| This section answers some of the most basic queries you may have about the GMAT. Such as: |
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| GMAT STRUCTURE |
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| What is the broad syllabus for GMAT? |
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| GMAT Tests candidates in the following areas: |
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| Verbal Ability, which has 3 question types: Sentence Correction (approx. 13 ques), Critical Reasoning (approx. 12 questions) and Reading Comprehension (approx. 16 questions) |
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| Quantitative Ability, which has 2 question types: Word problems(approx. 18 ques) and Data Sufficiency questions (approx. 19 questions) |
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| Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section, which has 2 question types: Analysis of an Issue (1 question) and Analysis of an Argument (1 question) |
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| Within each section, the questions do NOT appear in blocks i.e. your 1st ques. could be a Critical Reasoning ques, next could be a Sentence Correction ques. and so on. Similarly, in the Quant section, the Word problems and Data Sufficiency. questions appear in random order |
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| What is the format of GMAT? |
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| AWA section: 2 Essay questions (Issue & Argument) to be answered in 30 minutes each. Answers have to be typed |
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| Quantitative section: 37 questions in 75 minutes. Multiple choice, Compulsory Answering, Adaptive questioning |
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| Verbal Ability section: 41 questions in 75 minutes. Multiple choice, Compulsory Answering, Adaptive questioning |
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| What are the GMAT Test dates & centers? |
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| GMAT can be attempted throughout the year, at any center anywhere in the world. You may even attempt the GMAT more than once. However, the time period between two attempts has to be 30 days |
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| GMAT SCORES |
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| How is GMAT scoring done? What does GMAT percentile score mean? |
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| You get 4 scores when you take the GMAT |
| 1. Your Verbal scaled score, which is out of 60 |
| 2. Your Quantitative (Math) scaled score, which is also out of 60 |
| 3. Your overall GMAT score, which is out of 800. The overall score is derived from the Verbal & Math scores. It is not a 400 + 400 break-up though. |
| 4. Your AWA scaled score which is out of 6.0 |
| With each of these 4 scores, you also get a percentile score. The percentile score tells you how you have fared out of every 100 candidates taking the GMAT. For e.g. if your percentile score in the Verbal section is 98 percentile, it means that for every 100 candidates attempting the GMAT, you are ahead of 98 candidates |
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| The scaled scores are computed by the software taking into account the difficulty level of questions that you answered correctly and incorrectly. It is NOT a factor of how many rights and how many wrongs you got. In other words, in the Quant section, for example, a candidate answering 28 questions correctly and 9 incorrectly can actually end up with a higher scaled score than a candidate answering 29 questions correctly and 8 incorrectly |
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| How long does it take them to send me my GMAT score after I have taken the test? |
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| As soon as you finish the test, you will get a printout containing the Verbal scaled score & percentile, the Quant scaled score & percentile and the Overall GMAT score & percentile. Your AWA will be evaluated later, so you will get a Final Official Scorecard in approximately 8-20 days after your attempt. Most B-schools accept the printout along with the application form you send them, subject to your sending them the official score through GMAC (the organisation that conducts the GMAT) |
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| What is a good GMAT score? |
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| The GMAT score is not the only factor that B-schools consider while short-listing prospective students. They also look at the duration of your work experience, the quality of your work experience, your academic record, the answers to the essay questions on the application form, the references that you provide etc. Therefore, a score of 650 may be good enough for someone with a very strong profile, where as a score of even 760 may be inadequate for someone with a weak profile. Having said this, since most Top ranked b-schools have an Average (Mean) GMAT score in the range of 690-720, you may set this as a target score to ensure that your application gets a competitive edge |
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| What is a good AWA score on GMAT? |
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| The AWA score is computed in multiples of 0.5 and the maximum score is 6.0 points. All top ranked b-schools take the AWA score very seriously, and anything below 5.0 will affect your application negatively. Aim for a 6.0 or at least a 5.5 on AWA |
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| I heard that unless I score 700+ on GMAT, I should not consider applying to Top ranked B-schools such as Harvard, Wharton, Insead, ISB Hyderabad etc. Is this correct? |
