Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)

The Graduate Management Admission Test is a Standardized test that measures verbal, mathematical and analytical writing skills. Business schools commonly use the test as one of many selection criteria for admission into an MBA program. It is given at various locations in the United States, Canada and around the world. Nearly 900 management institutes all over the world (almost all of them in the US) require GMAT scores from each applicant. The GMAT tests the fundamental skills - Reasoning and Comprehension included - and does not require any subject-specific theoretical study. As of 2007, the fee to take the test is U.S. $250 worldwide.

Exam Measures:-

Basic Verbal
Mathematical
and Analytical writing skills

Test takers are given 3.5 hours to answer questions in each of the three tested areas, and there are also two 10-minute breaks; in general, the test takes about four hours to complete. It does not measure specific knowledge of business, job skills, or subjective qualities such as motivation, creativity, and interpersonal skills.

Scores are valid for five years (at most institutions) from the date the test taker sits for the exam until the date of matriculation (i.e. acceptance, not until the date of application).

The maximum score that can be achieved on the exam is 800, and the 2005/2006 mean score was 533.

The verbal section consists of 41 multiple choice questions, which must be answered within 75 minutes. There are three types of questions: sentence correction, critical reasoning and reading comprehension.

The quantitative section consists of 37 multiple choice questions, which must be answered within 75 minutes. There are two types of questions: problem solving and data sufficiency. The quantitative section is scored from 0 to 60 points and the current mean score is 35.0/60.

The Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section of the test consists of two essays. In the first, the student must analyze an argument and in the second the student must analyze an issue. Each essay must be written within 30 minutes and is scored on a scale of 0-6. The essay is read by two readers who each mark the essay with a grade from 0-6, in 0.5 point increments with a mean score of 4.1. If the two scores are within one point of each other, they are averaged. If there is more than one point difference, the essays are read by a third reader.

The "Total Score", comprising the quantitative and verbal sections, is exclusive of the analytical writing assessment (AWA), and ranges from 200 to 800. About two-thirds of test takers score between 400 and 600. The score distribution resembles a bell curve with a standard deviation of approximately 100 points, meaning that the test is designed for 68% of examinees to score between 400 and 600, while the median score was originally designed to be near 500.

Registration and preparation

The test taker can register in either of the following two ways:

Online at http://www.mba.com/mba test registration by credit card
By calling one of the test centers listed on http://www.mba.com/mba

To schedule a test, an appointment must be made at one of the designated test centers. While it is possible to make the appointment even just a few days before you would like to take the test, it is better to schedule a few weeks in advance to ensure an appointment that is convenient for the student.