How Important Is My GMAT Score?
If you’re planning to apply for admission to MBA programs, you’re likely already thinking about the various parts of your applications, such as your work experience, undergraduate GPA, and essays. Of course, another component of many people’s business school applications is their GMAT scores. So, you may be wondering how important your GMAT score is in your quest for admission to business school.
Let’s begin by discussing how important the GMAT is to MBA admission officers.
How Important Is Your GMAT Score for MBA Admissions?
There are three main reasons why GMAT scores are important to MBA admissions officers:
- GMAT scores confirm applicants’ readiness to handle a school’s program.
- GMAT scores correlate with the performance of admitted applicants.
- GMAT scores matter for business school rankings.
GMAT Scores Confirm Readiness
MBA programs can be intense. So, admissions committees want some assurance that applicants will be able to handle the rigors of the programs. One way they can get that assurance is by seeing that an applicant has scored above a certain threshold on the GMAT.
Furthermore, schools are often especially concerned with knowing that applicants have the quantitative skills necessary to thrive in their programs. So, in addition to preferring that applicants’ GMAT total scores be above a certain threshold, many business schools seek applicants with strong GMAT quant scores. For example, top MBA programs tend to want to see GMAT quant scores in the 70th percentile or higher.
GMAT Scores Correlate with Performance
Business schools want to admit the applicants who will contribute the most to the educational experience of their fellow students and generally perform at the highest level while attending business school. So, another reason why GMAT scores are important to MBA admissions officers is that both research and schools’ experiences have shown that GMAT scores are strongly correlated with the performance of business school students. Thus, all else equal, the higher an applicant’s GMAT score, the higher the expected business school performance of that applicant. So, for business schools, the higher an applicant’s GMAT score, the better.
GMAT Scores Matter for Business School Rankings
Both U.S. News and The Economist use average GMAT scores of admitted applicants as one of their criteria in ranking MBA programs. So, naturally, since GMAT scores matter for well-known rankings, business schools want their admitted applicants to have high GMAT scores.
We can see that business schools have multiple reasons to want accepted MBA applicants to have high GMAT scores. So, it is not surprising that, in a 2015 survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the makers of the GMAT, MBA admissions officers said that GMAT scores are among the most important MBA admissions criteria. In fact, they allocated 20 percent of the weight of factors underlying their admissions decisions to the GMAT.
Another top MBA admissions criterion is GPA, and in the GMAC survey, admissions officers said that they give GMAT exam scores and GPA about equal weight. However, that’s not the whole story. So, let’s discuss what the real deal is with GMAT scores and GPAs in MBA admissions.
Is My GMAT Score More Important Than My GPA?
There are some key differences between GMAT scores and GPAs that affect how MBA admissions officers view the two measures. One is that, whereas GMAT scores are standardized, GPAs from different undergraduate programs mean different things. After all, universities, and even professors within universities, grade in different ways. Also, most MBA applicants take the GMAT years after they graduate from undergraduate programs.
So, because of these differences, MBA admissions officers consider the GMAT a more reliable indicator of a candidate’s abilities than GPA. Thus, you’re better off with a GPA that’s lower than your target school’s average and a good GMAT score than you are with a solid GPA and a relatively low GMAT score.
So, your GMAT score carries a little more weight than your GPA. Also, for the same reasons, you can to a degree make up for a weak GPA by scoring high on the GMAT.
Of course, test scores and GPAs are not the only criteria that MBA admissions committees consider when making admissions decisions. So, let’s now consider the importance of your GMAT exam score in the context of your entire MBA application.
How Does My GMAT Score Fit into My Overall Application?
The answer to the question of how your GMAT score fits into your overall MBA application depends in part on the schools to which you’re applying. If you’re applying to top business schools, the role your GMAT score can play is somewhat different from the role it can play in your application to a less competitive school.
The Role of GMAT Scores at Top Business Schools
If you’re applying to a highly competitive business school, then the role your GMAT plays is primarily to check a box. A well-below-average GMAT score knocks most applicants to top schools out of the running, even if other aspects of their applications are strong. After all, a top school will receive many applications that are strong overall.
So, in applying to a top school, it’s hard to make up for a weak GMAT score with a strong GPA, resume, and essays, since many applicants will have all the boxes checked. Of course, if your profile is somehow especially outstanding, you could gain admission to a top business school without a great GMAT score. However, such a case would be an exception. For similar reasons, at a top school, a high GMAT score generally will not make up for significant weaknesses in other areas of your application.
At the same time, even if you’re applying to a top school, an especially strong GMAT score can help you stand out. Also, admitting candidates with especially high GMAT scores allows a top school to admit some interesting candidates with relatively low GMAT scores without bringing down the school average. So, if you’re applying to a highly competitive MBA program and want to stand out in a crowd of applicants with strong resumes, well-written essays, and great recommendations, then you may want to study for the GMAT until you achieve a score well above school average.
To read the full article, please visit Target Test Prep's blog.
