GMAT Scores
Most quality schools that offer MBA training require applicants to write the GMAT and submit their official scores as part of the application process. In fact, if you are considering a school that does not require you to write the GMAT, it should raise some red flags. Where you obtain your MBA is almost as important as having the degree itself, and schools that do not require the GMAT may not be looked upon in a favorable light by recruiters. Exactly how GMAT scores will be used by admissions committees to determine whether you will be accepted into the MBA program varies from school to school.Firstly, just how much of an influence your GMAT score will have on whether you are accepted depends entirely on where you submit an application. In all cases, the GMAT score is just one thing that is considered. GPA, work experience, interviews, and recommendations are also important. For some schools, the GMAT is the most important factor in determining acceptance, so even if all of their other qualifications are outstanding, a low score means there will be little chance of the applicant being granted acceptance. Some schools, on the other hand, weight GMAT scores much lower, so scoring highly on other parts of the application can make up for a less-than-exemplary GMAT score.
In addition, the actual score itself, regardless of how highly it is weighted, can be interpreted in different ways. Some schools will establish a cut off, so that any students with a score that falls below a specific number will be excluded from being considered further. Other schools prefer to look at it in terms of percentiles. When the GMAT is written, the test is scored, but that score is also converted into a percentile, which indicates how your result compares to other people who wrote the test. Admissions committees, for example, may decide that they will only look at candidates whose scores are within the top 20 percent of all GMAT scores.
It is impossible to predict exactly what your GMAT score will mean to individual schools. Although some are upfront about their cut offs (if any), the average GMAT score of successful MBA applicants, and how much the score counts towards the total score assigned to an MBA application, many institutions do not share this type of information. For MBA hopefuls, the best strategy is to study hard, possibly get some help from a test prep company, and obtain the highest score possible, because although exactly what your score will mean is often unclear, an outstanding score will always be a positive attribute to your application.
