GMAT
Applying to certain universities can be a tough process, not least because of the high entry standards, but also because they have rigorous entrance exams for students as well.
As university applications are constantly on the rise and more and more students begin to apply to the crème de la crème of universities, there has been a rise in methods to test a student’s aptitude.
For some, these are done via Aptitude Tests, for others, they offer university entrance exams, often referred to as a GMAT.
What is the GMAT?
GMAT is a Graduate Management Admission Test, which is a computer adaptive test (CAT) which is intended to ascertain the abilities of the applying student.
The tests are usually split into four separate sections:
- Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA): This is a section where you are expected to complete a writing task in 30 minutes. This is usually to present an argument over a specific series of text.
- Integrated Reasoning: This section was introduced in 2012 as a means of measuring the tester’s ability to evaluate data from multiple sources.
- Quantitative Reasoning: This is a section designed to analyse your abilities to interpret data and information from graphs, charts and other graphic formats. You cannot use a calculator in this section of the GMAT.
- Verbal Reasoning: This is a section that focuses on reading comprehension, critical reasoning and sentence correction.
The section lengths can change depending on the university, however, for the most part, the GMAT is usually split by the length of the test.
These sections can be studied in different orders and are often handled in different ways by different universities.
The test is mainly for applying to American universities and UK business schools, however, schools in the UK have been known to accept GMATs as well, especially Russell Group Universities.
How long is each section?
The section lengths can change depending on the university, however, for the most part, the GMAT is usually split by the length of the test.
The section lengths change all the time, but for the most part, the lengths are as follows:
| Section | Duration | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Analytical writing assessment | 30 minutes | 1 (Essay question) |
| Integrated reasoning | 30 minutes | 12 |
| Quantative reasoning | 62 minutes | 31 |
| Verbal reasoning | 65 minutes | 36 |
All of these are completed online, however, those that need special help with disabilities etc, may be granted the ability to complete the test offline. You will also have the option for an 8-minute break between tests, though these are optional and there are 90 multiple-choice questions.
What is a good GMAT score?
What constitutes a good score is very much dependent on the university that you're applying to. Many different universities have different score requirements as part of their university entry requirements.
| Score | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 760 to 800 | 99% |
| 750 | 98% |
| 740 | 97% |
| 730 | 95% |
| 720 | 94% |
| 710 | 90% |
| 700 | 88% |
| 690 | 85% |
| 680 | 82% |
| 670 | 80% |
| 660 | 77% |
| 650 | 73% |
These scores are considered to be on the high end of the spectrum and are usually considered to be enough to get students into most good business schools or into the vast majority of Russell Group Universities.
What is the score needed to get into business schools or Russell Group universities?
The score requirements are constantly changing and have been known to fluctuate all the time. Most students should aim for the highest score possible, as with all tests and examinations, however, the majority of schools have accepted the following scores:
How much is the GMAT?
The GMAT costs roughly $290 (£225), which is just a general registration fee. There are also fees for rescheduling your GMAT. For rescheduling, fees are as follows:
- 60 days before the test: £45
- 15-60 days before the test: £85
- 14 days before the test: £125
Cancelling your registration can also incur further fees as well, and as with rescheduling, you will need to make sure that you cancel as soon as possible in order to recoup as much money as possible from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).
Those that need special help with disabilities etc, may be granted the ability to complete the test offline.
The later you cancel, the less you will be refunded, the fees are as follows:
- Cancelling 60 days before the test: £85
- Cancelling 15-60 days before the test: £70
- Cancelling 14 days before the test: £45
- Cancelling 24 hours before the test: £0
As you can see, you will never receive the full payment back, however, you will receive some money, except if you are cancelling 24 hours beforehand.
How do I receive my GMAT score?
On the day of your test, you will receive your results, known as Score Reports. With these, you will be able to send them out to five institutions anywhere on the planet. If you need any more to send, you will be required to pay $35 (£27) for each report.
Students are also allowed to receive an Enhanced Score Report (ESR), which is a more detailed breakdown of the scores you received for each section. However, to receive the ESR, students need to pay £24.
Where are the GMAT test centres in the UK?
The UK operates 11 GMAT test centres, which are:
England
- Crawley
- London
- Reading
- Salford
- Sutton Coldfield
- Watford
- Wolverhampton
Northern Ireland
- Belfast
Ireland
- Dublin
Scotland
- Edinburgh
- Glasgow
Of these 11 cities, only Belfast allows students to sit the test on weekends, for other cities, students can only work between Monday and Friday.
Traditionally, the test has been studied at one of the many test centres, however, owing to certain events, such as the recent global COVID-19 pandemic, the test has been made available to study at home, as of April 20th 2020. Indeed, many top business schools and universities such as Harvard Business School or MIT have announced that they would now be accepting virtual score exams as well.
How to study for the GMAT
Much like other tests and examinations, the best way to revise is to look at previous papers online. There are plenty of GMAT past papers available for you to consider and there are a number of GMAT resources available for students too.
We recommend starting your revision process around six months before the exam, this gives you sufficient time to revise and to begin honing your writing skills, which may be a little rusty.
Take a look at the types of questions that are common on a normal Verbal Reasoning Test, Situational Awareness Test or Aptitude Test and begin to familiarise yourself with the way that you are expected to answer these kinds of questions.
Many top business schools and universities have announced that they would now be accepting virtual score exams.
What scores can you get on the AWA?
Your essay is given a score between 0 to 6. There are two independent scores that are given to your essay, which are then averaged together to determine the overall score. This is done by a computerised reading evaluation and the other is by a third party, a human, who will read your essay.
These are the essay score definitions:
| Essay Score | Reason |
|---|---|
| 0 | Nonsensical, blank, incoherent or off-topic |
| 1 | Of insufficient quality |
| 2 | A flawed essay |
| 3 | Somewhat limited essay |
| 4 | An adequate essay |
| 5 | Strong essay |
| 6 | Oustanding essay |
There are also half-points offered as well, where round figures could not be averaged.
What is the difference between the GMAT and GRE?
The GMAT and the GRE are two very different tests and are used for very different reasons. The GMAT is used for applying to business schools in the US and Russell Group Business Schools in the UK, whereas, the GRE is used for application to graduate schools in the US and Canada.
The structure and the scoring between the GMAT and the GRE are very different too.
| Sections | GMAT | GRE |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 3 hours 30 minutes | 3 hours 45 minutes |
| Number of essays or essay questions | 1 | 2 |
| Multiple-choice questions | 90 | 80 (including 20 unscored research questions) |
| Sections | 4 | 6 (including unscored research sections) |
| Scoring range | 200-800 (ten point increments) | 260-340 (one point increments) |
| Cost | $290 (£225) | $205 (£160) |
As you can see, the difference between the two is quite vast. The other main difference is that, as it is a CAT, the difficulty of the next question is determined by how well you answer the current one, whereas, the GRE assigns a level of difficulty for sections, as opposed to questions.
The GMAT has become the standard for a number of universities that offer an entrance exam and the GMAT has fast become one of the premier entrance exams for business schools in the UK, the US and in Canada.
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