What is the GMAT Exam?

Often management aspirants are in a dilemma which exam to appear in order to pursue a career in management program. The majority of candidates aspire to know what GMAT is all about. Still, they prepare for the exam as per the requirements. Many institutions recognize the GMAT exam internationally for management aspirants, who wish to get admission in graduate management programs. Some of these programs are like an MBA or Masters in Management in reputed B-schools worldwide.

The Various Sections of GMAT

The full form of GMAT is the Graduate Management Admission Test. It is a computer-adaptive standardized test which evaluates an applicant’s competency for various spheres. These spheres are those of quantitative, verbal, logical reasoning, analytical reading and writing skills of the standard written English. The authorities have divided the GMAT syllabus into four different sections, viz.:

First, the Analytical Writing Assessment

In this section, the test tests the candidates on the basis of their writing style. For this, it employs the medium of an essay or comprehension passage.

Then, the Section of Integrated Reasoning

Under this section, the exam asks the candidates for studying certain data interpretation techniques. One expects them to utilize their critical thinking ability to solve complex problems through pie-charts, graphs, scatter diagrams, etc.

Next, the Quantitative Aptitude Section

In this section, GMAT tests the candidates on the basis of their quantitative reasoning knowledge like problem-solving and data sufficiency problems.

Finally, the Section of Verbal Ability

This section basically comprises checking the vocabulary power of the candidates. It entails adopting some measures to coherently express ideas adequately in standard written English.

Exam Duration

To begin with, the GMAT exam is timed at 3 hours and 7 minutes (without optional breaks). Still, you can opt for two 8-minute optional breaks during the exam. Moreover, the GMAT section order you choose decides the scheduling of these breaks. Along with the optional breaks, by and large, the total duration of the GMAT exam is roughly about 3½-hours.

Age Limit

As a matter of fact, legally, an applicant must complete 18 years of age. However, authorities also allow the candidates between the age group of 13 to 17 to sit for the exam. The only pre-requisite here is that they must have written consent from their respective parents or legal guardians.

Eligibility Criteria

Although GMAC the administrative body of GMAT has no formal rule regarding the qualification to appear the exam. However, GMAT candidates wishing to enroll for an MBA program should possess a graduate degree in any stream. Moreover, this degree of theirs must be from a recognized university. Nonetheless, some business universities consider work experience to check if the prospective candidate can take the strenuous MBA program. They check if the candidate can complete the entire degree successfully. However, having a few years of work experience is not mandatory. Still, it conveys to the Admission Committees of B-Schools that a candidate is more likely to complete the degree. Thus, the candidate improves other’s perception of him/her to ace the difficult exams with flying colors.

GMAT Fees

Firstly, to register for the GMAT exam, candidates need to pay $250, which would roughly convert to INR 17,500 approximately. Moreover, the authorities charge an extra $50 from the applicants wishing to change the exam center or reschedule the test.

GMAT Score

To begin with, GMAT authorities measure the total score on a scale of 200-800 with the highest score being 800. Candidates score in increments of 10 in the exam. For instance, 710,720,730, etc. As mentioned the GMAT exam assesses certain analytical writing, quantitative, verbal skills and logical reasoning of an applicant required for admission to a graduate management program, such as an MBA or MiM. As a matter of fact, the higher the score a candidate records, the better are his/her chances to earn a seat in a B-School of repute. Consequently, here in the table below, we have clearly illustrated the section-wise scaled score of the GMAT exam:

Section	Scaled Score (Total Score → 200-800)
Analytical Writing Assessment	0-6
Integrated Reasoning	1-8
Quantitative Reasoning	0-60
Verbal Reasoning	0-60

Furthermore, the GMAT score is usually valid for up to five years. Applicants can use the score up to five years and seek admission to various management colleges and also gather some work experience during this tenure to match up to the Admission Committee requirements of certain B-Schools.

Have questions about what is GMAT and how to prepare for the test as per the latest GMAT syllabus? Kick-start your GMAT prep journey by enrolling at BYJU’S and directly talk to our GMAT experts for guidance and supervision.  You can subscribe to BYJU’S GMAT YouTube channel which you can find easily by searching on the internet.

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