B-school Gmat Evaluation

Gmat Evaluation

The first step in the evaluation process ignores all but your combined Quantitative/Verbal score—the one on the 200–800 scale. It’s this score, along with your GPA, that B-schools generally use to evaluate applicants during their initial screening. In other words, if your GPA and combined GMAT test score, considered together by whatever formula the school uses, falls below a certain level, the school rejects your application without considering other factors—such as your GMAT test Analytical Writing score, letters of recommendation, personal statement(s), and work experience.

Once you’re past the first cut, the school will take a closer look at your GMAT Analytical Writing score. If you’ve scored very high in GMAT Analytical Writing—perhaps 5 or 6—the admissions committee might rank you higher among its remaining applicants despite a relatively low GMAT Verbal score. (This is where the individual Verbal score can become a factor in the admissions process.) In reality, though, applicants with lower GMAT test Verbal scores typically score poorly on the Analytical Writing as well. What’s more, in this case an outstanding personal statement would not accomplish much toward redeeming your application, because too many applicants obtain help in writing their personal statements. In other words, the personal statement is not a reliable indicator of your writing abilityin gmat , or you verbal skills generally.

GMAT Test - Your Performance

Accompanying each of the four scaled scores on your official GMAT test score report will be a percentile score, or ranking, which indicates the percentage of test-takers scoring lower than you. For example, a percentile ranking of 65% in gmat test indicates that out of every 100 test-takers 65 scored lower than you, while 34 scored higher than you. Percentile rankings are based on the entire GMAT test -taking population during the three most recent years.

Percentile rankings are solely for your information—to help you assess your relative performance. They aren’t reported to the B-schools. Even if they were, the schools would ignore them, because each B-school is interested in ranking you among only its applicants, not among all GMAT test-takers.

The overall performance of the GMAT test population has been improving gradually over the last several years. The reason for this trend has to do with the fact that the MBA degree has become increasingly popular, and that as a result the B-schools have become increasingly selective in admitting new students. The end result is that a given GMAT score doesn’t get you as far as it used to in B-school admissions. Thus test-takers are taking the GMAT test score more seriously than ever before; they’re studying harder, and therefore scoring higher.

whats in a gmat??

So that’s what GMAT is all about.

Four and a half hours of testing in front of a monitor. I am sure many of you are used to this situation, but what if there are brain-scratching questions in front of you instead of the social networking sites like orkut where you talk endlessly . And every second counts.

GMAT Facts

A MAX GMAT SCORE: Maximum score is 800, which is calculated after the actual score is computed.
B MORE Harder is your answer, the more question become harder: The GMAT follows Computer Adaptive Testing ( CAT ). The better you do, the harder the questions will become till you make a mistake. But you get more credit for answering harder questions.
C IMMEDIATE RESULT: Since the GMAT is taken on the computer, the scores of each section (except AWA) are almost immediately available.
D TAKES TIME: The Analytical Writing Assessment section is scored separately on scale of 1-6, with 6 being the best. You get this score only after 2-3 wks.
E Practice makes man perfect in gmat: Tried and tested methods in standard books can significantly improve your GMAT scores

Valid GMAT score

Your GMAT score

GMAT scores--valid for five years-are used in the business school admissions process to provide a common yardstick to compare candidates for admission, and to predict student success in business school. you will actually receive four scores on the GMAT.

• An overall score, ranging from 200 to 800
• A math subscore, ranging from 0 to 60
• A verbal subscore, ranging from 0 to 60
• A score for the Analytical Writing Assessment, ranging from 0 to 6

Percentile Rank

This number tells business schools exactly where you fell with respect to other candidates who took the GMAT

Each of the scores above is also accompanied by percentile rank. The percentile rank highlights what proportion of test takers scored lower than you on the test. The higher the percentile rank, the better you did. For example, if you received a percentile rank of 85, you did better than 85 percent of test takers.

Must to visit site

gmac.com -- the official site of the Graduate Management Admission Council. Contains some great information, resources, forums, and worksheets to help prospective MBA students determine the best programs and schools for you.

TOP GMAT BOOKS

Based on student review for gmat preparation books, i compiled following popular list of gmat books which are offering high sucess rates--

1. Kaplan GMAT 800

Written by Kaplan, a recognized leader in college test prep and admissions services, this book is an advanced guide for ambitious students who dream of high GMAT scores. The hundreds of very difficult practice questions (with detailed answers) cover math tactics, critical reasoning, and data sufficiency problems.

2. Cracking the GMAT

Written by the Princeton Review, this book is all about strategies and techniques that will help you score higher on the exam. It also contains 200 practice questions (with answers and explanations) and a CD-Rom with four full-length practice tests.

3. Master the GMAT

Written by GMAT test - preparation instructors and experts, McGraw- Hill's GMAT offers topic reviews, GMAT test strategies, practice tests, and more. The guide makes an excellent foundation for exam preparation.

so what you are waiting for, start preparing for GMAT!

TAKING THE GMAT

When to take the test: You must first decide on an ideal date for your GMAT. In addition to personal convenience factors you must decide on a test date depending on the application deadlines of schools to which you wish to apply and the time you require to be fully prepared to score well on the GMAT test. It can take up to a month for official score reports to reach the business schools and most schools expect official reports to reach them before their application deadlines. Most applicants prefer to take the gmat test about two to three months before the school's application deadline so that the time between the test date and application deadlines is enough to complete the application forms, write essays and arrange original documents and recommendation letters for multiple schools. Based on this, decide on an ideal test date for you.

Registering for the gmat test: After deciding on a date at your end, you must immediately check for availability of testing space at a location of your choice. This can be checked online by going to the official site of Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). The seat availability can change quickly. If you are sure about the date and if it's available, you should register immediately. You would need to pay the required fee of US$250 by credit card.

