How ready are you for the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT™)? You excel at exams—won’t GMAT be similar to what you’ve seen before?
Well, partly yes, but mainly no. You’ll find the GMAT a new experience, and one where you don’t want to take chances. The GMAT is too important in the business school admissions process, and too different from what you’ve done before to go in without significant preparation. We can help with lots of guidance and practice under authentic test-taking conditions through our GMAT preparation course; contact us for upcoming dates.
What’s Different? A Few Examples
The GMAT is a standardized test with quantitative and verbal assessment superficially similar to other tests. You’ll need to have good English and a foundation in math ( arithmetic, geometry, algebra). But there’s another dimension to GMAT, with challenges based on the test’s audience and format.
The GMAT is specifically for business school applicants and requires a great deal of logical analysis, similar to what one might be called upon to provide in an MBA program. For instance questions on “data sufficiency” appear in the Quantitative section of the GMAT, and “critical reasoning” in the Verbal Reasoning section. Data sufficiency questions ask you to judge whether two mathematical statements provide enough information, separately or together, to solve a problem. In critical reasoning questions, you are asked to analyze a paragraph, for instance choosing what would strengthen it, or finding a flaw.
The GMAT is geared for older, well-educated students, so much is demanded. In the Verbal Reasoning section, reading comprehension questions draw on heavy-duty material from business contexts as well as the sciences and social sciences. The Analytical Writing section requires you to logically, thoughtfully review and critique an argument presented at test time. (The Analytical Writing section is not included in GMAT Online, the remote-proctored version of the test introduced during the pandemic and is expected to be available even beyond the current appointment window running through December 31, 2020.)
No calculators are allowed for the Quantitative section, though one is provided for the complex, multi-step Integrated Reasoning section. Integrated Reasoning questions, which are a relatively new introduction unique to the GMAT, draw on both verbal and math skills and require working with multiple data sources including tables, graphics, and more. Questions throughout the GMAT are at a relatively high level of difficulty and can be tricky, with the correct answer often not the one that seems obvious.
The Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative sections of the standard GMAT are Computer Adaptive, and this appears to be true in the interim GMAT Online as well. Computer adaptive means that the test changes depending on how you answer each question. A correct answer will typically pull up a more difficult question, while an incorrect answer usually will pull up an easier question. This continues throughout the test as the computer narrows in on your ability level. Taking a computer-adaptive test means you can’t skip around in a section or leave a question blank and go back to it later. You also don’t want to guess blindly at a question; you need to work it out to the greatest extent you can so that your capability will be accurately reflected in your score.
Meanwhile, you’ll need to keep an eye on the clock. The four sections of the approximately three-hour GMAT are separately timed, with half an hour allotted for the Integrated Reasoning and Analytical Writing sections and just over an hour each for the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative sections. (GMAT Online is similar: sixty-two minutes for the Quantitative Reasoning section, then sixty-five minutes for Verbal Reasoning, and thirty minutes for Integrated Reasoning; fifteen minutes are allotted for the check-in process.)
GMAT: Widely Required
The GMAT was initially only used in the United States, but today it is also often a requirement for MBA and other business-related programs in other parts of the world. All told, over 6,000 business-related programs at 2,100 institutions in 114 countries rely on GMAT in making their admissions decisions. Why is GMAT so popular among business schools? There are a number of reasons:
- GMAT was created by business schools, for business schools, with the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), a membership association of business schools, continuing to oversee its use.
- GMAT offers schools a simple objective way to compare applicants from many different countries and backgrounds.
- Research conducted by GMAC over 50 years indicates that GMAT results are a better predictor of success in the first year of business school study than a student’s grade point average.
- Many rankings weigh average GMAT score of entering classes heavily in creating their “Best Schools” lists.
Where do You Stand?
The GMAT is a hard enough test that anyone can benefit from support and practice. A survey conducted by GMAT found that students achieving 700 or higher had spent a median of 90 hours studying!
However, what score you are likely to need of course depends on where you want to study, You can get a rough idea of where you stand today by taking a practice GMAT test, two of which are available free from GMAC (they also provide a brief “mini-quiz” to try first if you don’t have three hours to spend). Then look at the average scores reported by programs of interest to you. See if your score is more than roughly 30 points lower than a school’s average. If it is, you will likely want to improve the score, whether through independent study, a course, or a combination of the two.
Our GMAT Course
We are currently offering Newton Education Services GMAT preparation sessions online with live instruction. These courses include 40 hours of instruction focused on the two sections counted toward the GMAT total score, the Quantitative section and the Verbal Reasoning section, plus two continuous assessments throughout the course. To enroll, please call +2-0106 1455551 or sign up here