What is a good GMAT score?
A decent GMAT score is between 700 and 740, while a score of 740 or more is considered exceptional. In 2021, the average GMAT score for the top 50 business schools in the United States is 703. It falls between 634 and 734. Similarly, the average score for the top business schools in Europe is 676, with scores ranging from 638 to 709. The average GMAT score range for the top MBA programmes in Canada is between 520-780, and for Australia, it is between 600-695. As a result, the question becomes, “What is a Good GMAT Score?”
A decent score varies from person to person and is determined by the business schools of interest. As a result, we must first recognise that the term “good” is a relative one. One score may be appropriate for one business school but not for another.
Thus, one technique to find a decent score is to look at the average score of the incoming class for your preferred business school. However, this is not the only process.
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What is a good GMAT score?
If you want to get into elite business schools, you should have a score of at least 700. A score of 740 or higher is considered exceptional, while a score of 550 or higher is considered ordinary.
| Average Score | 550+ |
| Good Score | 700+ |
| Excellent Score | 740+ |
A high GMAT score indicates strong intellectual aptitude and academic preparation. By achieving a high score, you demonstrate to admissions committees that you have the potential to not only ‘get in,’ but also ‘get through,’ the difficult MBA programme. It’s one of the reasons why the GMAT is the most important component of your MBA application.
To understand how high you should score on the GMAT, you should also comprehend the GMAT percentile rating, which will tell you how you performed on the exam in comparison to other test-takers. An 88 percent percentile rating, for example, indicates that you received a higher or equal total score than 88 percent of your peers and a lower overall score than 11 percent of other test-takers.
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Total GMAT score – percentile ranking
Let us now examine the overall GMAT score percentile ranking together with the individual Quant, Verbal, Integrated Reasoning, and AWA Percentile Ranking for students who took the GMAT between 2018 and 2020:
| Total Score | Percentile ranking |
| 760 – 800 | 99% |
| 750 | 98% |
| 730 | 96% |
| 720 | 94% |
| 700 | 88% |
| 660 | 76% |
| 650 | 72% |
| 640 | 66% |
| 610 | 57% |
| 580 | 46% |
| 550 | 36% |
| 520 | 28% |
| 510 | 26% |
| 470 | 18% |
| 400 | 9% |
| 340 | 4% |
| 200 – 210 | 0% |
The GMAT consists of four sections:
- Quantitative – a score of 0 to 60
- Verbal – Scores ranged from 0 to 60.
- Integrated Reasoning — Scores ranged from 0 to 6.
- Analytical Writing Assessment – Scores ranged from 1 to 8.
Only the Quantitative and Verbal portions’ results are used to get the total score, which ranges from 200 to 800.
Average GMAT score
From 2014 to 2018, the average Quant and Verbal scores were 40.7 and 27.26, respectively. Similarly, the Integrated Reasoning and AWA scores for test-takers between 2018 and 2020 are 4.6 and 4.43, respectively.
The difference in percentile ranking between Quant and Verbal with a score of 46 is quite large. If you score 46 on the Verbal and Quant sections, you will be classified in the 99th percentile on the Verbal portion, but only in the 56th percentile on the Quant section. This difference implies that more students perform well on the Quant part than on the Verbal exam.
GMAC’s total GMAT average score (568.21), you must score more than 550, which is a 38 percent percentile rating. However, if you want to get into top business schools in the United States, the typical GMAT range is 634-734. Consider the average score for all test takers during the last three years (2018-2020):
| GMAT section | Average GMAT score |
| Quantitative | 40.7 |
| Verbal | 27.26 |
| Analytical Writing Assessment | 4.44 |
| Integrated Reasoning | 4.6 |
| Total score | 568.21 |
As a result, a good GMAT score is dependent on the business school you want to attend and your goals. At other schools, even a 600 would be deemed low. Business schools with average scores exceeding 720 include Wharton, Stanford, Kellogg, UC-Berkeley, Columbia, and MIT Sloan.
Know more about How much GMAT Score is required to get a scholarship?
Factors to Consider to determine the best GMAT score
You must examine the following four factors:
- The average score of the most recent incoming class.
- Last year’s class profile.
- Scholarship requires a certain score.
- ROI on the estimated score.
We hope you found this article to be informative. You may also read the article Top MBA Colleges in India Accepting GMAT Scores (including Placements, Fees, and GMAT Cut-Offs).
If you are starting your GMAT preparation from scratch, you should definitely check out the GMATPOINT