomery
- Troy University - Phenix City
- University of Alabama
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- University of Arkansas
- University of Central Florida
- University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
- University of Dallas
- University of Houston - Victoria
- University of Memphis
- University of New Mexico
- University of North Alabama
- University of Northern Virginia
- University of North Texas
- University of Redlands
- University of Redlands - Burbank
- University of Redlands - Orange County
- University of Redlands - Rancho Cucamonga
- University of Redlands - Riverside
- University of Redlands - San Diego
- University of Redlands - Temecula
- University of Redlands - Torrance
- University of South Carolina
- University of Texas at Brownsville
- University of the Incarnate Word
- University of Vermont
- University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
- University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
- Upper Iowa University
- Valdosta State University
- Wayland Baptist University
- West Texas A&M University
- Willamette University
- Wingate University
- York College of Penn
About ETS
PRINCETON, NJ, Oct 28, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Educational Testing Service(R) (ETS(R)) today announced the introduction of a new GRE(R) Comparison Tool for Business Schools at its website www.ets.org/gre/comparison. The online tool offers business schools a way to predict Graduate Management Admission Test(R) (GMAT(R)) scores from Graduate Record Examinations(R) (GRE) General Test scores.
Read more...
The MBA application process isn't cheap. You should set aside almost $6,000 to prepare for the process. At the end of the day, the investment is small. In most cases, your salary will almost double after business school. Download this Excel document to craft your own budget.
Jullien Gordon
The Personal Development Guru
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Greetings and welcome to round 2 of Akil’s GMAT blog. I thought I’d share some of my thoughts and advice on how to study for the test. It seems more and more I encounter people who are studying wrong (oops I mean incorrectly, since I need an adverb to modify ‘studying’ rather than an adjective).
First, to understand how to study properly you have to understand the nature of the GMAT. The GMAT is an adaptive test that tests quantitative and verbal REASONING. As such the GMAT is not a test you can memorize, since a reasoning test requires you to use logic supported by facts to derive answers rather than to simply regurgitate facts. Regurgitating facts will most likely only allow you to get a score in the low to mid 500s. If you are satisfied with a score in the 500s, you should just get a list of formulas and rules tested and memorize them. [My marketing department requires that I insert a shameless plug here for Bell Curves flashcards which give you a nice succinct list of the rules that are tested on the GMAT in a pretty package.] If you want to have a realistic shot at the higher scores, you will need to memorize the facts necessary for success on the test and then, more importantly, develop your ability to use those facts in context.
Are you Flashcard Guy/Girl?
Flashcard Guy/Girl can recite every rule when asked but cannot apply it when presented a problem that utilizes that rule in an indirect or unobvious way. Your goal is to first learn all the rules (you will need to embrace Flashcard Guy/Girl for a little while), but you must quickly transition away from reciting rules to a true understanding and application of those rules.
Let's run a quick test to determine your level of Flashcard Guy/Girlness.
Complete the statement below
Rule: |
If your response was that you cannot add numbers with exponents, you are only partially correct. You should not make it a habit to learn only things you cannot do, as you must also learn what to do instead.
If you said "To add numbers with exponents one must have the same base and the same power then add the coefficient of each number," you would be correct.
Now, do this question before continuing to read:
Example 1: |
If you realized how this directly connects to the rule above, you are on your way to GMAT mastery. The correct answer here is 7x^2 .
Now, let’s make the previous question GMAT appropriate and try again to answer it:
Example 2: |
Again this is a direct connect to the above rule we began with, but the additional twist that it hides the coefficients. The correct answer is 2x^2 .
Now let’s make it a medium GMAT question (the above questions are probably considered easy, or the steps required would be part of a more difficult problem). Try this example:
Example 3: |
If you were able to answer either of the two previous examples, but you were hesitant or unsure on this problem, you have some Flashcard Guy/Girl in you. You were given a rule and its application never varied, but as that rule was presented in a slightly unexpected manner you struggled, and that’s what Flashcard Guy/Girl does. The correct answer is B, because when adding numbers with exponents if your bases and exponents are the same you add the coefficients. Thus the question requires you to add (1)3^4 + (1)3^4 + (1)3^4 which can be expressed as (3)3^4 which is also 3^5 .
Proper preparation
To properly prepare for the test you must accomplish the following:
- Learn the knowledge tested
- Learn to recognize when/where that knowledge is tested
- Learn the tendencies of the GMAT
- Develop personal efficiencies
- Develop a personal pacing plan
to leave behind Flashcard Guy/Girl. Learn to understand each rule, not to simply recite
them. Learn to recognize each rule being tested. Learn to apply a rule to a given problem.
Doing these things will help you gain an amazing GMAT score, admissions to your top
school, and an opportunity to be at the helm of America’s greatest financial institutions
like Lehman, AIG, Enron, and WaMU.
