What is GMAT?

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a test which assesses a person’s analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal and reading skills in standard written English. This test is taken in preparation for being admitted into a graduate management program, such as MBA and Masters in Finance related courses.

The GMAT exam is a computer adaptive test and not a computer based test, which means that the candidate will get one question at a time and depending on the accuracy of the previous answer, the difficulty level of the next question will be ascertained. The average scores required for universities abroad varies; top tier universities require at least 710, while middle tier universities accept 600.

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 analytical and logical thinking of the applicant, which is more suited for the Executive MBA course.

Eligibility and Registration for GMAT

Candidates should have a Bachelor’s Degree in any discipline from a recognised university or institute for appearing for GMAT. However, candidates belonging to 13 to 17 years of age should submit parents’/guardians’ permission while registering for GMAT.

There are no fixed official GMAT dates, you can choose any date according to your convenience and availability. You can take or retake the GMAT exam after every 16 days. You can appear for the exam a maximum of five times in a year. Ideally, you are recommended to register yourself two to three months before the exam date. If you register online or by phone, you can get yourself registered as late as 24 hours before the exam date. But it is safer to stick to early registration as you will then have a set schedule to prepare for the exam accordingly.

GMAT exam scores are valid for five years, and are available for reporting for up to 10 years. Scores beyond 10 years are not available.

Importance of GMAT

The GMAT exam is used by more than 6,000 programs offered by more than 2,100 universities and institutions in 114 countries with testing in over 600 test centres around the world.

GMAT offers unmatched expertise which is backed by decades of peer-reviewed research, due to which it is considered precise for accurate student-to-program matches. Moreover, since GMAT uses state-of-the art technology, it is highly secure and reliable too!

Test Pattern of GMAT

The GMAT exam pattern consists of mainly four sections which will test the candidate’s’ abilities on various parameters. These are – Writing, Reasoning, Verbal and Quantitative skills. The GMAT exam will be conducted in a time span of 3 hours and 30 minutes.

The test has four sections:

SectionNo. of questionsQuestion TypeDuration
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

31 questions

Data Sufficiency, Problem Solving

62 minutes

Verbal

36 questions

Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, Sentence Correction

65 minutes

Total Exam Duration

3 hours 30 minutes

  

GMAC recently announced the upcoming launch of Select Section Order, a new feature that will provide candidates the flexibility to customize their GMAT experience by choosing the section order in which they feel most comfortable taking the exam.

Tips to Crack GMAT

GMATPrepSoftware : This is a free software for the candidates who have registered on the official website of GMAT. This tool will work as an experiential tool for the test takers of GMAT as it uses the technology similar to the official exam and provides users with scores after the completion.

GMAT Prep Timeline : It offers a step-by-step guide to your personal study plan and includes various links to tips, products, and advice for improving your weak areas and enhancing your strengths.

New Official GMAT Integrated Reasoning Prep Tool : This is a tool for the candidates to develop their Integrated Reasoning skills. It features a set of 48 questions and solutions that will be of tremendous help in developing the IR skills.

The Premium Study Collection : This is an official collection of study materials that provide more than 2000 questions from the previous GMAT Exams presented in multiple formats. It gives 6 essential study products for cracking GMAT Exam.

GMAT Focus Online Quantitative Diagnostic Tool : It acts as a replica of the original GMAT exam. It features 12 Data Sufficiency and 12 Problem-Solving questions for each exam taken. It also provides your strengths and weaknesses and acts as a tool to improve your mathematical skills required to crack the GMAT.

GMAT Write : This tool provides the users with GMAT writing prompts. It aids the candidates to learn the process of critical thinking and analyzing an argument. This is an essential skill for a business career and hence should be mastered by the candidates for the exam as well as for a successful career.

The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review, 2018 : This tool helps the users to improve their verbal skills required for the GMAT exam. It provides a set of additional 300 questions from the verbal ability section.

The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review, 2018 : This is a tool for preparing and honing the Quantitative skills of the candidates providing 300 questions and their solutions.

The Basic GMAT Study Collection : It is another preparation resource available at the official store of GMAT providing 1500 GMAT questions and answers.