GRADUATE MANAGEMENT ADMISSION TEST – GMAT

What is GMAT?

The Graduate Management Admission Test is a Standardized test that measures verbal, mathematical and analytical writing skills. It is intended to help the graduate schools of business assess the potential of applicants for advanced study in business and management. 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. The test is designed in such a way that it would be unlike any other test you would have taken at school or college. First, the test has no question paper or answer sheets, nor does it have the same set of questions for all the examinees. Further, it does not give you the option of not answering a question (unless, of course, you run out of time at the end). All this because the GMAT is now an entirely Computer based test – the keyboard and mouse do the work of a pen or pencil. The test is scored out of 800 (in multiples of 10), and most scores fall in the range of 500-600. However, a score of even 800 is not unheard of! The GMAT test is only one of several parameters which the graduate schools look at to determine the selection of an applicant. A high score alone does not translate into an admission offer from a great school. But the test can be looked upon as the first major hurdle to be cleared in the process of getting admission into a B-school of your choice.

Who administers the GMAT?

The GMAT test is developed and administered by the US-based Pearson VUE under the direction of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), a non-profit organization of graduate business schools worldwide. This implies that Pearson VUE conducts the test, and sends each examinee the score report. For the conduct of the test, Pearson VUE has appointed testing centers in various countries.

When is the GMAT held?

All-round-the-year. Unlike other exams, you can choose your own date and time for taking the GMAT! The test is administered in the above cities five-days-a-week (Monday through Friday), twice-a-day. September to December is the high season for GMAT, so in case you intend to take the test during this period, you need to register very early (say 90 days in advance) to get a date of your choice. Otherwise, registering at least 15 days in advance is mandatory. The GMAT test lasts roughly four hours, and most centres offer two slots : 9 A.M. and 2 P.M.

Eligibility and Fees

Anyone and everyone is eligible for taking the GMAT – there are no restrictions based on age or qualifications. The test scores are valid for five years, i.e., most universities accept scores up to five years old. But it is always better if your scores are recent (not older than 2 years).

What is a Computer-Adaptive GMAT Test?

In a computer-adaptive test, the computer screen displays one question at a time, which is chosen from a very large pool of questions categorized by content and difficulty. The first question is always of a medium difficulty, and each subsequent question is determined by your responses to all the previous questions. In other words, the CAT adjusts itself to your ability level – you'll get few questions that are either too easy or too difficult for you.
Each question in the GMAT CAT has five answer options, and you are required to select one of these five as the correct answer by clicking on it. A subsequent question is displayed on the screen only after you have answered the previous question, so you cannot skip a question.
You cannot also go back to a previously answered question to change your answer. Thus, if you guess a correct answer or answer a question incorrectly by mistake, your answers to subsequent questions will lead you back to questions that are at the appropriate level of difficulty for you.

Content and Format of the GMAT Test

The test has three distinct sections : Analytical Writing Ability (AWA), Quantitative, and Verbal. The Quantitative section has two types of questions, Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency, mingled throughout the section. The Verbal Section has three types : Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension; here too, the questions of each type appear in no set sequence. There are a total of 78 questions, 37 in Quantitative and 41 in Verbal. These have to be done in 75 minutes each. The following table gives out the format of the GMAT-CAT :

	Questions	Timing
Computer Tutorial	NA	NA
Analysis of an Issue Analysis of an Argument	1 Topic 1 Topic	30 min. 30 min.
Optional Rest Break	NA	5 min.
Quantitative (Problem Solving & Data Sufficiency)	37	75 min.
Optional Rest Break	NA	5 min.
Verbal (Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, & Sentence Correction)	41	75 min.
	78+2 Essays>	4hrs.(approx.)

The tutorial is meant to make you feel comfortable with the infrastructure and the environment and does not have a prescribed time limit. You are expected to be through with it in 15 minutes or so : it makes sense to acclimatize yourself fully with the setting even after you think you have understood how the system works.

Analytical Writing Assessment

The analytical writing section requires you to write – or rather type – two short essays in thirty minutes each. The first is the Analysis of an Issue, in which you need to analyze the issue presented and explain your views on it. The second essay is Analysis of an Argument, in which a given argument has to be critically analyzed and evaluated.
For both the essays, the emphasis is on the "Analytical" part, and not on the "Writing" part. This implies that a concise essay with well-reasoned points written in simple English will be looked upon more favourably than an essay which falls short on the analytical aspects even though it is high on writing skills.
A five-minute break follows the two essays. The computer gives you the option to take this break, or to move directly to the subsequent section. Even if you finish the essays before the stipulated sixty minutes, the break will still be of five minutes. It is advisable to utilize this break by gearing yourself up for the tougher sections that follow.

Quantitative Section

The 37 questions in this section comprise two kinds of questions : Problem Solving (PS) and Data Sufficiency (DS). The two kinds do not have a definite break-up, usually there are around 20 PS and 17 DS questions. The section tests you on a level of Maths that is comparable to the level of Class 10 exams, with questions on Number Systems, Percentages, Fractions & Decimals, Algebra (including Quadratic Equations), Geometry (including Basic Coordinate Geometry), Ratio & Proportion, Area & Volume of 2-D and 3-D figures, and Probability. This list is not exhaustive; questions from beyond these topics may also be asked.
While the Problem Solving questions require you to solve a mathematical problem directly and choose the right answer, the Data Sufficiency is of a trickier variety. Each problem comprises a question followed by two statements, which may or may not lead to the answer to the given question. This is what you need to ascertain – whether the given statements can be used to answer the question or not, and if so, whether the statements can be used independently or in conjunction. Each of the five answer options present the five possibilities that arise in this case, and you have to apply the basic principles of mathematics with a strong dose of logic to get these right.

