Our GMAT Score Chart 2022 shows how your Quant and Verbal scaled scores (0-60) map to your total GMAT score (200-800) as well as the GMAT percentiles that your score fits into.
Different combinations of Quant and Verbal scaled scores can earn you the same GMAT total score.
As you can see by looking at the chart below, there are currently 24 possible GMAT score combos that would allow you to reach the impressive score of 720!
After taking a GMAT practice test, you can use the GMAT chart to determine whether or not your score is good enough for your personal admissions goals.
You can use it to map your improvement and better understand where to focus your test prep efforts.
What Is The GMAT Score Range?
The GMAT score range of 200 to 800, also known as your total GMAT score, demonstrates your performance on the Quant and Verbal sections of the exam.
Integrated Reasoning and Analytical Writing scores are completely separate, and don’t factor into your 800-point GMAT score.
According to mba.com, two-thirds of GMAT takers score in the 400-600 range on the exam.
What Are GMAT Percentiles?
GMAT percentiles are a ranking of your GMAT scores against the scores of other students who took the GMAT exam within the previous three years.
GMAT percentiles range from 0-99% and provide an excellent way for you to compare your GMAT scores to those of other students.
If your GMAT percentiles are 80th in Verbal and 56th in Quant, that means that you performed as well or better than 80% of students who took the Verbal section and 56% of students who took the Quant section.
Let’s try another example: What percentile is 710 on the GMAT? A total score of 710 is currently in the 91st percentile. If you scored a 710, you performed as well, or better, than 91% of your peers.
Because GMAT score percentiles are recalculated based on the prior three years of student data, they are subject to annual change.
And while GMAT percentiles rarely change more than 1-2% year over year, it’s still important to make sure that you’re referencing official, up-to-date data when checking your percentile ranks.
To that end, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) provides detailed GMAT percentile charts for total GMAT score, Verbal, Quant, IR, and AWA. In lieu of their own GMAT score chart, GMAC suggests candidates use these percentile charts.
GMAT Quant Percentiles
When you take the GMAT Quant section, your performance on 31 questions will determine your scaled Quant score, which ranges from zero to 60.
Students rarely score lower than seven or higher than 50, so it’s unusual to see those outlier scores on a GMAT score chart.
Your scaled Quant score maps to a GMAT Quant percentile score. According to GMAC, the mean scaled score is 40.7, which is currently equivalent to the 31st percentile.
The challenge of scoring a computer adaptive test, like the GMAT, is that it’s largely impossible to calculate your GMAT score from raw score data.
Your Quant score is determined by more than just your number of correct answers, so it’s important to look at both your scaled score and score percentiles to understand how your performance stacks up against the competition.
If you’d like to improve your GMAT Quant percentile, our GMAT Quantitative Reasoning guide is a great place to start.
GMAT Verbal Percentiles
Similarly, your performance on the Verbal section’s 36 questions will determine your scaled Verbal score, which also ranges from zero to 60. In this case, it’s unusual for students to score below 9 or above 44.
In 2022, the mean GMAT Verbal score is 27.3, which is the 45th percentile.
If your GMAT Verbal score isn’t meeting your target, you can improve your GMAT Verbal percentile by following our GMAT Verbal Reasoning guide.
Before we move on, it’s important to mention that the mean Verbal scaled score is lower than the mean Quant scaled score, yet the mean Verbal percentile is higher than the mean Quant percentile:
Section | Mean Scaled Score | Percentile |
Verbal | 27.3 | 45th |
Quant | 40.7 | 31st |
Source: mba.com
This leads to an important GMAT score caveat: the percentiles aren’t always what they seem.
Read: GMAT Vs GRE: What’s The Difference?
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Limitations of GMAT Score Charts
MBA admissions consultants and GMAT experts agree that GMAT score tables aren’t exactly infallible resources. Using them successfully involves understanding their strengths and weaknesses.
GMAT Percentiles Can Be Distorted
Using a GMAT score chart is not as simple as saying, ‘Well, I have a higher scaled score percentile in Verbal than in Quant, so I should focus more on Quant prep.’
“GMAT percentiles are distorted by the large number of international test takers with STEM backgrounds who score highly on Quant but poorly on Verbal,” explains David White, admissions consultant and founding partner of Menlo Coaching.
“Many of those test takers are unlikely to be admitted to MBA programs because their pre-MBA work experience is unsuitable, and you should do your best to ignore their impact on percentile calculations.”
The effect of this phenomenon is that your Quant percentile may look lower than it should, and your Verbal percentile may look higher than it should.
What can you do about this?
First, take a good look at the GMAT score chart to determine whether improving your Verbal or Quant score (by 10 points, for example), will have a greater effect on your overall score.
You may be surprised to learn that improving your Verbal score will have a stronger effect on your total score than improving your Quant score–even if your Quant score is technically higher.
Second, when determining your target Verbal and Quant scores, pay attention to the percentile data of recently admitted students at your target programs.
Scoring above the program’s average percentile on Verbal and Quant is a great way to determine that your score is good enough.
GMAT score charts are a means to an end—not the end itself
From a test prep perspective, score charts can only help you so much. You take a practice test, reference a chart, and then can conclusively say whether you performed better on GMAT Verbal or Quant. But it’s what you do with that information that matters.
Take it from Bert Ethridge, founder and lead instructor at Dominate Test prep: “Charts like that merely show what your scaled score is, after the fact…But so what?...I think a student's focus needs to be on controlling what he/she can control, which is studying the right things the right way.”
In other words, use the charts to determine where you need to invest your energy, then study accordingly.
After investing in improving that area, take another practice test, reassess your scores, and then repeat that same process until you’ve reached your goal score.
Remember: your Official GMAT Score Report includes all your scores from all reportable exams, as well as your most recent AWA. Admissions committees will see all of the scores, except ones that you canceled, and will take note of your percentiles.
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