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| Last year, around 20% of candidates who made it to Harvard had a GMAT score of 680 or below. The lowest score at ISB-Hyderabad was 560! Therefore, it would be pre-mature to decide against applying to a top ranked b-school on the basis of GMAT score alone. Please refer to the previous question 'What is a good GMAT score' which details out the various parameters that influence your selection |
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| I am very strong in one section but just about average in the other. Can I still look at a score of around 700 on GMAT? |
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| To get a score close to 700, you will need to demonstrate Above Average skills in BOTH the sections, not just in 1 of them. If you do exceptionally well in one section but put in an average performance in the other, you will safely cross 640, but may not cross 680 |
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| I have scored just around 600 in my first GMAT attempt. How much improvement is realistically possible in a second attempt? |
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| At SharpMinds GMAT Prep, we believe that the following can be causes of a low score in the first GMAT attempt: |
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| 1. A weak conceptual base in either Verbal or Quant or both |
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| 2. A decent conceptual base but poor application of concepts, which results in high error rate and more time spent even on relatively easier questions |
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| 3. Taking GMAT in a hurry: Taking the test before you are ready for it will be a recipe for disaster on GMAT |
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| 4. Ego problems: At times a candidate believes he knows best and refuses to look at better approaches towards solving questions |
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| 5. Absence of a well thought out Strategy, or relying on a Strategy that's ineffective: Even if a candidate is conceptually strong, he/she may not fare well unless the Strategy adopted during the test ensures optimum Time Management and effective handling of pressure & fatigue during the test |
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| 6. Psychologically unprepared: Some candidates waver a lot during their GMAT prep. Were your unsure about your study approach in the first attempt and ended up switching from one source of practice to another in desperation? Were you relying more than you should have on the opinion of fellow candidates? Were you never fully certain that your prep was adequate? The natural consequence of all these factors is lack of self-confidence. Low confidence and low scores go hand-in-hand |
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| So we suggest that you honestly evaluate the applicability of the above factors to your performance, and this will tell you to what extent (and in what area) you can improve. Going from a 560-600 range to at least a 640-670 range should not be very difficult. And for someone who is at 600, targeting a 710+ score in the second attempt is quite realistic |
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| I read / heard that the first 10 questions in a section influence my GMAT score the most. Is this true? |
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| Run miles away from the person / source giving you such unfounded advice. Your score on each section of the GMAT depends on how you perform on ALL questions put together, not just on the first few questions. |
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| I have taken GMAT more than once. Which score will b-schools consider? |
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| Most B-schools look at your Latest GMAT score. In the event that your latest GMAT score is not your best score (an earlier attempt had a better score), they will consider your higher score. Very few B-schools average out the scores |
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| GMAT PREP |
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| Which is my most reliable source of practice for GMAT? |
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| Without a doubt, it has to be the Official GMAT Guide (latest edition is the 12th edition). This book contains actual past GMAT questions with good quality explanations. It is your safest and most reliable source of practice. |
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| There are lots of Free GMAT questions available on the net. Are these good for me? |
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| Who has created these questions? More importantly, who has verified the answers! Be careful when you look to the net for free content. There is a lot of non-gmat stuff floating around in the name of GMAT. There is a lot of stuff containing errors. While there may be good stuff as well, you will not be able to assure yourself that the stuff is good, unless you have a reliable guide. Otherwise, stick to published material only. Besides the Official GMAT Guide. books published by Kaplan, Princeton Review, Manhattan GMAT, ARCO's and Barron's are reliable sources of practice |
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| How should I prepare for the Grammar questions in the Verbal section of GMAT? |
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| Grammar by itself is a vast subject. However, for GMAT, you do not need to know all the Grammar rules. If you are not enrolling for a GMAT course, then a good strategy to prepare for Grammar is to carefully analyze the Grammar questions in the Official GMAT Guide and look for rules that are tested and correct idioms and syntaxes that need to be used. Alternatively, pick up a good Grammar book and review the rules for Pronoun usage, Modifier usage, Parallelism, Errors in Comparison, Agreement between Subject & Verb, Correct use of Tenses including the Perfect Tenses etc. |
