Average GMAT Scores |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Business-school applicants relate to the GMAT score of 700 as being all-important. The GMAT score of 700 seems to have taken on a "magical" life of its own among business-school applicants. It seems more and more that applicants are shooting for 700 in order to even consider the reality of being accepted at a top-20 business school. But is a GMAT score of 700 really necessary to be admitted to such a school. Average or Median? The vast majority of business schools report their average GMAT scores below 700, but the high-ranking, superior schools aim for averages at or above that mark. To evaluate reported GMAT scores you have to know whether the school is referring to an average or a median score. What is the difference? A school reporting an average score of 700, for example does not say what proportion of students scored above or below that mark. A few very high or very low scores can skew the average up or down. On the other hand, if a school reports a median GMAT score of 700, it means that approximately half of its students scored above that mark and approximately half scored below. The median scores, then, is a better gage for measuring your chances of admission than are averages. In most schools, though, the two will be quite close. One of the well-known top business schools recently had an average score of 670. but the median score was 700. The slight discrepancy indicates that even though 50% scored above 700 and 50% below, more students received low scores than very high scores. This points to the fact that some applicants with comparatively low scores were admitted to this business school, illustrating the fact that while your GMAT score weighs heavily in your application, a score above 700 is not necessary for admission to some of the country's most prestigious business schools, even when they report average scores at or above 700. In fact, you should not think of median or average GMAT scores as definite limitations. One very prestigious business school reports an average score above 700, but students with scores of 660 have been told that they were most welcome. You must remember that more goes into the admissions decisions than just the score: work experience, GPA, recommendations, essays, etc. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Subscribe To our Free 7 part email course "89 MBA Resources You Must Bookmark"
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
.gif)
