FAQs

The objective of the GMAT® test is to assess your suitability (i.e. your aptitude) for graduate management programs. The current edition of the GMAT® tests your analytical reasoning and critical thinking capabilities through 4 different sections – Analytical Writing, Integrated Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Quantitative Reasoning. Only Quant and Verbal Reasoning contribute towards your scaled score of 800, with the Integrated Reasoning graded separately on a scale of 8, and the AWA on a scale of 6.

The GMAT® Focus edition does not include the AWA. The GMAT® Focus edition comprises 3 sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Data Insights (this section includes Data Sufficiency [formerly under Quantitative Reasoning] and Integrated Reasoning Questions. All sections contribute equally towards your composite score out of 805.

GMAT®, as such, has no such eligibility requirements – as long as you are 13 years of age or older, you can take the GMAT®.

GMAT® is a question-wise adaptive test – GMAT® adapts itself to your performance while you are taking the test. While the test typically starts with a medium difficulty question, the question difficulty level changes based on whether you are getting questions right or wrong. If you are getting questions right, the question difficulty level rises and you start seeing more difficult questions. Likewise, if you are getting questions wrong, you start seeing easier questions. Based on your performance in the test section at different difficulty levels, your score is calculated.
Since the next question is generated based on the difficulty level of the current question, and your performance in the section till that point in time, you also cannot browse back and forth between questions.
Also, you MUST select an answer to a question (take a calculated guess if you are unsure of the correct answer) in order to proceed to the next question

Not all questions that you see on the GMAT® are scored. In fact, on the current edition of the GMAT®, 10% of the questions on the Quant section (roughly 3 questions out of 31), and around 16% of the questions on the Verbal section (6 out of 36) are experimental questions. Do note that experimental questions can appear in any order and at ANY point in the Quant and Verbal sections – it is NOT the case that experimental questions cannot appear at the start or at the end of the respective section.

Experimental questions are questions marked by GMAC for future use. GMAC benchmarks your performance in the experimental questions against your performance in the questions that are scored. This information is utilized to assess the level of experimental questions so that they can be administered to candidates in future.
The number of experimental questions on the GMAT® Focus Edition is unknown.

ESR (Enhanced Score Report) is available for cancelled scores also. So, if a student is unhappy with his score, he can cancel it, order the ESR, assess where he did not do well and prepare for his next attempt accordingly.

For the GMAT® Focus Edition, ESRs are automatically a part of the official score report received by the student. For GMAT® current, an additional (small) fee of ~USD $30 has to be paid to procure the document.

Yes, you can apply to the universities based on your provisional scorecard that you receive on the day of the test. But only if the university waives the requirement and as long as you are able to send the official score once it is out.

As mentioned earlier, the GMAT Focus Edition does not include an AWA section – most universities will accept your provisional, unofficial scorecard in lieu of your official scorecard. When you receive the official scorecard, you can share the document with the university.

The GMAT® test registration fee is USD 250 (~ INR 16,500). For the in-centre GMAT, this includes sending your score report to 5 institutes as well. You have to select these 5 schools during the GMAT® in-centre test. For the GMAT ® online test, you can send score reports to as many universities you wish free of cost.

If you secure the 90th percentile it means that 90% of the students who have taken the exam in the past three years are below you and 10% are equal to or above you. Note that unlike CAT percentiles, where a top college cutoff can go as high as 99.99%ile, a GMAT score above the 94%ile is considered “very good” or “competitive” by most top B-schools

Don’t panic. You might have encountered one of the experimental questions. Also, the GMAT®’s algorithm does not work in a simple, linear format – it is fairly sophisticated and based on millions of data points and performance metrics gathered cumulatively over a number of years. Therefore, it is technically possible for you to encounter an easy question even if you are getting questions right. Finally, remember that ‘easy’ is a relative term – what seems easy to you might not be so easy to others. Therefore, don’t waste your test time thinking on these and instead focus on the upcoming questions.

