What is the GMAT?
The GMAT is an entrance exam used by graduate business and management schools to make admissions decisions. Some programs also use GMAT results in awarding merit scholarships.
The old version of the GMAT is available until January 31, 2024. It includes:
Verbal Reasoning – multiple choice reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and sentence correction
Quantitative Reasoning – multiple choice and data sufficiency math questions on a variety of topics, including geometry
Integrated Reasoning – synthesizing, evaluating, manipulating, and organizing data to solve problems. This section is scored on a scale of 1-8 and does not count towards the overall GMAT score
Analytical Writing Assessment – an essay analyzing an argument. This assessment is scored separately and does not count towards the overall GMAT score.
The GMAT Focus Edition launched on November 7, 2023, and will completely replace the old GMAT after January 31, 2024
- Verbal Reasoning – multiple choice reading comprehension and critical reasoning. Sentence correction has been eliminated
- Quantitative Reasoning – multiple choice math questions on a variety of topics, but no longer including geometry. Data sufficiency questions have been moved to the new Data Insights section
- Data Insights – a combination of the old Integrated Reasoning section (synthesizing, evaluating, manipulating, and organizing data to solve problems) and the data sufficiency questions from the old Quantitative Reasoning section
- The Focus Edition no longer includes the Analytical Writing Assessment.
Taking the GMAT
The GMAT is a computer-based test given almost every day throughout the year. Unofficial test scores are available immediately upon completion of the test. Official scores are usually available a week later.
Ways to Take GMAT
At Home
Students may take a computer-based test at home, proctored by a live, remote proctor. This option is available every day, around the clock.
At a Test Center
Students may take a computer-based test at a digital testing center seven days a week.
The GMAT Requires Students to Apply Their Knowledge to New Situations
Taking the GMAT is not the same experience for students as taking tests in school. Classroom teachers prepare their students for material-based testing. The GMAT requires students to apply their knowledge to new situations and new types of questions.
Preparing for and taking the test can be stressful for students, so it is important for parents to be encouraging and positive.
Our tutoring program is also designed to reduce students’
stress by showing them how to approach the different kinds of questions and giving them lots of practice while working with a tutor in a caring, supportive
environment.
GMAT Scoring
The GMAT is an adaptive test: as a student answers questions correctly, questions get harder; as a student answers incorrectly, questions get easier. Adaptivity allows the exam to tailor the difficulty level to match each student’s skill level and thereby calculate a score based on fewer questions.
The score is each section is based on both the number answered correctly and the difficulty of the questions.
There is no penalty for guessing on the GMAT; a blank answer and an incorrect answer have the same effect on the score, so a student should answer all questions.
On the old version of the GMAT, students receive a score from 6 to 51 on the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections. The composite score ranging from 200 to 800 is calculated based on those two scores. Students receive separate scores on the Analytical Writing Assessment (0 to 6) and the Integrated Reasoning (1 to 8).
On the new Focus Edition of the GMAT, students receive a score from 60 to 90 on the Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Data Insights sections. The composite score ranging from 205 to 805 is calculated based on those three scores.
Scores on the old GMAT and the Focus Edition cannot be compared directly because the scales are very different. GMAC has published a concordance table that shows equivalent scores on the two versions of the exam.
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