The Graduate Management Admission Test is a computer adaptive test intended to assess certain analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal, and reading skills in written English for use in admission to a graduate management program, such as an MBA. The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a computer adaptive test (CAT) intended to assess certain analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal, and reading skills in written English for use in admission to a graduate management program, such as an MBA. This test is taken in preparation for being admitted into a graduate management program, such as MBA and Masters in Finance related courses.
GMAT is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council. More than 5,900 programs offered by more than 2,100 universities and institutions use the GMAT exam as part of the selection criteria for their programs. Business Schools use the test as a criterion for admission into a wide range of graduate management programs, including MBA, Master of Accountancy, and Master of finance programs. The GMAT exam is administered in standardized test centers in 112 countries around the world. According to a survey conducted by Kaplan Test Prep, the GMAT is still the number one choice for MBA aspirants despite the increasing acceptability of GRE scores. According to GMAC, it has continually performed validity studies to statistically verify that the exam predicts success in business school programs.
The GMAT exam is a computer adaptive test and not a computer based test, which means that the candidate will get one question at a time and depending on the accuracy of the previous answer, the difficulty level of the next question will be ascertained. The average scores required for universities abroad varies; top tier universities require at least 710, while middle tier universities accept 600.
The GMAT exam consists of four sections: an analytical writing assessment, an integrated reasoning section, a quantitative section, and a verbal section. Total testing time is three and a half hours, but test takers should plan for a total time of approximately four hours, with breaks. Test takers have 30 minutes for the analytical writing assessment and another 30 minutes to work through 12 questions, which often have multiple parts, on the integrated reasoning section and are given 75 minutes to work through 37 questions in the quantitative section and another 75 minutes to get through 41 questions in the verbal section.