Most of the universities take the best score. However, it is best to confirm the same from a particular university before applying. If the application deadline of University Y is September 10, by when should I take the GMAT? Technically, you can take it as late as September 10. However, it is best to take the GMAT at least 15 days before the deadline so that you have enough time to prepare the other parts of the application.

GMAT® is held all through the year at various locations or online. You can book a test date and slot as per your requirement as long as they are available. To search for your nearest GMAT® test centre, click here. To know about slot availability or to register, click here.

Yes.

For rescheduling, you will be charged according to when you reschedule your test date relative to your original exam date:

• More than 7 calendar days before your test – USD 50
• Within 7 calendar days before your test – USD 250
• Within 24 hours of your test – Not allowed

Refund if you cancel your GMAT® appointment:

• Cancel more than 7 calendar days before your test – refund of USD 80
• Cancel within 7 calendar days before your test – No refund
• Cancel within 24 hours of your test – cancellation not allowed

No. An on-screen calculator is available while answering the Integrated Reasoning section of the test. Calculators are not allowed in other sections.

If you are a Non-US applicant (e.g. if you are from India) – you MUST carry a VALID PASSPORT with a recent, recognizable photo (mandatory) and Appointment Confirmation Letter / Email sent by Pearson VUE. For GMAT(™) online exams sceduled April 17th or after, an Aadhar card will also be a valid document for Indian applicants.

GMAT® is a PART of your B-school application, not the entirety of your B-school application. Most B-school admission committees look at a profile from multiple aspects, and your GMAT score has a 20-25% weightage in your overall application.
This also explains the wide range of GMAT® scores of admitted candidates in top B-schools. One of the best know B-schools – University of Chicago: Booth has a score range of 570 – 780 for the admitted class of 2017.
B-schools look at your career goals, work experience, diversity that your profile brings in, recommendations, internships, undergrad performance, achievements, extra-curricular activities, etc. All these and your GMAT® and English language test scores must add up to communicate a single, consistent storyline about you.

Unlike the popular belief that getting a 700+ out of 800 on the total GMAT® score is all that is required, B-school admission committees actually look at your scores minutely. Your IR, Verbal, and Quantitative sectional scores are all weighed by the B-schools, not just your total score. Different admission committees have different requirements – while some B-schools look for a balanced score across all sections, few others look for a high quantitative section score.

Yes. You can retake the GMAT® again – 16 days after your GMAT® attempt

You can take the GMAT® up to 5 times in a calendar year (365 days from the first attempt). The number of lifetime GMAT® attempts for any candidate is 8

Yes. Approx 20% of those who take the GMAT® are actually retakers.

GMAT® test score is valid for five years.

There are no “good” or “bad”, “pass” or “fail”, “cut-off” scores in GMAT®. Basically, a good GMAT® score is a score that helps you secure a B-school admit of your choice.

Yes. GMAT® penalizes you if you run out of time and are not able to complete the section. Therefore, it is also important to focus on time-management aspects on the test. This is something that can be perfected only with practice.

GMAT® offers a ‘Score Preview’ feature where your unofficial scores in GMAT® verbal, quantitative and integrated reasoning along with your total score (out of 800) is displayed just after the test completion – once you submit the last question of the last section. You will have a 2 minute window to accept or cancel the scores. If you accept the score, you shall receive a printed copy of your GMAT® unofficial score report.
Your GMAT® Official Score Report (including scores in all sections) will be generated within 20 days after taking the test. A link to this score will be mailed to you. Simultaneously, your official score reports shall be dispatched to the schools you had selected on the test day. Once the official score report is available, you shall be able to request for additional score reports to be sent to other B-schools from your GMAC account.

Yes. GMAT® allows you to cancel your GMAT® score during ‘Score Preview’ at the test venue as well as within 72 hours of the test.
You can cancel your test score during the ‘Score Preview’ just after the test.
You can cancel your test score later – within 72 hours of taking the test by paying a fee of USD 25.

Yes. A cancelled GMAT® score can be re-instated up to 4 years and 11 months from the date of exam by paying a fee of USD 50.