An Unconventional Users Guide To The GMAT Exam

What can’t you bring to the test center to take the GMAT?

When you go to a test center to sit for the GMAT, you need to bring official ID in the form of a passport, a government-issued driver’s license or a military ID card. GMAC also expects you to bring the appointment confirmation letter or email from Pearson VUE and the list of programs which will receive your score.

Among the banned items are mobile phones, calculators and pagers. But there are quite a few other things that are verboten:

• Notes or noteboards
• Scratch paper
• Watches, stop watches, or watch alarms
• Personal data assistants (PDAs)
• Beepers
• Photographic devices
• Stereos or radios
• Any other electronic devices that could aid testing
• Books or pamphlets
• Dictionaries, translators, or thesauri
• Pens or any other writing utensils
• Rulers or any other measuring devices
• Weapons, including but not limited to firearms, knives, or any object that could be used as a weapon; this policy includes off-duty law enforcement officers and persons with conceal and carry permits

Should you retake the GMAT? 

GMAC says that about a fifth of the GMAT exams in any given year are being taken by people who have already sat for the test. More people retake the test in Asia than in the U.S. Since 2008–09, GMAC says that the annual percentage of individuals taking the GMAT exam has ranged from 80 to 84% of total GMAT exams taken globally. In the most recent 2013 testing year, 190,658 unique test takers submitted valid scores, which translates to 80% of the 238,356 GMAT exams reported for the year. Although the overall rate has remained relatively constant over the five-year period analyzed for this report, there is often significant variation across global regions. US citizens, for example, had a unique examinee rate of 87% in 2012–13, compared with just 67 percent for citizens of East and Southeast Asian countries.

How do they do people perform on a redo? According to GMAT’s chief psychometrician Lawrence Rudner, the average gains are relatively modest.

The overall average gain was 33 points on a second testing, with smaller gains for each successive sitting. But there is some downside to a redo. Nearly one in four people who retake the test actually score lower the second time. Rudner says that those who score 700 and above gain, on average, only about 8 GMAT total scaled score points on their first retest. Those who score between 600 and 690, 500 and 590, and 200 and 490, gain, on average, about 20, 30, and 40 points respectively. Those who score 600 and above typically gain very little in their third and fourth attempts.

Where do you go to take the test?

There are no set test dates for the GMAT test, which is offered on different dates at different test centers. Test dates and seat availability can be checked on the GMAT website.

How do I register for the GMAT?

You can register online at the GMAT website or by phone, fax or mail. Online, phone and fax registrations require a valid credit card.

What do I need to do to prep for the test?

Candidates who register for the GMAT can download GMATPrep test preparation software for free from the GMAT website to help them prepare for the test, or can elect to have a CD-ROM sent to them (free of charge).

The GMAT website also offers test preparation tips and test-taking strategies.

GMAC also publishes several official GMAT study guides and other preparation products, including the Official Guide for GMAT Review and a series of “retired” GMAT Paper Tests. Popular study guides are generally also available to purchase from major bookstores and online.