The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT, pronounced G-mat /dimt/) is a Computer-Adaptive standardized test in mathematics and the

English language or measuring aptitude to succeed academicall! in graduate "usiness studies# $usiness schools commonl! use the test as one o man! selection criteria or admission into graduate "usiness administration programs (e#g# M$A, Master o Accountanc!, etc#) principall! in the %nited &tates, "ut also in other English-spea'ing countries# (t is delivered via computer at various locations around the )orld# (n those international locations )here an e*tensive net)or' o computers has not !et "een esta"lished, the GMAT is o ered either at temporar! computer-"ased testing centers on a limited schedule or as a paper-"ased test (given once or t)ice a !ear) at local testing centers# As o August +,-,, the ee to ta'e the test is %#&# .+/, )orld)ide#0-1

The Test
The GMAT is a Computer Adaptive Test administered online by Educational Testing Services (ETS) through Sylvan testing centers located in all the major cities in India Those !ho !ish to enroll "or courses in #usiness Management in American universities have to ta$e the GMAT test and submit their scores to the department

The e*am measures ver"al, mathematical, and anal!tical )riting s'ills that the e*aminee has developed over a long period o time in his education and )or'# Test ta'ers ans)er 2uestions in each o the three tested areas, and there are also t)o optional "rea's30+1 in general, the test ta'es a"out our hours to complete# &cores are valid or ive !ears (at most institutions) rom the date the test ta'er sits or the e*am until the date o matriculation (i#e# acceptance, not until the date o application)# The ma*imum score that can "e achieved on the e*am is 4,,# 5ver the 6 !ears concluding in 5cto"er +,,7, the mean score has "een /64#/#061 The Anal!tical 8riting Assessment (A8A) section is the irst section to "e ans)ered# Then the 9uantitative section and the :er"al A"ilit! section ollo) respectivel!#

[edit] Analytical Writing Assessment

The Anal!tical 8riting Assessment (A8A) section o the test consists o t)o essa!s# (n the irst, the student must anal!ze an argument and in the second the student must anal!ze an issue# Each essa! must "e )ritten )ithin 6, minutes and is scored on a scale o ,;<# The essa! is read "! t)o readers )ho each mar' the essa! )ith a grade rom ,;<, in ,#/ point increments )ith a mean score o =#-# ( the t)o scores are )ithin one point o each other, the! are averaged# ( there is more than one point di erence, the essa!s are read "! a third reader#0=1 The irst reader is (ntelliMetric, a proprietar! computer program developed "! :antage >earning, )hich anal!zes creative )riting and s!nta* o more than /, linguistic and structural eatures#0/1 The second and third readers are humans, )ho evaluate the 2ualit! o the e*aminee?s ideas and his a"ilit! to organize, develop, and e*press ideas )ith

relevant support# 8hile master! o the conventions o )ritten English actor into scoring, minor errors are e*pected, and evaluators are trained to "e sensitive to e*aminees )hose irst language is not English#0=1 Each o the t)o essa!s in the Anal!tical 8riting part o the test is graded on a scale o , (the minimum) to < (the ma*imum)@

, An essa! that is totall! illegi"le or o"viousl! not )ritten on the assigned topic# - An essa! that is undamentall! de icient# + An essa! that is seriousl! la)ed# 6 An essa! that is seriousl! limited# = An essa! that is merel! ade2uate# / An essa! that is strong# < An essa! that is outstanding#

[edit] Quantitative Section

The 2uantitative section consists o 6A multiple choice 2uestions, )hich must "e ans)ered )ithin A/ minutes# There are t)o t!pes o 2uestions@ pro"lem solving and data su icienc!# The 2uantitative section is scored rom , to /- points# 5ver the 6 !ears ending in 5cto"er +,,7, the mean score has "een 6/#4/<,3 scores a"ove /, and "elo) A are rare#0610<1

[edit] Problem Solving

This tests the 2uantitative reasoning a"ilit! o the e*aminee# Bro"lem-solving 2uestions present multiple-choice pro"lems in arithmetic, "asic alge"ra, and elementar! geometr!# The tas' is to solve the pro"lems and choose the correct ans)er rom among ive ans)er choices# &ome pro"lems )ill "e plain mathematical calculations3 the rest )ill "e presented as real li e )ord pro"lems that )ill re2uire mathematical solutions# Cum"ers@ All num"ers used are real num"ers# Digures@ The diagrams and igures that accompan! these 2uestions are or the purpose o providing use ul in ormation in ans)ering the 2uestions# %nless it is stated that a speci ic igure is not dra)n to scale, the diagrams and igures are dra)n as accuratel! as possi"le# All igures are in a plane unless other)ise indicated#

[edit] Data Sufficiency

This tests the 2uantitative reasoning a"ilit! using an unusual set o directions# The e*aminee is given a 2uestion )ith t)o associated statements that provide in ormation that might "e use ul in ans)ering the 2uestion# The e*aminee must then determine )hether either statement alone is su icient to ans)er the 2uestion3 )hether "oth are needed to ans)er the 2uestion3 or )hether there is not enough in ormation given to ans)er the 2uestion#

