Up To Date Quant Percentiles?

[caesarman429]

Hey All: My test is in 8 days. I took a GMAT Prep test yesterday and scored a 720 (Q43 V 46). The software said my quant was in the 61st percentile but the mba.com website says it's only 55th. Is this going to drastically alter my score? Will I need to score 44/45 on quant to stay at 720 on test day? Any help would be very much appreciated.

[[email protected]]

Hi caesarman429,

The 'curve' in the Official GMAT Scoring Algorithm varies sometimes, so you can't anticipate exactly what it will be (and it means that a pair of Scaled Scores does NOT always lead to the same OVERALL score for all Test Takers). It's really not a big deal though - the slight differences usually don't mean more than +-10 points. GMAC has publicly stated that a Test Taker's score is within +-30 points of actual ability. So the marginal difference in your overall score (if any) will not be 'drastic' and Business Schools Admissions Officers are savvy enough to know that if you scored 720, then you could have easily scored anywhere in the 690 to 750 range. In essence, if your overall score is a 710 (instead of a 720), Business Schools won't 'hold that against you.'

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[ceilidh.erickson]

IGNORE PERCENTILES!!! They are always misleading! Your scaled score - e.g. Q43 here - is what is factored into your 200-800 score, not the percentile that that tracks to in a given year.

Percentiles fluctuate over time, so business schools know not to look at them. Much more on that subject here: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... mat-score/
Note: percentiles have already shifted in the year since I wrote this article! https://www.mba.com/us/the-gmat-exam/gm ... -mean.aspx

Focus on maximizing your overall score by maximizing your quant and verbal scores. Don't pay any attention to what percentile that tracks to.