Target a Balanced Composite GMAT Score

Because many test-takers are more worried about the quant section than the verbal section, they spend most of their time studying math. Although having a competitive math score is absolutely necessary for top mba applicants (recall that most of the top schools are unapologetically quant-driven), achieving a balanced GMAT score is key. In other words, it’s important that the percentile rankings of your math and verbal percentile scores are reasonably close to each other. Scoring 80% in quant and only 65% in verbal would not look strong on an application. Thus, don’t neglect your verbal preparation. 

One way to fit in math and verbal studying each day is to do an hour of math work and then an hour of verbal work. In fact, you may find that you learn better by breaking up your studying into alternating chunks of math and verbal.

Some might find that a 50/50 time and topic split helps, but others may see that after spending equal time on quant and verbal, they’re still struggling with math and acing verbal questions. If that’s the case, try a 60/40 split in favor of math, or, if necessary, an even higher split. Furthermore, if your verbal (or quant) score is already high, you can adjust the study ratio to better suit your needs.

In general, a good rule of thumb is to strive to be above the 80th percentile in quant and above the 90th percentile in verbal — this strategy is sometimes called the “80/90 rule.” In general, having scores above the 80th percentile in math and above the 90th percentile in verbal will make you a competitive applicant as far as your GMAT score is concerned.

Happy studying!

Warmest regards,
Scott