Eata su icienc! is a uni2ue t!pe o math 2uestion created especiall! or the GMAT# Each item consists o the 2uestions itsel ollo)ed "! t)o num"ered statements# (A) ( statement - alone is su icient to ans)er the 2uestion, "ut statement + alone is not su icient# ($) ( statement + alone is su icient to ans)er the 2uestion, "ut statement - alone is not su icient# (C) ( "oth statements together are needed to ans)er the 2uestion, "ut neither statement alone is su icient# (E) ( either statement "! itsel is su icient to ans)er the 2uestion# (E) ( not enough acts are given to ans)er the 2uestion# Berhaps the easiest )a! to ull! internalize the scope o these 2uestions is to replace the )ord FisG )ith the )ords Fmust "eG H the 2uestions are not as'ing )hether an ans)er is possi"le, "ut rather, )hether it ImustI "e the case#

[edit] Verbal Section

The ver"al section consists o =- multiple choice 2uestions, )hich must "e ans)ered )ithin A/ minutes# There are three t!pes o 2uestions@ sentence correction, critical reasoning, and reading comprehension# The ver"al section is scored rom , to /- points# 5ver the 6 !ears ending in 5cto"er +,,7, the mean has "een +4#,/<,3 scores a"ove == and "elo) 7 are rare#0610<1

[edit] Sentence orrection

The &entence Correction section tests a test ta'er?s 'no)ledge o American English grammar, usage, and st!le# &entence correction items consist o a sentence, all or part o )hich has "een underlined, )ith ive associated ans)er choices listed "elo) the sentence# The irst ans)er choice is e*actl! the same as the underlined portion o the sentence# The remaining our ans)er choices contain di erent phrasings o the underlined portion o the sentence# The test ta'er is instructed to choose the irst ans)er choice i there is no la) )ith that phrasing o the sentence# ( there is a la) )ith the original phrasing o the sentence, the test ta'er is instructed to choose the "est o the our remaining ans)er choices#0A1 &entence Correction 2uestions are designed to measure a test ta'er?s pro icienc! in three areas@ correct e*pression, e ective e*pression, and proper diction#0A1 Correct expression re ers to the grammar and structure o the sentence# Effective Expression re ers to the clarit! and concision used to e*press the idea# Proper Diction re ers to the suita"ilit! and accurac! o the chosen )ords in re erence to the dictionar! meaning o the )ords and the conte*t in )hich the )ords are presented#0A1

[edit] ritical !easoning

This tests logical thin'ing# Critical thin'ing items present an argument that the test ta'er is as'ed to anal!ze# 9uestions ma! as' test ta'ers to dra) a conclusion, to identi ! assumptions, or to recognize strengths or )ea'nesses in the argument# (t presents "rie statements or arguments and as's to evaluate the orm or content o the statement or argument# 9uestions o this t!pe as' the e*aminee to anal!ze and evaluate the reasoning in short paragraphs or passages# Dor some 2uestions, all o the ans)er choices ma! conceiva"l! "e ans)ers to the 2uestion as'ed# The e*aminee should select the "est ans)er to the 2uestion, that is, an ans)er that does not re2uire ma'ing assumptions that violate common sense standards "! "eing implausi"le, redundant, irrelevant, and inconsistent#

[edit] !eading om"re#ension

This tests the a"ilit! to read criticall!# Jeading comprehension 2uestions relate to a passage that is provided or the e*aminee to read# The passage can "e a"out almost an!thing, and the 2uestions a"out it test ho) )ell the e*aminee understands the passage and the in ormation in it# As the name implies, it tests the a"ilit! o the e*aminee to understand the su"stance and logical structure o a )ritten selection# The GMAT uses reading passages o appro*imatel! +,, to 6/, )ords, covering topics rom social sciences, "iological sciences, ph!sical sciences, and "usiness# Each passage has three or more 2uestions "ased on its content# The 2uestions as' a"out the main point o the passage, a"out )hat the author speci icall! states, a"out )hat can "e logicall! in erred rom the passage, and a"out the author?s attitude#

