Students taking the GMAT often ask what really matters on GMAT – is it their raw scores in Verbal and Quant sections or do their IR and AWA scores even matter? And, the most common question they ask is – how does GMAT calculate their total score? As confusing as it can get, in this article, we have tried to break down the common doubts students have around understanding GMAT scores and percentiles.
One of the initial steps that students take in realizing their B-school dream is to take the GMAT and get a decent score. But, understanding how the GMAT is scored, decoding their GMAT score report, and getting a good grasp on the ESR can get confusing for them. Clearly, there is a lot you need to know about GMAT scores before you can fully comprehend where you stand and what your score means. Let’s take them one by one –
An Overview of the GMAT Scores
The first step to understanding GMAT percentiles and scores is learning about its overview. The GMAT scores range between 200 – 800 and are scored in increments of 10. There are four sections in GMAT – Quantitative, Verbal, Integrated Reasoning, and Analytical Writing Assessment. The GMAT is a key indicator of a candidate’s readiness for a graduate management degree such as an MBA and plays a key role in helping admission committees in decision making as well. A score lower than 400 is considered poor and a majority of students usually score between 400 – 600.
How is GMAT Scored?
As already mentioned, there are four sections on GMAT i.e. Quant, Verbal, IR, and AWA. Each section has its own scoring scale –
GMAT Section
Score Scale
Quantitative
6 – 51
Verbal
6 – 51
Integrated Reasoning
1 – 8
Analytical Writing Assessment
0 – 6
GMAT Percentiles – Understanding the Basics
Your official GMAT score card consists of your total GMAT score and your section scores along with the percentile rankings for each. Your total score ranges from 200-800 and you are scored separately for the four individual sections i.e. Quant, Verbal, IR, and AWA. So, how do you convert these section scores or your total GMAT score into percentiles?
Before we start learning how to calculate your GMAT score percentile, let’s see what it signifies – A GMAT percentile simply depicts the percentage of students who got a score lower than yours. So, clearly, the higher the percentile, the better are your chances of seeking admission in your target school. Check out the table below to view GMAT Scores and their adjacent percentiles –
GMAT Score
Percentile
GMAT Score
Percentile
760-800
99%
520
31%
750
98%
510
29%
740
97%
500
27%
730
96%
490
25%
720
94%
480
23%
710
90%
470
21%
700
88%
460
18%
690
85%
450
17%
680
82%
440
15%
670
80%
430
14%
660
77%
420
12%
650
73%
410
11%
640
68%
400
10%
630
66%
390
9%
620
62%
380
8%
610
58%
370
7%
600
56%
360
7%
590
52%
350
6%
580
49%
340
5%
570
46%
320-330
4%
560
42%
290-310
3%
550
39%
250-280
2%
540
37%
220-240
1%
530
33%
200-210
0%
GMAT Quant Percentiles
We have already seen in the table above that your percentiles depend upon your total score. But, how are these total scores calculated? We know that your total GMAT scores depend upon your section scores i.e. your score in GMAT Quant and Verbal. Let’s first take up the Quant scores and the respective percentiles. The Quant section on GMAT is scored on a scale of 0-60. In the table below, you can see the scaled Quant scores and their percentiles –
Scaled Score
Percentile
Scaled Score
Percentile
51
96%
34
24%
50
85%
33
23%
49
74%
32
21%
48
67%
31
18%
47
61%
30
17%
46
58%
29
15%
45
55%
28
14%
44
50%
26-27
12%
43
47%
25
10%
42
43%
24
9%
41
41%
23
8%
40
39%
22
7%
39
35%
20-21
6%
38
33%
18-19
5%
37
32%
17
4%
36
29%
14-16
3%
35
26%
11-13
2%
GMAT Verbal Percentile
The scoring for Verbal is done differently compared to GMAT Quant, even though the scoring scale is the same for both the sections. Just like Quant, GMAT Verbal is also scored on a scale of 0 – 60. In the table below, you will see the GMAT Verbal scores and the percentiles associated to them –
We saw above that the Quant and Verbal sections in GMAT are scored in increments of 10 points. The scoring scare of IR, however, is quite different. The IR section is scored on a scale of 0 – 8 and in increments of 1 whole point. And hence, the percentiles of IR section are also different. Let’s see the table to understand how –
GMAT IR Score
GMAT IR Percentile
8
92%
7
82%
6
68%
5
52%
4
35%
3
21%
2
10%
1
0%
GMAT AWA Percentiles
So, we saw how Quant, Verbal, and IR sections are scored on GMAT. Now, let’s see how the AWA section is scored. Firstly, the AWA section is scored on a scale of 0 – 6 and secondly, it is scored in half point increments unlike other sections that are scored in either 10 point or whole point increments. Mentioned in the table below are the GMAT AWA scores and their respective percentiles –
Here’s what we learnt about GMAT Percentiles in this article –
GMAT Percentiles show how many people you scored better from.