If you are an international applicant and do not wish to pay by credit card, you can register at the Regional Registration Centers (RRC) of GMAC in your area for gmat.

Verbal Section

The Verbal section of the Graduate Management Admission Test ( GMAT ) measures your ability to:
* read and comprehend written material,
* reason and evaluate arguments, and
* correct written material to conform to standard written English.
Three types of multiple-choice questions are used in the Verbal section of the GMAT exam—Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, and Sentence Correction.
Reading Comprehension Questions
Reading Comprehension passages are up to 350 words long. Topics contain material from the social sciences, physical or biological sciences, and business-related areas (marketing, economics, human resource management, etc.).
Because the Reading Comprehension section of the GMAT exam includes passages from several different content areas, you may be generally familiar with some of the material; however, no specific knowledge of the material is required. All questions are to be answered on the basis of what is stated or implied in the reading material.
Reading Comprehension passages are accompanied by interpretive, applied, and inferential questions.
What Is Measured
Reading Comprehension GMAT questions measure your ability to understand, analyze, and apply information and concepts presented in written form.
This section evaluates the following abilities:
* Understanding words and statements in reading passages: Questions of this type test your understanding of and ability to comprehend terms used in the passage and your understanding of the English language.
* Understanding the logical relationships between significant points and concepts in the reading passages: Questions of this type ask you to determine the strong and weak points of an argument or to evaluate the importance of arguments and ideas in a passage.
* Drawing inferences from facts and statements in the reading passages: Questions of this type ask you to consider factual statements or information and, on the basis of that information, reach a general conclusion.
* Understanding and following the development of quantitative concepts as they are presented in verbal material: Questions of this type involve the interpretation of numerical data or the use of simple arithmetic to reach conclusions about material in a passage.
Sample Question
* For an example of this type of question and directions for answering, go to Sample Reading Comprehension Question.
Critical Reasoning Questions
Critical Reasoning questions are designed to test the reasoning skills involved in making arguments, evaluating arguments, and formulating or evaluating a plan of action. Questions are based on materials from a variety of sources. No familiarity with the specific subject matter is needed.
What Is Measured
This GMAT section measures your ability to reason effectively in three areas:
* Argument construction: Questions of this type may ask you to recognize the basic structure of an argument, properly drawn conclusions, underlying assumptions, well-supported explanatory hypotheses, or parallels between structurally similar arguments.
* Argument evaluation: Questions of this type may ask you to analyze a given argument, recognize factors that would strengthen or weaken an argument, reasoning errors committed in making an argument, or aspects of the methods by which an argument proceeds.
* Formulating and evaluating a plan of action: Questions of this type may ask you to recognize the relative appropriateness, effectiveness, or efficiency of different plans of action; factors that would strengthen or weaken a proposed plan of action; or assumptions underlying a proposed plan of action.
Sample Question
For an example of this type of question and directions for answering, click Sample Critical Reasoning Question.
Sentence Correction Questions
Sentence Correction questions ask you which of the five choices best expresses an idea or relationship. The questions will require you to be familiar with the stylistic conventions and grammatical rules of standard written English. You must also demonstrate your ability to improve incorrect or ineffective expressions.
What Is Measured
This GMAT section tests two broad aspects of language proficiency:
* Correct expression: A correct sentence is grammatically and structurally sound. It conforms to all the rules of standard written English, e.g., noun-verb agreement, pronoun consistency, pronoun case, and verb tense sequence. A correct sentence will not have dangling, misplaced, or improperly formed modifiers, unidiomatic or inconsistent expressions, or faults in parallel construction.
* Effective expression: An effective sentence expresses an idea or relationship clearly and concisely, as well as grammatically. This does not mean that the choice with the fewest and simplest words is necessarily the best answer. It means that there are no superfluous words or needlessly complicated expressions in the best choice. In addition, an effective sentence uses proper diction—the standard dictionary meanings of words and the appropriateness of words in context. In evaluating the diction of a sentence, you must be able to recognize whether the words are well chosen, accurate, and suitable for the context.

gmat-vocab

Minimum GMAT score

Most schools do not publish a minimum acceptable GMAT score or detailed statistics about the scores achieved by applicants. However, schools do generally publish the average and median score of their latest intake, which can be used as a guide.

At nearly all of the top business schools that are commonly listed in popular magazines and ranking services, the GMAT scores will average in the upper 600s or low 700s. The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, commonly regarded as one of the top business schools in the US, reports an average GMAT score of 713; Harvard Business School, another top tier U.S. business school, reports a 2006 average of 707. Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management reports an average GMAT of 700, with approximately 75 percent of enrolled students scoring between 650 and 740. INSEAD, one of Europe's leading business schools with a highly multinational student body, reports a 2005 GMAT average of 705.

It may be possible to overcome a low test score with impressive real world accomplishments, good undergraduate performance, outstanding references, or particularly strong application essays.

GMAT`s history

In 1953, the organization now called the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) began as an association of nine business schools, whose goal was to develop a standardized test * GMAT to help business schools select qualified applicants. In the first year it was offered, the assessment (now known as the Graduate Management Admission Test GMAT ), was taken just over 2,000 times; in recent years, it has been taken more than 200,000 times annually. Initially GMAT used in admissions by 54 schools, the GMAT test is now used by more than 1,500 schools and 1,800 programs worldwide.

Until the end of 2005, Educational Testing Service (ETS) developed and administered the exam. On January 1, 2006, GMAC transitioned vendors to a combination of ACT Inc, which develops the test questions and CAT software, and Pearson Vue, which delivers the GMAT exam at testing centers worldwide.