[edit] Total Score

The ITotal &coreI, composed o the 2uantitative and ver"al sections, is e*clusive o the anal!tical )riting assessment (A8A), and ranges rom +,, to 4,,# A"out t)o-thirds o test ta'ers score "et)een =,, and <,,# The score distri"ution resem"les a "ell curve )ith a standard deviation o appro*imatel! -,, points, meaning that the test is designed or <4K o e*aminees to score "et)een =,, and <,,, )hile the median score )as originall! designed to "e near /,,# The +,,//+,,< mean score )as /66#041 The 2uantitative and ver"al sections comprise a computer-adaptive test# The irst 2uestion ma! "e di icult# The ne*t e) 2uestions in each section ma! "e around the /,, level# ( the e*aminee ans)ers correctl!, the ne*t 2uestions are harder# ( the e*aminee ans)ers incorrectl!, the ne*t 2uestions are easier# The 2uestions are pulled rom a large pool o 2uestions and delivered depending on the student?s running score# These 2uestions are regularl! updated to prevent them rom "eing compromised "! students recording 2uestions# The inal score is not "ased solel! on the last 2uestion the e*aminee ans)ers (i#e# the level o di icult! o 2uestions reached through the computer-adaptive presentation o 2uestions)# The algorithm used to "uild a score is more complicated than that# The

e*aminee can ma'e a sill! mista'e and ans)er incorrectl! and the computer )ill recognize that item as an anomal!# ( the e*aminee misses the irst 2uestion his score )ill not necessaril! all in the "ottom hal o the range# Also, 2uestions le t "lan' (that is, those not reached) hurt the e*aminee more than 2uestions ans)ered incorrectl!# This is a maLor contrast to the &AT, )hich has a )rongans)er penalt!# Each test section also includes several e*perimental 2uestions, )hich do not count to)ard the e*aminee?s score, "ut are included to Ludge the appropriateness o the item or uture administrations# :er"al and 9uantitative &ection scores range rom , to /-# Anal!tical 8riting Assessment scores range rom , to < and represent the average o the ratings rom the t)o GMAT essa!s# The essa!s are scored di erentl! rom the :er"al and 9uantitative sections and are not included in the total score# All scores and cancellations in the past / !ears )ill "e on a student?s score report, a change rom the previous polic! o the last three scores and cancellations "eing 'ept on the score report#0citation needed1

[edit] Required Scores

Most schools do not pu"lish a minimum accepta"le score or detailed statistics a"out the scores achieved "! applicants# Mo)ever, schools do generall! pu"lish the average and median score o their latest inta'e, )hich can "e used as a guide# The average score or nearl! all o the top "usiness schools, as commonl! listed in popular magazines and ran'ing services, is in the upper <,,s or lo) A,,s#0citation needed1 (t is possi"le to overcome a lo) test score )ith impressive real )orld accomplishments, good undergraduate per ormance, outstanding re erences, personal connections, particularl! strong application essa!s, or status as a mem"er o an under represented group#

[edit] History of the Graduate Management Admission Test

(n -7/6, the organization no) called the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) "egan as an association o nine "usiness schools, )hose goal )as to develop a standardized test to help "usiness schools select 2uali ied applicants# (n the irst !ear it )as o ered, the assessment (no) 'no)n as the Graduate Management Admission Test), )as ta'en Lust over +,,,, times3 in recent !ears, it has "een ta'en more than +,,,,,, times annuall!# (nitiall! used in admissions "! /= schools, the test is no) used "! more than -,/,, schools and -,4,, programs )orld)ide# A ter +,,/, GMAC is administrating the e*am# 5n Nanuar! -, +,,<, GMAC transitioned vendors to a com"ination o ACT (nc, )hich develops the test 2uestions and CAT so t)are, and Bearson :ue, )hich delivers the e*am at testing centers )orld)ide#

5n Nune +6, +,,4, a cheating scandal )as ac'no)ledged "! GMAC involving some <,,,, test ta'ers )ho su"scri"ed to the )e"site &coreTop#com and ma! have vie)ed IliveI 2uestions in-use on the GMAT# GMAC has announced severe measures that include invalidating the scores o su"scri"ers, noti !ing schools )ho have received their scores, and "anning them rom uture tests# 5n Nune +A, GMAC reassured applicants that onl! those )ho 'no)ingl! cheated using &coretop?s )e"site )ould "e a ected#071 The Wall Street Journal later reported that the scores o 4= test ta'ers )ere canceled in the )a'e o the scandal#0-,1 Also, in response to cases o Ipro*!I or IringerI test-ta'ing, )here students pa! some"od! else to ta'e the test on their "ehal , GMAC has introduced DuLitsu PalmSecure (the palm vein scanning technolog!) at all testing centers#0--1 GMAC has announced plans or a Ce*t Generation GMAT set to launch in +,-6# (nternational di erences )ill "e ta'en into consideration more strongl!#0-+1

[edit] Registration and preparation

The e*aminee ma! register or the GMAT either online or "! calling one o the test centers# To schedule a test, an appointment must "e made at one o the designated test centers# Third-part! stud! preparation aids are availa"le, including sel -stud! using GMAT "oo's, classroom GMAT preparation courses (live or online), or private tutoring# Cost o E*am is .+/,#0-61 Oou ma! not ta'e the GMAT more than once )ithin 6- da!s, even i the scores are cancelled#

[edit] Other notes

Calculators are not allo)ed in the GMAT# Calculations need to "e done "! hand# Eigital )atches )orn "! the test ta'ers ma! "e con iscated or the duration o the test# GMAT practice e*ams are )idel! availa"le