The GMAT AND GRE
Well here it is. The GMAT AND GRE section. Many of you are looking here for a glimmer of hope, some sweet secret that I can whisper to you that will make this painful obstacle evaporate or be less awful. Unfortunately, I can not absolve you of this burden, but I can say some things that will make you feel better.
What is the GMAT and GRE?
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) are standardized, timed tests that are used for graduate admissions across the world. The GMAT is specifically for MBA programs and the GRE can be used for either MBA programs or other Graduate programs. Some important points
The GMAT and/or GRE are the most important components of your application. Period. Unless you have some sort of extraordinary skill or accomplishment (like being an olympic athlete or NFL football player) then you better study hard for the GMAT. There are very few military experiences that will meet this threshold. So park your ego at the door
The GMAT and GRE only measures one thing, and that’s how well you take the test. If you gave the test to all the Fortune 500 CEO’s in the country most of them would do poorly on it. The GMAT and GRE can be beaten, you just need to be prepared
These are not tests where you can just walk in and “wing” it like a WPR at West Point, college mid-term or a PT test. These tests require preparation for even the smartest among us. It’s not atypical to spend a couple of months of studying to get the score you want
You will know people who studied for a week and got a 700 on the GMAT, and it will piss you off. But some people are just wired to understand the test easily
Neither test has math that goes above basic algebra and geometry
Schools only care about your GMAT quant and verbal scores. They don’t care about the AWA and IR sections. You can just click through them if you want. For the GRE make sure you do the whole test but the verbal and quant sections are what is important
Why Are These Test’s Important
Straight talk. These tests are stupid. They don’t measure anything useful. Your score has a very weak correlation with first semester success at an MBA program. The first semester is typically the most math intensive and adcom members want to make sure that you can “handle” the math. GMAT scores also factor heavily into the overall rankings of the school. The schools also use them to compare the mental horsepower of applicants to each other since school quality, GPA and undergrad major are so variable.
Also, some elite consulting firms such as McKinsey, Bain, BCG (MBB for you newbs) will require you to have a good GMAT or GRE. Usually 700 or above.
What Score Do You Need To Get Into A Good MBA Program?
The easiest answer is that you need the highest score you can possibly get. The harder answer is that every top school (ranked 20 and above) is competing for the same pool of 700+ GMATs. A 700 GMAT is usually what I advise applicants to shoot for because that will put to rest any questions about your mental horsepower and your ability to meet the minimum threshold for elite firm recruiting. Once you hit a 700 GMAT admission and scholarship offers will become much more likely. That being said, plenty of people get into good MBA’s with sub 700 gmats. Let’s take a look at Harvard Business School (HBS) GMAT and GRE range and compare it to Carnegie Mellon’s (Tepper and my alumni) GMAT range.
HBS GMAT and GRE Scores. Available here
Tepper GMAT Scores. Available here
The first thing you will notice about both HBS and Tepper’s GMAT scores is that they show the average, median and middle 80%. They are showing you these statistics scores for a reason. They want you to understand what it takes to get into the school.
The average = the overall average score or admitted students. Duh
The Median = the middle gmat score of all admitted students. This is important because it tells you that half of the people who got in had a score higher than that and another half had a lower score than that.
The Middle 80% or 80%: This tells you that 80% of the admitted students scored in a these ranges. As in, “If you want to be admitted here are the numbers”
if you think that your military experience will get your a discount on the scores, you are like 28% right. Schools often compare candidates against each in categories. For example, consultants go against consultants, finance against finance, military against military when they make admission decisions. So that means the group you are compared to might be higher or lower. For certain “classes” of people like consultants and finance an MBA is a natural professional step and their experience, scores and ability to speak about career goals might be different than a military applicant. So schools try to not compare them.
This includes the GMAT, but take note that over the years successful military applicants to Have had GMAT scores close too or in line with the schools median scores. I remember when I got back from Afghanistan and one of our company commanders got into HBS with a 670 GMAT Score. You will not see that happening today I guarantee you. Too many vets know about the MBA pipeline and so there are more applicants than ever.
How To Prepare
Unless you are one of the aforementioned super geniuses from earlier. You will need to prepare. The best way to prepare is to do the following
Identify what approximate time frame you want to apply to business school. Round 1 applications typically open up in the summer time frame with the first due dates sometime in September. So if you were applying round 1 you would be looking to have a solid gmat score six months. Why six months? Because you are going to be applying to more than one school at once dummy. This is a numbers game. You want to make sure you have your GMAT score locked down so you can fully focus on preparing your applications. Nothing sucks more than freaking out about applications and letters of recommendation than when you are also focusing on the GMAT. Please heed my warning on this.
