GMAT
Have you always dreamed about studying abroad? Have the Ivy Leagues fascinated you and you aim to be a part of it someday? If the answer is yes, then The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) happens to be the first hurdle that you need to conquer in your quest for success, glory, and greatness. Here is a comprehensive guideline to help you attain your dream score!
What is the GMAT?
The GMAT is a computer-adaptive test which assesses a person’s analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal and reading skills in standard written English. It is conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) which began as an association of nine business schools, whose goal was to develop a standardized test to help colleges select qualified applicants.
Why would you take it?
This test is taken in preparation for being admitted into a graduate management program, such as an MBA or Masters in Finance and related courses. For Executive MBA, GMAC has recently introduced a new Mini GMAT called Executive Assessment exam. This exam is specially designed for EMBA applicants and is of considerably shorter duration. It is meant to test the analytical and logical thinking of the applicant, which is more suited for the Executive MBA course.
Cost:
The application fee for the GMAT is $250.
Validity:
GMAT scores are valid for 5 years from the test date and are available for reporting for up to 10 years. The non-official GMAT result can be downloaded immediately whereas the official score card is only available after 20 working days on the GMAT website.
Eligibility:
There is no specific eligibility criterion that is specified by the GMAC except that the candidates should preferably be 18 years of age but is allowed to give the exam with a written permission from a parent or legal guardian if they are not.
Centres:
The GMAT is offered on demand and all year round at 31 cities across Indian through 35 test centres all of which are computer based. Additionally, The GMAT is administered in standardised test centres in 112 countries all over the world.
Time:
The aspirants may take the exam no more than five times within a 12-month period with the minimum period of wait between two consecutive exams being 16 days. Candidates who have previously scored a perfect score of 800 must wait for five years before they take a retest. The time schedule for giving the exam on a particular day is flexible.
Format:
The GMAT exam pattern consists of mainly four sections which tests the candidate’s’ abilities on various parameters. These are: Writing, Reasoning, Verbal and Quantitative skills.
- Analytical Writing Assessment: The Analytical Writing Assessment consists of one 30-minute writing task in which you are required to provide the analysis of an argument.
- Integrated Reasoning: The Integrated Reasoning section includes four question types: table analysis, graphics interpretation, multi-source reasoning, and two-part analysis which were designed to measure a test taker’s ability to evaluate data presented in multiple formats from multiple sources.
- Quantitative Reasoning: These questions require knowledge of algebra, geometry, and arithmetic. There are two types of quantitative questions: problem solving and data sufficiency. The use of calculators is not allowed on the quantitative section of the GMAT.
- Verbal Section: The verbal section of the GMAT exam includes the following question types: reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and sentence correction.
Performance on the AWA and IR sections do not count toward the total score, those sections are scored separately.
The quantitative and verbal sections of the GMAT exam are both multiple-choice and are administered in the computer-adaptive format, adjusting to a test taker’s level of ability.
Total time: 3 hours and 30 minutes
Score Scale:
| Section | Score Range | Mean Scores* |
| Analytical Writing Assessment | 0-6 | 4.5 |
| Integrated Reasoning | 1-8 | 4 |
| Verbal | 0-60 | 27 |
| Quantitative | 0-60 | 38 |
| Total | 200-800 | 548 |
GMAT format
| Section | No. of Questions | Question Type | Duration |
| Analytical Writing Assessment | 1 Topic | Analysis of an Argument | 30 minutes |
| Integrated Reasoning | 12 questions | Multi-Source Reasoning, Graphics Interpretation, Two-Part Analysis, Table Analysis | 30 minutes |
| Quantitative | 37 questions | Data Sufficiency, Problem Solving | 75 minutes |
| Verbal | 41 questions | Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, Sentence Correction | 75 minutes |
| Total Exam Duration | 3 hours 30 minutes |
Starting July 11, 2017 GMAT test takers may select the order in which they would like to attempt these sections. You will be presented with 3 section orders ( Analytical Writing Assessment and Integrated Reasoning to be considered as one section) and you have to choose between them.
For registration and more information visit: www.gmac.com
Pedagoge Baba’s advice:
- One of the most important factors that should be kept in mind when deciding to take the GMAT is to book your slot in advance. This will ensure that you are done with all the registration formalities before hand and will have sufficient time to plan out your schedule and start studying.
- The latest Official Guide for GMAT Review along with the GMAT prep test software is the bible for this examination.
- The most efficient way to start your GMAT preparation happens to be by taking an online diagnostic test at the beginning. This will ensure that you know where you stand and how much effort you need to put in to attain the perfect score.
- More than practice, it’s important to review your mistakes, analyze them and find the shortest way to find the solution.
- Maintain an error log book: Create a table with the following heads: topic, sub-topic, problem type, level of difficulty, time taken to solve, reason for mistake and how to overcome the mistake.
- Take adequate breaks in-between your practice, it’s a test of temperament, more than skills!
- Not only do you not need to get everything right, you actively do not even want to try to get everything right. Such an attempt will likely negatively impact your score.
- Getting an easier question wrong hurts your score more than getting a harder question wrong.
- Getting three or four questions wrong in a row hurts your score more, on a per-question basis, than getting the same number of questions wrong in intervals.
- Getting a question wrong will hurt your score less than leaving a question blank. You will have to “let go” of some questions, make an educated guess, and move on. An educated guess is simply when you identify and cross off some wrong answers before guessing, improving the odds that you will guess correctly. One of your tasks, when studying, is to learn how to make educated guesses, depending upon the type of problem.
- Absolutely do not spend 60+ extra seconds on early questions (or any questions anywhere in the section)
- Up to ten questions each in the Quant and Verbal sections may be experimental. Experimental Questions do not count at all towards your score.
- You will not be able to jump back and forth among the questions; you must answer the question on screen before seeing the next one, and once you answer a question, you can’t go back to it again.
- Practice, practice, and practice again because there are no shortcuts to success!
We hope this helps you achieve your target score. If you’re looking for a tutor who can help you ace the test visit Pedagoge.
