Raising your difficulty level will help score better in GMAT

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) examination is a standardised test designed to measure an aspirants’ aptitude for business studies at graduate school. Arvind Mantry, Director, TIME Institute, Chennai, says, “GMAT is required for admission to more than 2,000 B-schools across the world. GMAT is also accepted by some Indian schools including Indian School of Business (ISB), XLRI and Great Lakes, as well as for the PGP-X MBA programs at the IIMs.” The GMAT score is valid for five years unlike most other examinations like CAT whose scores are valid only for a year. The test can be taken 5 times in a year. A gap of at least sixteen days between successive attempts is a must.

GMAT consists of three separately timed sections and it yields five scores: Analytical writing (score 0 to 6). Integrated Reasoning (score 0 to 8). Verbal Ability (score 0 to 60). Quantitative Ability (score 0 to 60). The total ranges from 200 to 800.

“GMAT is a Computer Adaptive Test which indicates that the test adapts itself to the correctness / incorrectness of your responses. There is an Integrated Reasoning Section which is not adaptive. The first few questions in Verbal Ability and Quantitative sections are of moderate difficulty. With correct responses, the level of difficulty increases, and conversely - with incorrect responses the level of difficulty decreases,” says Arvind. 

The score does not depend only on the number of correct and incorrect answers. It also depends on the difficulty level of the questions encountered. “The questions have to be answered in the order in which they appear; you cannot skip a question. Neither can you revert to an earlier question to change the answer. The final score will be in multiples of 10. It is essential that all questions are completed, as there is a heavy penalty for the questions not attempted. These factors make time management very critical in GMAT,” advises Arvind. 

It is enough if you are familiar with the basic functions of the computer and no special expertise is needed. An online calculator is provided only for the Integrated Reasoning Section. “You can view the total score obtained on completion of the test. However, if you are dissatisfied with your performance and wish to have the attempt cancelled, this can be done immediately on completion of the test and before the test score is viewed,” adds Arvind.

According to Arvind, “Only about 10 per cent of students get a total score above 700 out of 800. The median GMAT score, of students who get admission in top schools like ISB and Wharton, is about 720, and only 5 per cent of the test takers manage to get that score. 

A score of 720/800 will give an aspirant a decent chance of getting into top Indian B-schools like ISB, PGP-X of IIMs and top-10 schools across the world. A score of about 700 is required to get into top25 schools across the world. A score of about 680 is required to get into top-100 schools across the world.” However, GMAT is just one of the factors influencing the admission. 

“Other factors like quality of (Statement Of Purpose (SOP), work experience, recommendations and under graduate GPA score also play crucial roles. The total score depends only on the verbal and quantitative scores. The AWA score and the Integrated Reasoning scores are independent and have no impact on the total scaled score,” adds Arvind.

Each essay is given two independent ratings. One by an independent evaluator who will evaluate the ideas of the student and the other by a computer programme referred to as an E-Rater which will also evaluate the language, structure, spellings, punctuation and grammatical errors. The response for each rating ranges from 0 – 6.  The final score is the average of the two ratings received for both the essays.