Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a standardized test for admission to graduate level business studies and business administration programs in United States and other English speaking countries. Earlier, this test was administered by Educational Testing Service, but now is managed by American College Testing Inc and Pearson Vue. The test is designed by ACT and conducted by Pearson Vue. It examines mathematical and English language skills required in pursuing a graduate management program.
Eligibility-
The eligibility required to take GMAT is having done an undergraduate degree from any discipline. GMAT is a general aptitude test which measures analytical writing, verbal and quantitative reasoning skills of a test takers.
Test Overview-
GMAT consists of three sections- Analytical writing, quantitative reasoning and verbal reasoning. In the analytical writing section, test taker is given two essays, one on an issue and other on an argument. The essay based on an issue examines the general analytical skills, arrangement of thoughts and presentation of given subject. The essay to be written on an argument tests interpretation of given statement and its reasonable explanation in different situations. The quantitative section has multiple choice questions based on problem solving and data sufficiency. Data sufficiency questions are especially developed for this test and examine validation of two statements in solving of a problem. The options available in data sufficiency questions are like- one of the statements are sufficient for solution but not the other; both statements are needed; any one statement is sufficient; or givens statements are not sufficient to answer the question. The verbal section is based upon reading comprehension, sentence correction and critical reasoning. The questions based on reading comprehension are related to given passages of 200 to 300 words. The sentence correction questions examine ability of correct expression, its effectiveness and usage of appropriate words. This section is derived from grammar and usage of American English.
Test Format-
Each essay in the analytical writing section is allotted 30 minutes time. The quantitative section consists of 37 multiple choice questions which are to be solved in 75 minutes. The last section which belongs to verbal reasoning has 41 multiple choice questions with allotted time of 75 minutes.
Marking Scheme-
The essays in analytical writing section are scored on a scale of 0 to 6. The essays are scored first by a software program ‘Intellimetric’ owned by Vantage Learning, then by a human reader. If the two scores differ by more than one point, they are examined by a second human reader. The scores of quantitative and verbal section range from 0 to 60 points. The scores of essays are not added in total score but, are shown separately. The total is a scaled score which can be 800 maximum.
GMAT is a computer adaptive test. The difficulty level of a question is dependent on the correctness of previous question answered. If the questions are answered correctly, difficulty level of next questions is increased whereas if the questions are answered incorrectly, the difficulty level of next questions is decreased. GMAT uses a complex algorithm to evaluate scores of each section depending on number of questions answered correctly, questions answered incorrectly and difficulty level of questions attempted. The test is designed so that scores are not biased in any way. Only one question is displayed at a time which can be answered only once.
Schedule-
GMAT can be taken on any official day in United States. In some countries, it is conducted once or twice in a year at local testing centers. An applicant has just to register for the exam and fix an appointment. The registration can be done on official website of GMAT or by phone, fax or email.
Exam Fees-
The exam fee for GMAT is $250, whether taken anywhere in the entire world. There can be additional taxes imposed on this fee in many countries.