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| How should I prepare for the Critical Reasoning questions in the Verbal section of GMAT? |
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| Critical Reasoning questions on GMAT are well drafted and require close scrutiny. Once again, actual past questions published in the Official GMAT Guide are the best and most reliable source of practice |
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| How should I prepare for the Reading Comprehension questions in the Verbal section of GMAT? |
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| In order to do well on Reading Comprehension questions, you need to be adept at reading a variety of passages, have a decent reading speed, but most importantly have good grasping ability. Unless you understand the content of the passage clearly and accurately, you will not be able to answer more than 50% of questions asked. As you practise, try different approaches to reading the passages. Alter the pace of reading, re-read some portions for better understanding etc. Try to narrow down to a reading style and approach that works well for you and stick to it |
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| How tough are the Quantitative (Math) concepts that are tested on GMAT? |
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| Most of the Math concepts that are tested on GMAT are school level math concepts. The challenge in Math is not learning the concepts, but applying them. You do not need a math or science background to do well on GMAT Quant section. But you definitely need conceptual clarity coupled with lots of common sense |
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| Are Data Sufficiency (DS) questions in the Math section tougher than the Word Problems? |
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| Yes. As you do well on GMAT, the questions get tougher. This is when you are likely to encounter quite a few seemingly easy but very tricky Data Sufficiency questions. If you are not careful, you could end up making many mistakes without even realizing it. Moreover, Data Sufficiency questions test core concepts, hence if your conceptual base is not very strong, you are likely struggle on these questions |
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| GMAT is a computer based test. Does my prep have to be computer based too? |
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| Yes and No. The initial part of your prep, when you are learning the concepts and their applications, need not be computer based and can be done using conventional book based learning. However, you do need to get a feel of answering questions on a computer screen as well. Hence, closer to your GMAT appointment, try to practise on the computer as much as you can |
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| How many practice (not practise!, since we are using Noun form) tests do I solve before taking the GMAT? |
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| Many candidates believe that the greater the number of tests they solve, the better prepared they will become. This is just not true. What is more important than the Quantity of tests is the Quality of your tests. What is also important is how much do you learn from each test you take. At SharpMinds GMAT Prep we strongly advise all our students to devote quality time analyzing their performance on each test they take and guide them in the entire process |
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| Do I need to take GMAT Classes to prepare for the test? |
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| Our response to this question is likely to be biased since we offer Classroom courses for GMAT. While it is not necessary to take classes and while there are many who excel on GMAT without any formal training, taking a formal GMAT course can have the following advantages: |
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| 1. You have someone to guide you throughout your prep |
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| 2. You may not have enough time to research for your prep. You run the risk of referring / relying on the wrong sources of information |
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| 3. You save time because classroom teaching takes comparatively lesser time than reading books and is more effective if you have a good instructor! |
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| 4. The class schedule automatically forces a schedule on you and hence your prep gets more disciplined |
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| 5. Each GMAT attempt costs you $250. Hence taking multiple attempts without coaching may turn out to be more expensive than taking just 1 successful attempt after coaching |
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| 6. Investing in good quality coaching can pay huge dividends. If coaching can help improve your score by just 30 points (say, 710 instead of 680), and thus help you get into a better MBA program, the annual salary earned post MBA could be about $15000-$50000 more than what it would otherwise have been |
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| At SharpMinds GMAT Prep, we offer regular classroom as well as 1-on-1 courses that prepare you for a 710+ score on GMAT. Click here to know more |
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| GMAT MBA RANKINGS |
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| What are the latest rankings for MBA programs for Top B-schools (US and Global)? |
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| To view the latest rankings, please Click here |
