A recent informal poll among business school applicants preparing for the GMAT revealed that the majority of test-takers are largely unaware of key details about how the GMAT works and how to prepare for the exam. The results of this poll represent common misconceptions among prospective GMAT test-takers, according to Scott Shrum, Director of MBA Admissions Research at Veritas Prep, a leading provider of GMAT prep and MBA admissions consulting services.
“We hear similar sentiments from new students each and every day—while many applicants put dozens of hours into their GMAT preparation, they do not truly understand how it works, and are more likely to be blindsided with unfamiliar content and low scores,” explains Shrum. “However, understanding the GMAT’s little-known intricacies can help students feel more confident and can help them achieve competitive scores that help them gain admission into their top-choice MBA program.”
Five must-know GMAT facts that Veritas Prep says any test-taker considering the exam should recognize include:
Your Verbal and Quantitative scores matter at least as much as your overall score. Some test takers hope that an exceptionally strong performance on one section of the GMAT will overcome a weak performance on the other section. However, MBA admissions officers care about both sections’ scores, not just the overall score, so a balanced strong performance is critical. While it is by no means a mandatory minimum score, applicants can improve their chances of admissions by reaching the GMAT’s “golden ratio,” with scores in at least the 80th percentile on both the Quantitative and Verbal sections and an overall score of at least 700.
You’re not doomed if you miss the first few questions on the GMAT. Many people wrongly assume that the first questions matter far more than any subsequent questions in computer adaptive exams, which present questions of greater difficulty if a question is answered correctly, and questions of lower difficulty if a question is answered incorrectly. No less than the Graduate Management Admission Council, which runs the GMAT, has publicly debunked this myth. In reality, computer adaptive exams such as the GMAT are very sophisticated, and will accurately home in on one’s true ability by the end of the test, whether or not a student accidentally misses an easy question early on.
You don’t need to master difficult math concepts to do well on the GMAT. In reality, the math tested on the GMAT is high school- or middle school-level arithmetic, and does not require advanced knowledge of finance or calculus. The GMAT is designed to evaluate a student’s ability to reason (such as the capacity to recognize patterns), as opposed to gauging how well test-takers understand advanced mathematical concepts.
Business schools do not look unfavorably upon people who take the GMAT multiple times. Admissions officers realize that a single test sitting does not necessarily reflect a candidate’s true ability. In general, they are very open to considering an applicant’s best score among multiple scores—and many applicants do in fact take it more than once. However, taking it more than three times can be a red flag to an admissions officer.
Retired real GMAT questions are not the only ones suitable for studying. While going “straight to the source” to get GMAT practice questions certainly makes sense, by no means are previous questions the only questions that can give an applicant an accurate feel for the real GMAT. In fact, retired questions are only published after they have been out of use for five years, during which time the test continues to evolve. GMAT experts, such as those at Veritas Prep, constantly monitor the exam and frequently create new questions to reflect these changes, preparing applicants for what they will see on test day.
For more information about Veritas Prep’s premier GMAT preparation courses, which are specifically designed to produce the most competitive scores, visit http://www.veritasprep.com/
