How possible is a 600?

[ajk2010]

Hi all,
I'm new to the site. I briefly perused the topics on the first page but didn't see much. Here's my situation. I'm applying for a fifth year master's program at my current university. As a formality, a gmat score must be submitted with the application. I'm told that I will not be disqualified based on a low gmat score, but generally a score of 600 or better is expected. I'm really not too worried about being admitted to this program based on my gpa and the high acceptance rate, but I also do not want to embarrass myself.

So, I have done little to no studying so far. I have yet to take a practice test. My test date is scheduled for January 8th and due to the application deadline (Jan 30) I do not have time to retake the test if I do poorly. I'm curious to know how difficult it is to score a 600 on this test. What is the average score? Are SAT(1470)/GPAs(3.89) in any way correlated to gmat scores? Are the practice tests which are provided upon registration for the test accurate?

Any help would be great,
AJK2010

edited for spelling

[VP_Jim]

A score of 600 is 68th percentile on the GMAT, so only 1/3 of test takers will score 600 or above. Don't underestimate how hard it can be! As a point of reference, 540 is 50th percentile.

With your SAT score, it's likely that breaking 600 shouldn't be a huge issue (in my experience, there is a correlation between the two tests) as long as you put in some study time. I'd recommend taking a practice test to see where you stand. There are two free tests available at www.mba.com. We (Veritas) have a free test you can take, too. Here's a link:

https://www.veritasprep.com/gmat-prepara ... ctice-GMAT

The GMAT Prep tests (from mba.com) are generally regarded as the most accurate - they are made by the GMAC, after all.

Good luck!

[bbaah]

Dude,

I don't think you should have a hard time hitting 600 based on what you've said. But, if you don't hit 600 the first time, do yourself a favor and spend a little more time preparing for the exam. B-school shouldn't be an afterthought, you know?

All the best with your prep!

[ajk2010]

So I just finished taking a practice test. One of the ones from GMATprep and scored a 710. I'm slightly confused as to what the scaled scores mean. Can anyone explain these? I got 45 in Quant and 41 in Verbal. Not really sure how they relate to anything. I guess I will continue to review and hope I can repeat this on January 8th.

Thanks for any info.

[Ian Stewart]

The scaled scores range from 6 to 51, and are roughly on a bell curve, with scores clustered around the median, though they aren't directly comparable (they used to be, when the test was first designed). GMAT test takers tend now to perform significantly better in the math than in the verbal, so the quant scaled scores tend to be higher- the median Quant score is around 35, while the median Verbal is around 27. Both of your scaled scores are significantly above average, which bodes well for your test, and a 710 is an excellent result - in the top 8 or 9 percent.