Ive read some threads about the GMAT which have been interesting. Im myself am a graduate, but as as another graduate who wrote on this site am planning ahead. I plan to do an MBA but i was curious to know how hard the GMAT is and how hard it is to score a mark of 740+ for the top business schools? Is 740 a common mark? is it as common as say a 2:1 degree at graduate level for example. Many thanks

A score of 740 puts you in the 98th percentile, 750 and above the 99th. In the first 6 months of 2005, 100864 people took the test, so approx 2000 got 740 or above. I guess this makes it rather rarer than a 2:1 which, lets face it, are not exactly hard to come by. Rather more important is what subject your degree is in and from where, along with your work experience since then. How hard you find the GMAT depends on you. The quant section is basically maths. You are either good at it or not, and you can revise for it fairly easily. The verbal section assesses your grasp of the English language. If you have had a classical education you should score very highly. If English is not your first language it will obviously be harder. The AWA seemed pretty irrelevant to me. Hope that helps.

Hmmm. Londoc has a point! But you can make it easier for yourself by atttending a GMAT training course at Manhatton Chase or Kaplan, etc. But be warned they are quite expensive. You would also need a book called "the offical guide to the GMAT 2005" this will provide you will the actual questions that are asked on the test. Also if you are seriously considering the MBA then I would recommend the online practice test simulation. That you can get from www.mba.com. Actually this is a good website and I would reccomend you visit it. Good luck with it all!!

All good points. The earlier threads talked about 740+ scores as these are the scores that business analysts at strategy firms would typical get on the test and is usually the cut-off for being considered by those firms. Something in the region of 680, and sometimes lower, would get your application considered by any business school. Thereafter it's down to the strength of your essays and what you can contribute to the programme. The best advice would be to take the application process seriously and make sure you devote enough time to it. Good luck.

a 740+ GMAT score will take you amongst the top 5% performers in the world. Hard work!Some excellent business schools will take you with a lower, nonetheless very honourable GMAT score of 640+ (top 25%).

As a recruiter focussed on Strategy consulting and Strategists/Corporate Development specialists in Industry, I would concur with some of the other comments. 740+ as a GMAT score is very good - more along the lines of a 1st class undergraduate degree - it's a high score. Anything over 700 is very respectable and 680 - say 710 is more a 2(i) equivalent if one can assess on this basis - which isn't really commonplace. The best advice I can give is that when conducting GMAT tests, to treat it very seriously in order to get the very best score you can. Sounds obvious/trite (because you'll want to attend an excellent business school) but some consultancies, especially the strategy houses, are very interested in the score too. In industry, it's queried less. but an awful lot of VP's / Directors of Corporate Development &/or Strategy divisions (whether corporate/group level or trading/business unit level) come from strategy consultancies, hold MBA's from Ivy League business schools and, therefore, may still ask the question at interview. Best of luck!