Resource list
I’ll try to remember to add to each of my blog entries a resource list of products that will help support your studies. Of course as founder of Bell Curves, I’ll have a bias for our materials but I will always be honest about products I, and my students, find helpful.
- GMATPrep – the best practice tests, hands down, no question!
- GMATFocus – a GMAC adaptive diagnostic tool. It’s a great source of adaptive questions. I would only use at the end of my prep cycle.
- MathSmart – good basic math review created by the Princeton Review. If you have not seen fractions since 7 th grade and they terrify you, this is a good starting point.
Akil Bello
The GMAT Expert
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Our exceptional GMAT test preparation instructors and timely, challenging materials will help you earn your best score on the GMAT. Our GMAT students improve an average of 92 points.*
Bell Curves offers you more ways to prepare for the GMAT so you can achieve your best score. From our wider range of course structures to our detailed self-study resources – Bell Curves preparation options are designed with the working professional in mind. Whether you need only a couple hours of one-on-one tutoring on the toughest topics or a high school math refresher followed by a detailed GMAT course, we have a product to perfectly suit your needs.
GMAT Test Preparation Tips
You Can Easily Increase Your GMAT CAT Score by 50 to 100 Points
Despite the official statements of ETS (Educational Testing Service), you can improve your GMAT score dramatically simply by taking the time to become "streetwise" about the GMAT CAT. Quite simply, this is the easiest step in your test preparation, and should not be ignored under any circumstances.
Keep in mind that the GMAT is a game. Just as in chess, baseball, tennis, or any other sport, those who know how the game is played have a huge advantage over those who are ignorant of the game's idiosyncratic rules.
As a test taker, you should understand:
* The computer-adaptive structure of the GMAT
* The types of exam questions asked and their common fallacies
* How to manage your time wisely
The computer-adaptive structure of the GMAT
The computer-adaptive test (CAT) version of the GMAT is designed to get a more accurate assessment of your skills while asking you fewer questions than its paper-based predecessor did. Here is how it works: the first question you see in any given section will be of average difficulty. If you get the answer right, your next question will be slightly more difficult. If you get the answer wrong, your next question will be slightly easier. The software will also ask you different types of questions in a rather unpredictable order, as determined by its algorithm, rather than clustering question types as the written GMAT did.
You can not skip a question or go back to an earlier question. Unlike the paper version, once you click the 'answer confirm' box, your answer can not be changed.
The types of exam questions asked and their common fallacies
Examples and explanations of these can be found in the pages describing the individual component sections of the GMAT posted on this website. We strongly encourage our clients to spend time learning these question types before brushing up on their verbal and math skills.
How to manage your time wisely
Practice
The main way to develop GMAT time management skills is to practice taking the test. You will repeatedly see us return to the theme of practice throughout this website. It is very hard to overstate its importance. Therefore you are strongly encouraged to take at least a few mock GMAT exams, in the computer-adaptive format and to try to simulate the actual testing environment. (That means refraining from taking food breaks, engaging in telephone conversations, etc. until you have completed a section.)
Spend adequate time on the first 5 questions
Earlier, we discussed how the GMAT CAT's underlying algorithm determines the difficulty of questions you are asked, based on your performance in answering previous questions. Difficult questions are weighted more heavily in scoring than easier questions. The first couple questions in any GMAT CAT section are used to determine the range of questions that the program 'thinks' you are able to handle. After you have answered these first few questions, the testing software will give you questions to fine tune your score within that rather narrowly predetermined range. Thus, your answers to the first 5 questions will make a HUGE difference in your final section score.
It is imperative that you answer these pivotal questions with extra care. Always double check your answers to these questions. Verify that the answer choices that you judged to be incorrect are indeed incorrect. If you are unsure of the answer to one of these first questions, at the very least, take a very good educated guess using process of elimination.
Prepare yourself to finish the test – at all costs!
There is a huge scoring penalty for failing to finish any section of the GMAT. For example, say you're in line to get a score that will put you in the 70 percentile of test takers, based on your test performance so far – but then run out of time and fail to answer the last five questions in the section. That failure will lower your score to about the 55 percentile. The lesson to take away from this is to prepare yourself to finish the test at all costs. Answering a question incorrectly will hurt you, but not as much as leaving the question unanswered will. Train yourself to work your best within the time limits of the exam. But train yourself, too, to be able to recognize when only a minute or so remains on the clock, and at that point to just answer "C" (or whatever your lucky letter is) for any remaining questions. As the GMAT's Chief Psychometrician put it to us, random guessing is like shooting yourself in the foot – but leaving answers blank is like shooting yourself in both feet.
Don't waste time
This advice probably sounds self evident. However, we mention it because we've had clients tell us how they inadvertently wasted test time by revisiting the help screen or requesting extra scrap paper after they began their test. These activities, if undertaken once the section has begun, will take time away from working on the questions.