Verbal Section

The verbal section in GMAT test requires the basic skills of correct English coupled with reasoning and analysis. The 41 questions, to be attempted in 75 minutes, consist of three types : Sentence Correction (SC), Critical Reasoning (CR), and Reading Comprehension (RC). The three types are intermingled, with no fixed number for each type. The break-up of questions among SC, CR, and RC could be 14-14-13 or 15-13-13, or any such combination.

Reporting the Scores

There is a provision of reporting your GMAT test scores to a maximum of five universities of your choice, the cost of which is built into the GMAT test fee you pay. But the catch is : you have to select these five universities/business-schools which will receive copies of your score report BEFORE you begin to take the test. This implies that even before taking the GMAT, you need to do some homework on which universities you're finally going to apply, based on the score that you expect to attain.

The Scoring Pattern in GMAT CAT

The GMAT test results comprise four different scores : a total score (which is the combined verbal and quantitative scores), a separate Verbal score, a separate Quantitative score, and an Analytical Writing score. The total score is reported on a scale from 200 to 800. The Verbal and Quantitative Scores are reported on a scale of 0 to 60. For the AWA score, the scale is from 0 to 6. Note that your AWA performance is not reflected in your total GMAT score (on 800). You get to know your total, verbal, and quantitative score immediately after taking the test. Official GMAT score reports, which include the AWA scores, are mailed approximately two weeks after you take the test and take another ten days or so to reach your address. In addition to these scores, the score report also contains percents (%) below. These "% below" indicate the percentage of examinees who scored below you based on the scores of the entire GMAT testing population for the most recent three-year period. These percentages are important in considering how an applicant for admission to a particular management school compares with everyone in the specified period, with all other applicants to the same school, and with students already enrolled at the school. The following table indicates the percentage of examinees tested from June 1995 through May 1998 who scored below specified total scores :

Score	Percentage Below	Score	Percentage Below
770-800	Greater than 99	490	40
740-760	99	480	37
730	98	470	34
720	97	460	30
710	96	450	28
700	95	440	25
690	94	430	23
680	93	420	20
670	91	410	18
660	90	400	15
650	88	390	13
640	85	380	12
630	83	370	10
620	81	360	8
610	78	350	7
600	75	340	6
590	73	330	5
580	70	320	4
570	67	310	3
560	64	300	2
550	60	290	2
540	57	240-280	1
530	53	200-230	<1
520	50
510	47
500	43

No. of examinees : 602,037 Mean Score : 513 This table implies that if you end up with a score of 600 on the GMAT, 75% of the 602,037 examinees who took the GMAT between June 1995 and May 1998 got a score below yours.

Retaking the GMAT

Even though an "I could have done better" feeling is inevitable after any test, taking the GMAT again may not be helpful. Sometimes it is necessary to take the GMAT test more than once, like when a management school asks you for more recent scores than what you have. However, unless your scores seem unusually low compared to your performance in the practice tests, or if you have not been able to perform well because of a sudden illness or similar exceptional circumstances, it's advisable not to succumb to the temptation of repeating the test. This is because, given the nature of the test, it is unlikely that your scores can substantially improve.

If you repeat the test, your scores from the latest test date and the two most recent test administrations in the last five years will be reported to the institutions you designate as recipients. In any case, you cannot take the test more than once in the same calendar month, even if you have taken the test and cancelled your scores.

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a computer adaptive examination administered year round at test centres throughout the world. The GMAT exam measures verbal, mathematical, and analytical writing skills developed over a long period of time. It is specifically designed to help graduate management programmes assess the qualifications of applicants for advanced study in business and management. GMAT scores are used by approximately 4,700 graduate management programmes at more than 1,900 schools. The test does not measure subjective factors important to academic and career success – such as motivation, creativity, interpersonal skills, study skills, or overall success on the job. Your GMAT scores are only on predictor of academic performance in the core curriculum of study in graduate management school. To find out how your GMAT scores will be used in the application review process, you should contact the admissions office at each school to which you are applying. The GMAT exam does not presuppose any specific knowledge of business or other specific content areas, nor does it measure achievement in any particular subject area. Test takers should note that the GMAT exam is conducted entirely in English, and all responses must be entered using standard American English characters. The GMAT exam is owned and directed by General Management Admission Council (GMAC), a global organization composed of graduate business schools located around the world.

As a GMAT test taker, it is your right among other things to –

1. Be treated with courtesy, respect, and impartiality, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics protected by law.
2. Have access to information about the purpose of the GMAT exam, the fees that you are expected to pay, the services provided for those fees, the terms and conditions applicable to your testing, the schedule under which the results will be reported to you and to others, and the expected use of the test results by score report recipients.
3. Have your test administered according to standard technical specifications and under standard conditions by test administrators who have been trained in the specific rules and procedures required for the GMAT exam.
4. Receive information on the consequences of taking or not taking the test after you have registered, failing to complete the test or canceling scores.
5. Have access to an explanation of the four scores yielded by the GMAT exam: Verbal, Quantitative, Total, and Analytical Writing Assessment; a description of the score ranges for each measure and an explanation of how the scores are calculated.
6. Have an official score report of your test results sent to you, online or by postal mail, within a reasonable amount of time after testing and in commonly understood terms.
7. Have your test results sent to those institutions or organizations you specify or allow.
8. Know how your personal information will be collected and used and have the ability to ask related questions.
9. Present concerns about the testing process of your results and receive information about procedures that will be used to respond to such concerns. GMAT has a total score of 800 in both verbal and quantitative sections of the exam, 400 on each aspect and a total mark of 6 in the analytical writing section.