The Impact of an Excellent GMAT Score on Your B-School Admissions Chances

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1. Is GMAT essential for an MBA
2. What does GMAT score represent on the Applicant Profile
3. How to go about GMAT prep
4. GMAT prep through classes and groups
5. Is it worth the hassle
6. FAQs

Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) is the most widely accepted Test score for MBA programs across the world. Most applicants to MBA programs already have a sense of the importance of the GMAT score, however, the questions linger around the precise impact of GMAT score on an application. While GMAT is not essential for many programs of the world, our research has brought us to conclude that an excellent GMAT score is often the difference between an admission offer and a condemnation to the waitlist. Let us address some of the most relevant questions that our students have on this topic that help us understand the basis of MBA admissions, the emerging trends and the best GMAT coaching classes that fit your requirements.

Is GMAT essential for an MBA

The confusion regarding the GMAT has arisen as many of the world’s top MBA programs do not make the GMAT score mandatory for the application. However, if you look closely in the profile of the applicants to your dream program, very few students in a cohort would get a pass – even then, the beneficiaries of the selection generally have a stand out profile with little to no competition in their own demographic for the MBA program. This provokes the question – why do MBA programs give any student a GMAT waiver when they send rejection emails to many deserving candidates every year? To appreciate the underlying mechanics, consider that the Higher-end MBA programs lay a lot of emphasis on peer-learning (as an MBA student, you will learn a lot more from your peers than from theory or lectures). To enrich the quality, the programs require a great diversity in the learning process. The more diverse the thought process during various stages of your preparation, the more well equipped would be the smart individuals participating in the learning exercise. If you strongly feel that you are positively different from most people applying to the programs, the following discussion is probably not so relevant to you. For the rest of us, let’s find out why we should care about GMAT and to what extent.

What does GMAT score represent on the Applicant Profile

An Admission Committee (AdCom) looks at the holistic picture of the applicants and assesses whether they fit the requirements of the program. While it is a significant investment on the part of the student to commit to an MBA program, the decision to accept a candidate also attaches the name of the candidate with the school, and by extension, with its reputation. Among the various factors, Analytical skills matter a great deal (30-40%) to the AdCom and to the potential recruiters. Your GMAT score is a demonstration of your ability to cope up with Analytical challenges that you will face frequently during the course of your MBA. Various subsections of the GMAT exam are representation of how well you might cope with the challenges of a Case-based education structure. Reading comprehension and Critical reasoning contribute directly to how well you can understand a case and its challenges. The quantitative skills stand for the ability to crunch numbers and pin point precise importance of contributing factors of the case. The one often overlooked factor that makes GMAT distinct from other competitive exams is the adaptive difficulty – the exam changes the difficulty in relation to the performance so you really never feel in cruise control during the exam. This crucial line of assessment indicates how well the candidates might react while working under stress in a professional setting. It is, therefore, no wonder that GMAT score is tracked by high-functional (and high-paying) industries across consulting and strategy.

Take a look at this cluster of applications that received an Admit in 2024-25 cycle. Notice how a number of applicants (as reported on ClearAdmit) were above the average GMAT score line (horizontal dotted line of the corresponding color).

More students who get accepted have a score slightly above the average while a few exceptions are still present in the overall picture.

How to go about GMAT prep

It is a subjective question where the answer depends a lot on how you react to studying. The strategy that has given best results to most people is that of Gradual and Incremental Learning. However, a word of caution – engage a qualified support system to monitor your progress. The best GMAT study classes both teach the concepts and provide a healthy atmosphere to complete your GMAT prep. The basic advice is to review the latest Official Guide, not just solve the questions but also deeply analyze the questions, and each of the incorrect options. You would want to synthesize the concepts and apply your learnings. Hereafter, you require the qualified mentoring to help you with Error Logs, Study Planner, Test-taking Strategies and mental conditioning.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

GMAT prep through classes and groups

A guided GMAT prep system goes beyond self-study. Self-study is absolutely mandatory, but your GMAT preparation system should equip you with the relevant concepts, test-taking strategies and learning environment. At Jamboree, we use an LMS that is tailor-made for such requirements. This implementation has helped our students achieve higher scores with much less hassle of overheads. Even without a sophisticated computer- based system, you can begin with the bare minimum with help of pen and paper and can see your scores improve over weeks –

• Discuss a session plan and a GMAT practice plan with your faculty/mentor/tutor
• Put down your plan on your calendar and planner
• Ration your time between Practice and Analysis
• Develop an Error log for each subsection and Practice/Test-taking session
• Write your own learning sheets weekly to put together all your learnings
• Seek regular and well-directed help from experts

Is it worth the hassle

A number of students lose motivation while trying to maintain a systemic approach to their learning. Remember to do justice to your own self – after all, MBA is just a tool to realize your potential. Ask you mentors and you will find that GMAT prep is just a warm-up for the bigger battles. Indeed, this is just a way to change your mindset and prepare you for the competitive world of Management and Business. The best GMAT prep classes make the journey bearable and a lot more fun.

Here’s to you and wishing you all the best in your conquest.

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