Read the Questions Carefully
As silly as this advice may seem, it's worth remembering. An undisciplined test taker will feel the stress of the clock during the timed sections and will try to cut corners to save time, wherever and whenever possible. As a result, he or she often misinterprets questions. GMAT test writers are well aware of this dynamic, and happy to capitalize on it. We guarantee that you will encounter questions on the GMAT that include incorrect answer choices that were deliberately designed to exploit likely misinterpretations of what the question is really asking.
Avoid Random Guessing
The GMAT CAT does not allow you to skip questions and come back to them later, as you can on a written test. You must answer each question on the GMAT CAT before it will allow you to move on to the next question. Consequently, even if you don't know the answer to a particular question, you have to answer it. It is always in your best interest to take an educated guess rather than resorting to random guessing – even if you are running out of time on the section. Usually you will be able to identify at least one answer choice that is clearly wrong. Eliminating even one incorrect choice will improve your odds of answering the question correctly.
Eliminate the Deliberately Deceptive Wrong Choices
With practice, you will begin to learn how to recognize answer choices that are deliberately deceptive – and wrong. There are a few common patterns here that will become apparent as you proceed with your test preparation.
One recognizable pattern is commonly found in the Problem Solving section. It involves an erroneous answer choice giving a value that would result from following a common computational error. You can avoid these deceptive choices by using scrap paper, checking your answers and using estimation to at least judge the general range of the correct choice.
Practice, Practice, Practice
As we stated at the top of this page, there are a number of tips and techniques to taking the GMAT that will significantly raise your overall score. This is a test that you can prepare for, despite anything the test-makers state. We strongly encourage you to use actual questions from previous exams as you practice, as we have noticed a material difference in the nature and quality of test questions prepared by ETS versus those written by GMAT prep companies. We also strongly encourage you to practice taking the exam in its computer-adaptive format.
Finally, we encourage you to spend most of your preparation time studying and practicing questions in your weakest subject area. While we believe every test taker benefits by reviewing each GMAT exam section, focusing on your weakest areas will make the most efficient use of your test-prep time.
Don't Wait Too Long to Take the GMAT
Don't count on taking the GMAT at the last minute. Should you need to retake the exam, you will need time both to register for the test again and to have the new scores submitted to schools in time for the application deadlines. Scheduling the GMAT well into the admissions season is also bound to cause most test takers undue stress. With proper planning and insight, you can spare yourself these negative energies and instead focus on maximizing your GMAT score.
Quite often I get calls about preparing for the GMAT and one of the first questions asked is “How do I start to prepare?”, invariably my answer is the same “Take a test." Before you decide to sign up for any course or tutor undertake any type of study it only makes sense that you find how much study you will need. Far too many people make assumptions about their scores. Whether you assume your score will be good or bad is irrelevant, it makes no sense to guess if you have the resources to find out the truth!
Everyone considering applying to business school (and thus by nature considering preparing for the GMAT) must immediately and without delay go to www.mba.com, download GMATPrep, and take a practice test under as realistic conditions as possible. This is the only practice tests created by the writers of the GMAT, and it will give you a highly reliable assessment of your current level of readiness to take the test.
Once you’ve taken the test you must spend some time analyzing your performance and understanding what you need to do to achieve the score you want. Below is some information that will help you understand your practice test score.
Your practice test score will give you an approximate range for your current GMAT score. Think “if I took the GMAT today, I would have received a score within 30 points of this score.” Based on this score you should have a strong sense of how much time and work you will need to make a significant improvement in your score (significant meaning a score increase that will get you from one range to the next, i.e. from 200 – 400 range to 400 – 480 range)
Consider the following when you look at the score results from your practice test:
| Prep Plan |
| If your score is between 200 and 400 | · Prior to attending a general prep course you should: - devote a few weeks to self-study in order to review the basic rules - consider hiring a tutor or taking a basic math or grammar class to focus on the fundamental rules (subject verb agreement, fraction rules, geometry formulas, etc) before taking a GMAT course which will focus on how to apply those rules · Start your prep today and give yourself a head start! |
| If your score is in the 400 – 550 range | · Review the basic rules and formulas that will be tested on the GMAT using either GMAT specific flashcards or books. · Take a GMAT prep course that will finish early enough so you can do some self study following the course and take the test two times before any deadline you are trying to meet. · Consider tutoring after or during your course. |
| If your score is in the 560 – 640 range | · Take a GMAT prep course that will finish early enough so you can do some self study following the course and take the test two times before any deadline you are trying to meet. · Consider tutoring after or during your course. |
| If your score is between 650 and 800 | · Review your mistakes and learn from them. · Take another practice test within 2 weeks to determine whether your score is consistently in that range - if your score is consistently within the range you want take the GMAT within the month - if your score is inconsistent, review the inconsistency and consider working with a tutor to resolve those inconsistencies |
| If your score in one section is 15+ points higher than your score in the other | · Consider doing some preliminary work in your weaker area before taking a class · Consider hiring a tutor to develop your weak area before, during or after taking a class |
Akil Bello
The GMAT Expert
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