The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a standardized business leadership aptitude examination. More than 7,000 management and graduate degree programs in over 100 countries use GMAT scores for admission. GMAT preparation is a critical part of the entry requirements to the most popular MBA courses in the world. The GMAT is offered only in English; this three-hour examination tests candidates’ aptitude in verbal reasoning, quantitative problem solving, logical thinking and data interpretation.
Candidates can appear for the GMAT in two modes: offline (computer-based test) and online on-demand. The former can be taken throughout the year, subject to availability of test centers and free slots. Candidates can appear for the latter at any time. This allows working professionals to find a convenient date based on both their work schedules and B-School submission deadlines.
| Exam Name | GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) |
| Governing Organization | Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) |
| Official Website | https://www.mba.com/ |
| Registration Date | (For exam date 15 September 2023) 15 March - 14 September 2023 |
| Registration Fee | $275 |
| Mode of Exam | Computer-based Offline Test OR Online Proctored Test |
| Accepted in | 2,400+ Business Schools in 110+ Countries |
| Exam Frequency | Throughout the Year* |
| Exam Duration | 187 minutes** |
| Total Questions | 80 |
*Candidates may appear for the GMAT not more than five times per year, with a minimum of 16 days separating two consecutive attempts.
**Candidates may take two breaks of 8 minutes each if they wish, in addition to the test duration of 187 minutes.
Candidates who wish to appear for the GMAT must follow these steps to register online:
Candidates may also register by phone or email; the website has details of the number to call, or address to which the filled application form and money order must be sent.
There are no strict criteria for candidates signing up for the GMAT. If an applicant wishes to register through the regular route, he / she must be at least 18 years old. Younger teenagers may also apply, but only if they provide a written consent letter, signed by a parent/guardian. In practice, most GMAT applicants are between 25 and 35 years of age, given that most international business schools recommend work experience in order to gain the most from the MBA degree program.
The GMAT Exam Pattern has four sections, each of which has unique question types:
| Sections | Time (Minutes) | Questions / Tasks |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 62 | 31 (MCQ) |
| Verbal Reasoning | 65 | 36 (MCQ) |
| Integrated Reasoning | 30 | 12 (MCQ) |
| Analytical Writing Assessment | 30 | 1 (Essay) |
| Total | 187 | 80 |
GMAT has a unique feature by which candidates can choose the order of their sections in advance. There are currently three options, with the AWA and IR sections always occurring together. The order of the Verbal and Quantitative Sections are shuffled around.
The GMAT structure has four sections, each of which is carefully chosen to evaluate the skills that students will need in order to perform well in a management program.
The GMAT Quantitative Reasoning section is the second largest component of the examination. It contains 31 multiple-choice questions, each of which has five options. There are two types of questions: Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency. The Problem-Solving questions are similar to those in other management entrance examinations. Data Sufficiency is a unique format that tests the applicant’s capability of using two statements given to either determine the truth of a proposition or assert that it cannot be solved.
There are three types of questions in the Verbal Reasoning section of GMAT: Reading Comprehension, where candidates must answer multiple choice questions testing their overall understanding of a long passage, Critical Reasoning, where test takers are asked questions about the overall meaning of a 100 word passage, and Sentence Correction, where grammatical skills are tested. This is the longest section, with 36 questions.
Four types of questions are present in the Integrated Reasoning section, with all problems testing the candidate's ability to interpret data, charts, and tables. An online calculator is provided within the test interface, and many questions may have multiple correct answers, all of which must be answered correctly to obtain full marks. There is no partial marking.
The Analytical Writing Assessment tests how well GMAT test takers can argue logically and write using a coherent flow of ideas. Candidates are given half an hour to write a short essay on a topic chosen out of multiple options, and are scored based on clear writing style and grammatical correctness.
The final score is computed based on the performance in the first three sections, and is quoted as a mark out of 800. Scores are assigned in multiples of 10, starting from 200. Each score represents a percentile performance e.g. a GMAT score of 760 means that the student has performed better than 99% of test takers.
| Section | Number of Questions |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 31 |
| Verbal Reasoning | 36 |
| Integrated Reasoning | 12 |
| Analytical Writing Assessment | 1 Writing Assignment |
GMAT offers great flexibility in exam dates and online / offline mode of test administration.
Candidates who wish to take the GMAT offline must visit the website to find the combination of test center and time / date slot that suits them best. There are multiple options every week. Applicants should aim to choose their date one month in advance during the peak summer season, when many candidates appear for the test. Online applicants may choose a slot at short notice, as there is no deadline.
There are more than 30
GMAT test centers in India
, and they are located in all the major cities and state capitals. A full list of all centers can be found either on the mba.com website or by a quick web search. Test centers usually have greater availability in the afternoon slots on weekdays, as the majority of those attempting GMAT are working professionals.
The GMAT is conducted throughout the year by the Graduate Management Admission Council, and candidates can sign up for the test at any time by paying the exam fees. There are also several additional fees related to enhanced reporting and score availability.
| Service | GMAT Exam Fees |
| Offline (Computer Based Test) Fee | $275 |
| Online Exam Fee | $300 |
| Enhanced Score Report (only applicable for candidates taking the test offline) | $30 |
| Additional Score Report (charged for every B-School to which the GMAT score is sent over and above the first five free reports) | $35 |
| Cancel Score | $25 |
| Reinstate Score | $50 |
| Re-evaluation of AWA Essay | $45 |
Most candidates spend six to twelve months preparing for the GMAT. Since working professionals commonly take this test, it is common for them to attend evening or weekend classes.
The best way to ensure a score above 700 on the GMAT is to take a large number of mock tests, either those available on the mba.com website or via a private vendor. Candidates are encouraged to visit this webpage for the latest GMAT mock tests.
Candidates who wish to build a strong global career in Business Leadership, who have exceptional work experience (2-5 years), and have completed their undergraduate studies from a reputed institution in their home country, usually enroll for the GMAT as the first step to achieving their career goals.
Not all Business Schools publish statistics relating to the lowest GMAT score in the incoming cohort; this is because many criteria are taken into account while making an admit offer, and a very low GMAT score is not necessarily a dealbreaker. However, candidates should always check the admission stats for their MBA programs of interest, to check the previous few years’ trends. If the lowest GMAT score is roughly constant from year to year for a given B-School, applicants can estimate that, if their score is 20 points higher than that “cutoff”, they will be safe from not being considered.
The GMAT score is used by most Business Schools in the world as a preliminary qualifying criterion. For example, it regularly occurs that very few students are admitted to Harvard Business School or Stanford GSB with a GMAT score lower than 700. However, a score that is much above 700 may not necessarily guarantee admission. Above the approximate cutoff, the other components of the application are much more important to differentiate between candidates.
In recent years, GMAT has emerged as an important examination for Indian students. Today, almost 150 different institutions of higher education in India accept GMAT scores for admission, including the top ranked IIMs, SPJIMR, XLRI, etc. This is useful because it reduces the number of tests that need to be taken by an Indian MBA aspirant who is not sure whether he / she wants to enroll in a Business School in India or abroad.
GMAT has a few question types that are different from those found in many other Indian aptitude tests. For example, the data sufficiency and sentence correction formats have many subtleties that require careful coaching and preparation. Therefore, many Indian students choose to attend coaching classes in order to adequately prepare for GMAT and give themselves the best possible chance of achieving a score well above 700. They usually sign up for a package deal whereby they are given assistance with the other components of the application, including essay writing and interview preparation.
Candidates can appear for GMAT eight times in their lifetime, with a maximum of five attempts in any twelve month period.
