What You Need To Know About Your GMAT Score

What You Need To Know About Your GMAT Score

You’ve just finished taking the GMAT, but you aren’t sure whether or not your score is good enough to use.

Ilana Kowarski, a reporter at US News, recently spoke to b-school experts on what constitutes as a good GMAT score.

“A solid GMAT score varies by the applicant and the school,” David White, a founding partner at MBA admissions consulting firm Menlo Coaching, tells US News. “Business schools build a diverse class because this increases the richness of classroom discussions.”

YOUR BACKGROUND

According to White, a good score varies depending on your background as an applicant.

“…there are more applicants from some backgrounds than others – for example, American men in finance and consulting, or Indian men in the tech industry are over-represented, and Hispanic women and successful entrepreneurs are under-represented,” White tells US News. “Applicants from over-represented groups may need to score up to 30 (or more) points higher than the school’s overall average to reach the average for their group. It’s the opposite for under-represented groups.”

Laura Dorwart, of Prep Scholar, says GMAT score is all relative to specific b-schools.

“Business schools are all different and have different expectations and uses for your GMAT scores,” Dorwart writes. “There is no one score that will guarantee you admission, though (even if you get a perfect 800 total score). There’s also no one score that will necessarily deny you admission all on its own, either.”

COMPARING TO OTHERS

Let’s say you want to compare yourself to all other test-takers. What constitutes a ‘good’ score form a ‘bad’ score then?

According to Kaplan Test Prep, scoring anywhere from 710-800 will put you in the top 10% of all test takers. Scoring below a 550 would put you below average when compared to all test takers.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE GMAT

A good GMAT score can do wonders for your application.

Alexander S. Lowry, executive director of the Master of Science in Financial Analysis program at Gordon College in Massachusetts, says applicants should aim to get a high GMAT score as to ensure admissions committees won’t have doubts.

“So if you’re basically (in) the 700s, if you can put that number out there, you are now no longer a problem in terms of the GMAT score,” he tells US News. “If you can get like 710 (or) 720, (it) is really kind of the magic number where they’re like, ‘Okay, you’re as good as everybody else in the class.'”

Regardless, it’s important to note that GMAT is just one component of your application.

“If everything else you’ve got is amazing, you can have a lower score and still get into a top school,” he tells US News. “But if you’ve got a weakness somewhere else, you’ve got to have a good GMAT.”

Sources: US News, Prep Scholar, Kaplan Test Prep

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