Once you have calculated that six month window date, go ahead and start backing up by about 4 months. So a total of 10 months before round 1 will be due
If you are ABLE. Find a good local prep course for the GMAT. This can be difficult because military bases are often in bumfuck nowhere. But do check! When I was stationed at Fort Hood I attended a prep course called Austin GMAT. I told my commander I needed to do this in order to transition successfully, and he let me leave early to make it when I needed too (I was moonlighting as an S-1 for a year so I was talking to the battalion commander). This prep course was crucial. These guys really taught it from the bottom up and used the official GMAT books and retired tests. They taught the test from the bottom up. I had tried to study on my own and was just not getting it. Truly invaluable and worth it
If you are unable to find a local prep course (which I suspect will be a good portion of you), then go ahead and look at both the official GMAT books and Kaplan Test Prep. If you are seriously smart and think you can do the GMAT after trying a few practice questions successfully, consider just using the official GMAT books and GMAT test from GMAC. These are retired questions and the closest you will find to actual questions on the GMAT. The strange trolls that write the GMAT can only write so many types of questions given the constraints imposed on them by the test. So they will often recycle questions by taking past questions and changing them around slightly and mess with the wording. The concept and technique for solving them is the same, you will just pick up on quicker cause you have seen the type of problem before. For handy reference there is an amazon ad up top. If you buy it through the website by clicking on that ad I get a very small cut that supports the cost of running this website for free.
Your second option is a good online GMAT course. A little instruction goes a long way. Even if you were pretty smart back in college you will need to get your feet wet and re-learn how to perform analytical reasoning under pressure. Below are some very common ones that people have success with
It is critical that you take practice tests. The pace of the test gives you a certain amount of time for each test, you need to be able to learn how to watch the clock and give up on a question if necessary. If not you will do something like spend 5 minutes on a single question, which is bad test taking strategy. These tests will also help you focus on your weaknesses by showing you your quant and verbal scores. If you need to do better in quant and are doing fine in verbal then only do quant!
The tests cost around $250 and are reimbursable if you are in the military. Check out this link to get reimbursed. More information is available at this military.com article
Don’t let your command boss you around as you try to prepare for this test. This test is one of the most critical components of your military transition and you need to do well on it. Your command is not going to be there for you after you leave, so make your decisions accordingly. Oh, and no one cares about your OER’s in the real world.
After You Take the Test
Once the test is done you will have chance to send your scores to a school or cancel them. Why would you cancel them? There are few good reasons. Maybe if you score abysmally low (like in the 400’s or 500’s) you would. But in general don’t cancel your scores. If you get a 630 or a 640 don’t cancel the score. Go ahead and send them to schools. They only use your highest score. Don’t worry about sending scores that you are not proud of.
Common Questions About the GMAT and GRE
Q: I was an xxx elite special forces stormtrooper and shot Bin Laden in the face. Will schools just waive the GMAT for me? Its stupid! My experience should just speak for itself.
A: Any good top ranked school worth going too will require you to take the GMAT or GRE AND do well on it. The scores of each incoming class are very important to the overall ranking of the school. Also, plenty of veterans with similar backgrounds take the test and do well on it. So there is really no way around it
Q: Do schools prefer either the GMAT or GRE?
A: They have no preference for either. The most important thing is that your GRE score translates to a good GMAT score. Schools use this conversion tool provided by ETS to determine how your GRE converts to a GMAT. For example a 160 Quant and 160 Verbal on the GRE is going to convert to a 640 GMAT
Q: Is the GMAT and GRE really the most important part of my application? What about all my experience?
A: Your experience is incredibly valuable, however because most applicants have been out of school for a while when they apply, schools need an objective way to evaluate the current mental horsepower of each applicant. The GMAT and GRE is a headline number for a schools ranking as well.
Q: I have not done math in years! How am I going to do well on these tests?
A: These tests use simple math and geometry to test your analytical reasoning. You don’t need to learn calculus. Most business people are pretty dumb when it comes to math.
Q: I saw that HBS admitted a student with a GMAT score of 510! Does that mean I will get in with a low score?
A: That person is most likely the son/daughter of a world leader, olympic athlete or something else extraordinary. It is the exception rather than rule. Don’t count on it applying to you
To see the GMAT test structure and scoring click HERE
To see the GRE test structure and scoring click HERE
