What is the GMAT ?
The GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) is a formalized test that judges the talent needed to prosper in graduate business educational programs. The GMAT test is a prerequisite for entrance into an MBA (Master of Business Administration) program.
This is only one part that business schools look at when reviewing a student’s eligibility into their school. The fee for this test is usually 250 American dollars and this is on a global scale. The GMAT exam has a five year shelf life beyond the actual date the exam is taken.
Exam preparation
GMAT preparation can be broken down into three areas. An analytical writing part, a quantitative part, and a verbal part.
• Analytical writing
The analytical writing part of the GMAT test contains two essays. Students must break down a summary of some piece of literary work for the first part and then for the second, the student must dissect some type of problem.
Students have 30 minutes to complete each essay and are given scores ranging from 0-6. Two graders each grade these essays and if both scores are within 1 point of each other, then the average of both is taken from them, but if not then a third grader will then grade each essay.
The first grader is a computer program that breaks down whether or not the writing is creative or has syntax errors. Both the second and third graders are humans who look at the essays as a whole and not for any errors specifically.
Misspelled words are not a big deal when it does not interfere with the graders ability to comprehend what is being stated. The score is based on a lot of criteria, but length does not play a role. More or less the graders are seeing if the paper is coherent and has a smooth rhythm to it.
• Quantitative section
In the quantitative section of the GMAT exam, students have 75 minutes to complete 37 multiple choice questions which are broken down into problem solving and data sufficiency type problems. This section can receive a score ranging anywhere from 0-60.
• Verbal section
The verbal section contains 41 multiple choice questions with a 75 minute time limit. This section can be broken down into three types of problems: critical reasoning, reading comprehension, and sentence correction. It can also have a score ranging from 0-60. Scores from the quantitative and verbal portions of the GMAT test are tallied up separately from the analytical writing assessment and can range anywhere from 200-800.
The verbal and quantitative sections of the GMAT exam use a process known as tailored testing which means that test questions adjust to each individual student’s ability.
Usually the very first question can be challenging with the proceeding questions being somewhat more moderately difficult at the 500 level. Questions get harder when preceding questions are answered correctly and easier when they are not.
It is a good idea to try to answer all questions, because questions left blank are weighted more heavily against you than incorrectly answered questions. Developmental questions are also thrown in the mix. They do not affect the student’s overall score, but merely help test administrators decide whether or not these questions will fit well with future GMAT examinations.
Change in exam format
Some of the minor changes that the GMAT exam has undergone in recent history are the fact that paper and pencil have been replaced by a wet erase booklet accompanied with a unique wet erase pen. If a student needs a new pen or booklet during the GMAT test, he/she must raise his/her hand. Not only is this more environmentally friendly but also deters any type of dishonesty.
Scores : What is a good score ?
Although many schools don’t publicly announce what scores they are looking for, they do announce the average score obtained for the most recent period, allowing potential students to gauge where they stand. Most top business schools require a score in the high 600’s. Less respectable schools will have a median score of ~500. Low GMAT test scores can be offset, however, with above average undergraduate achievements, excellent references, well written essays, and extraordinary real world experiences.
History
The GMAT exam was created in 1953 by an association currently called the Graduate Management Admission Council. Originally they were organized by nine business schools in hopes of creating a test for business students that can be used across the board globally. The initial year of the test saw only 2,000 applicants; however, today more than 200,000 students take the test every year. Also during its inception only 54 business schools adopted the GMAT Exam, but today over 1,500 schools use it. 2005 marked the end of the Educational Testing Service’s involvement in the exam because on January 1, 2006, a changeover occurred involving a variety of different merchandisers.
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