Gmat Score and Splits- Someone please explain

First, let's talk about what a 600 means...A 600 means the 66th percentile, so the number 600 does not have any independent meaning it is just a way for the people that write the GMAT to say 66th percentile.

But 66 percent of what? The way that you are compared to other test takers is by adding your scaled scores together. That is the q ___ and v __ that you mentioned. They stand for qualitative and verbal. The official GMAT practice test that you took at mba.com does give you those scaled scores but only once and only briefly so it is very easy to overlook.

There are many ways that you could have earned a 600. If your scaled scores were nearly equal, then your overall percentage is usually higher. So you could for example, score around the 55th percentile on the quantitative and the verbal as compared to your overall score.

Or, one of your scores could be significantly higher than the other. On the GMAT, as you get well above the 50% percentile, the verbal score actually has more weight than the quantitative. So if verbal is your strength, congratulations! For example, I know of someone who scored in the 99th percentile verbal, 74th percentile quantitative, and 99th overall.

Basically, you want to do well in both areas, quantitative and verbal. But if you could really excel in one area or the other, make it verbal. Next time you take a GMAT prep test from mba.com, pay very careful attention at the end of the test and you will see those scaled scores.

Good Luck!

David

Thanks! That makes sense- it really helps. I'll look out for the splits the next time i take the practice test.

David@VeritasPrep wrote:First, let's talk about what a 600 means...A 600 means the 66th percentile, so the number 600 does not have any independent meaning it is just a way for the people that write the GMAT to say 66th percentile.

But 66 percent of what? The way that you are compared to other test takers is by adding your scaled scores together. That is the q ___ and v __ that you mentioned. They stand for qualitative and verbal. The official GMAT practice test that you took at mba.com does give you those scaled scores but only once and only briefly so it is very easy to overlook.

There are many ways that you could have earned a 600. If your scaled scores were nearly equal, then your overall percentage is usually higher. So you could for example, score around the 55th percentile on the quantitative and the verbal as compared to your overall score.

Or, one of your scores could be significantly higher than the other. On the GMAT, as you get well above the 50% percentile, the verbal score actually has more weight than the quantitative. So if verbal is your strength, congratulations! For example, I know of someone who scored in the 99th percentile verbal, 74th percentile quantitative, and 99th overall.

Basically, you want to do well in both areas, quantitative and verbal. But if you could really excel in one area or the other, make it verbal. Next time you take a GMAT prep test from mba.com, pay very careful attention at the end of the test and you will see those scaled scores.

Good Luck!

David

This is actually interesting, I have observed the same thing as I keep comparing breakdowns to figure out how much I need to improve in each area. Any idea as to why GMAT favours well balanced scores or extreme scores in one area over other types of breakdowns?

The GMAT does not necessarily "favor" a balanced score, although some MBA admissions committees certainly do. The overall percentage is based on your two scaled scores added together so maximizing your scaled scores is the way to maximize your overall score. As I mentioned before, there is actually more room at the top end of the verbal so that excelling in verbal will give you more of a boost than excelling in Quant. I have had numerous students score 40% lower on quant than on verbal and have the overall score within 10% of the verbal score (therefore 30% above the quant percentile).

What does this mean for studying? If for example, you are at the 70-75% on both quant and verbal, logic dictates you spend twice as much time studying verbal since there are more than twice as many points left to be gained on the verbal side. (You can check this out for yourself, just look at the scaled score charts at MBA.com or at the back of any Official Guide).

Excelling in math is still a great thing, but as the test is now configured, better to be a whiz at verbal...

David