Your receive separate percentile scores for all the four sections – Quant, Verbal, IR, and AWA
The higher your percentile, the better your chances of receiving an admit from the top B-schools. Most of the best B-schools over the globe prefer a percentile above 90.
Your overall percentile depends upon your total score and not on individual score.
We hope this article provided you some clarity over understanding GMAT Scores and their percentiles! Remember getting a great score on GMAT is not impossible. All you need is the right resource, proper guidance, and a little bit of dedication to reach your desired score. For more help regarding GMAT score and preparation, contact us at support@gmatwhiz.com. To prepare for the GMATWhiz methodically through a personalized, detailed, and adaptive study plan, create one here – Build Your Personalized Study Plan.
Table of Contents
Students taking the GMAT often ask what really matters on GMAT – is it their raw scores in Verbal and Quant sections or do their IR and AWA scores even matter? And, the most common question they ask is – how does GMAT calculate their total score? As confusing as it can get, in this article, we have tried to break down the common doubts students have around understanding GMAT scores and percentiles.
One of the initial steps that students take in realizing their B-school dream is to take the GMAT and get a decent score. But, understanding how the GMAT is scored, decoding their GMAT score report, and getting a good grasp on the ESR can get confusing for them. Clearly, there is a lot you need to know about GMAT scores before you can fully comprehend where you stand and what your score means. Let’s take them one by one –
An Overview of the GMAT Scores
The first step to understanding GMAT percentiles and scores is learning about its overview. The GMAT scores range between 200 – 800 and are scored in increments of 10. There are four sections in GMAT – Quantitative, Verbal, Integrated Reasoning, and Analytical Writing Assessment. The GMAT is a key indicator of a candidate’s readiness for a graduate management degree such as an MBA and plays a key role in helping admission committees in decision making as well. A score lower than 400 is considered poor and a majority of students usually score between 400 – 600.
How is GMAT Scored?
As already mentioned, there are four sections on GMAT i.e. Quant, Verbal, IR, and AWA. Each section has its own scoring scale –
GMAT Section
Score Scale
GMAT Percentiles – Understanding the Basics
Your official GMAT score card consists of your total GMAT score and your section scores along with the percentile rankings for each. Your total score ranges from 200-800 and you are scored separately for the four individual sections i.e. Quant, Verbal, IR, and AWA. So, how do you convert these section scores or your total GMAT score into percentiles?
Before we start learning how to calculate your GMAT score percentile, let’s see what it signifies – A GMAT percentile simply depicts the percentage of students who got a score lower than yours. So, clearly, the higher the percentile, the better are your chances of seeking admission in your target school. Check out the table below to view GMAT Scores and their adjacent percentiles –
GMAT Score
Percentile
GMAT Score
Percentile
GMAT Quant Percentiles
We have already seen in the table above that your percentiles depend upon your total score. But, how are these total scores calculated? We know that your total GMAT scores depend upon your section scores i.e. your score in GMAT Quant and Verbal. Let’s first take up the Quant scores and the respective percentiles. The Quant section on GMAT is scored on a scale of 0-60. In the table below, you can see the scaled Quant scores and their percentiles –
Scaled Score
Percentile
Scaled Score
Percentile
GMAT Verbal Percentile
The scoring for Verbal is done differently compared to GMAT Quant, even though the scoring scale is the same for both the sections. Just like Quant, GMAT Verbal is also scored on a scale of 0 – 60. In the table below, you will see the GMAT Verbal scores and the percentiles associated to them –
Recommended Read: Everything You Want to Know About GMAT
GMAT IR Percentiles
We saw above that the Quant and Verbal sections in GMAT are scored in increments of 10 points. The scoring scare of IR, however, is quite different. The IR section is scored on a scale of 0 – 8 and in increments of 1 whole point. And hence, the percentiles of IR section are also different. Let’s see the table to understand how –
GMAT AWA Percentiles
So, we saw how Quant, Verbal, and IR sections are scored on GMAT. Now, let’s see how the AWA section is scored. Firstly, the AWA section is scored on a scale of 0 – 6 and secondly, it is scored in half point increments unlike other sections that are scored in either 10 point or whole point increments. Mentioned in the table below are the GMAT AWA scores and their respective percentiles –
Also Read: Do IR and AWA Scores Matter on GMAT?
GMAT Percentiles: In A Nutshell
Here’s what we learnt about GMAT Percentiles in this article –
Need a GMAT Score Calculator to see where you stand in prep? Try the Whiz Score Predictor
In Conclusion
We hope this article provided you some clarity over understanding GMAT Scores and their percentiles! Remember getting a great score on GMAT is not impossible. All you need is the right resource, proper guidance, and a little bit of dedication to reach your desired score. For more help regarding GMAT score and preparation, contact us at support@gmatwhiz.com. To prepare for the GMATWhiz methodically through a personalized, detailed, and adaptive study plan, create one here – Build Your Personalized Study Plan.
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