1b. GMAT Scores and Business Schools

You'll receive four scores for the GMAT CAT:

• Quantitative scaled sub score, ranging from 0 to 60
• Verbal scaled sub score, ranging from 0 to 60
• Overall scaled score, ranging from 200 to 800. This is an overall score that is the combination of your 0 to 60 Math and Verbal scores (hence the name 800score.com, an 800 is a perfect score). The 200 to 800 cumulative score is what business schools primarily use.
• Analytical Writing Assessment score, ranging from 0 to 6. This is a separate score that is less important than the 200 to 800 cumulative score.
      

     The test is graded on a preset curve so that your scaled score will correspond to a certain percentile. An overall score of 630, for example, corresponds to the 90th percentile, meaning that 90 percent of test takers scored at or below this level.

Sample percentiles within the score range of 200-800
99th percentile      720
90th percentile      630
75th percentile      570
50th percentile      500


Painfully Competitive

     Those six-figure starting salaries have had an impact on the MBA market... everyone wants one. In the early-'90's the average GMAT score at NYU Business School was 610. By 2000 it had jumped 76 points to 686. Getting a high score on the GMAT is crucial because the business schools are getting flooded with applicants. The market gets tighter every year. Expect around a 690 average for the top-ten business schools in 2001-2002.
     That 690 figure is deceptive because that average includes many students who were accepted for favorable traits (diversity, unusual accomplishment or success... etc.) that allow them to gain acceptance with a lower score. If you have none of these types of traits, you probably need to break 720 (that's over the 99th percentile) to have a good chance at a top ten school.


Good News

    The reason for the MBA bull market is that B-school grads are a hot commodity in a booming global market where the rules of business are in flux and employees with up-to-date knowledge are needed. Thus, even schools that were less popular (or considered second rate) a few years ago, such as the Fordham Graduate School of Business, are now turning out high-salary grads. The point is that even if you don't get into Wharton, the MBA market is strong enough that grads from second-and third-tier schools are doing well. Make sure you have plenty of "safety schools" when you apply to business schools in 2001-2002. Going to those safety schools may not be as bad as you think.

>> Continue to How the New GMAT CAT Works (page 3 of 5 in chapter 1)

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