Educational Consultants
Ask Kate: Due to a low quant, a GMAT retake may be necessary for top business schools. I just took the GMAT and received an integrated reasoning score of 8 (92nd percentile), quantitative score of 47 (67th percentile), and verbal score of 44 (98th percentile). My overall score was 730 (96th percentile). Does the … Read more
Hi Kate, Thanks for the detailed post on the scoring and scaling! I took the GMAT in early May and scored a 680 (Q49, V34, IR6, AWA6). – this is my first attempt I am a non-native speaker. However, I was surprised with my verbal score because my English skills are pretty good. Also, I … Read more
Does a high quant balance out a low verbal? Hi Kate, Thank you for your article. I’m surprised to learn that a 50Q/35V is a rare space since that’s been my consistent range of scores. In light of the bad 35V number, I’m pleased to read here that a 47+ quant is favored … Read more
Ask Kate: If verbal is low, proofing English proficiency may be necessary in a GMAT retake. Hi Kate, My question is also about my GMAT score like most people here. I got 700 (Q49,V35), which was surprising to me since I was always better in Verbal than Quant in any other exams I … Read more
Even with a high quant, a GMAT retake may be necessary. Hi Kate, I took GMAT recently and got an unbalanced score with 49 in quant and 31 in verbal. Will I be able to get into a top 20 B school? Or should i retake the exam? Currently, I have 2 years … Read more
A Low GPA and GMAT Score: Where To Go From Here Kate, I was recently accepted to the McCombs School of Business at UT-Austin. I will be entering the Part-Time program. I have 4 years work experience, a 3.3 Undergrad GPA in Aerospace Engineering (Texas A&M), currently work as a Software Engineer at … Read more
Hi Greg, The scaled score, not the percentile is ultimately more important. Percentiles for quant have gone screwy in the past 3 years. One of those tests looks like the quant was 47, in any case, it looks like you’re close enough. Focus on creating a stellar application and submitting it at the end of … Read more
Does a Low IR call for a GMAT retake? Hi Kate, I am a Senior graduating from an ivy league school summa cum laude (4.0) with lots of extra curriculars. I am not a “diverse” nor “legacy” candidate and intend to apply to HBS 2+2 R3. I took the GMAT once, scoring a … Read more
Composition of a 700 – updated June 2019 GMAT scoring is not obvious at first glance and many instructors and consultants focus on percentiles rather than the scaled scores, fueling more confusion. If you have read that business schools “need to see 80th percentile” in both quant and verbal and that you need at least … Read more
Hi Kate ! I recently passed the GMAT for the first time with the mentioned score above. The only disappointment I have is with regards to my IR score, during my practice tests I almost always got an 8, once got a 7. I emigrated to Canada from Europe, where I graduated from undergrad a … Read more
Here are some resources that either give a quick, broad overview or something that gives more detailed/specific/expert approach like how corporate-investor fraud is hard to spot. You may even remember hearing about this mythical beast, Enron. Your parents will remember it. As you review these resources, consider what goes wrong, how it gets hidden, what … Read more
As others have stated, do start with a practice test. To be more specific though, start with the practice test from the GMATprep software that you download for free at The Official GMAT Website. It is the only one authorized to use retired test questions and as of this writing is still the most consistent … Read more
Hi Kate, I know you’ve answered a lot of similar questions, but I have yet to see a score makeup quite like mine. I just scored a 740 on the GMAT, first shot at it, which I was thrilled about. But then my breakdown is really odd. IR 7 (82nd percentile), Quant only 42 (45th … Read more
Watch what a single day in the 30-Day GMAT program looks like. Be done in one hour a day. Is this course for me? If you have graduated from a 4-year university, studied a reasonably rigorous curriculum successfully, and taken at least one standardized test such as the SAT, ACT, LSAT, or MCAT, you will … Read more
Is a 680 GMAT score enough for a good school for a Masters in Finance program? Remember, your GMAT score grades based on three things: quant, verbal and the combination of Q&V. Each of the areas is important and will help you get into the program you want. The Masters of Finance programs I know … Read more
Hi Franzi, In my (limited) experience with Bocconi, they are much more forgiving with the GMAT score. But they are usually more forgiving for candidates who have a higher quant scaled score than the verbal. You are the opposite. It also sounds like you are young and relatively inexperienced. Those are two negatives for your … Read more
By far the most popular blog post on Prepwise – this one gets thousands of visitors each month. GMAT scores are confusing. Excerpt below. You can also search the Prepwise Q&A here for my responses to fellow students using the tags: ask kate, GMAT scores, or trying your actual Q/V split, for example 47/41. The Q&A … Read more
Hi again Kate, I hope it’s OK to respond/ask a follow-up question here. My engineering degree was an ‘international program’, and my work experience was all in the US(with an American company), so I thought that would have been enough. I also am pretty sure I scored higher than 38(V) on my first test, now, … Read more
Hi Mimi! Good work on the overall score and quant. The 35 is a bit of a concern, but often not a deal breaker IF (!!) you can demonstrate success with English: 1. Coursework from a competitive US school. Could be graduate level or even a summer term in a related field. 2. Published public … Read more
Bite-sized, daily lessons to get you through the game changing GMAT material in 30-days.