A GMAT score is an important part of the application process. It is the first milestone on the way to your desired business school. Scoring a good GMAT score is as tough as getting into a top business school. Nowadays, percentile rankings are more competitive than ever due to increases in average math and total score averages.
In the majority of tests, you may quickly determine your score by counting the number of correct responses. But for years, test takers have been perplexed by the GMAT's Quantitative and Verbal scales of 0-60 and total score range of 200-800, which are not tied to the number of correct answers. Knowing your percentiles can help you determine whether your GMAT score is above average or if it has skyrocketed. Graduate Management Admission Council or GMAC (conducting body of GMAT) produces this information on GMAT percentile charts.
The GMAT has four sections: Verbal, Integrated Reasoning (IR), Quantitative or Quantitative, and Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). For each section, you receive a scaled score. Take note that only the Verbal and Quantitative component results are used to determine the GMAT total score. The following is a section-wise breakdown of GMAT sections and scaled scores:
GMAT Section |
Scaled Score |
Analytical Writing Assessment score |
0-6 |
Integrated Reasoning score |
1-8 |
Verbal score |
6-51 |
Quantitative score |
6-51 |
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What Are GMAT Percentiles?
In a GMAT score report, percentile rankings for both your overall score and each of your section scores are mentioned. Percentiles represent the portion of test-takers you outperformed. If your score is in the 75th percentile, you outperformed 75% of other students. The remaining 25% achieved a score that was equal to or greater than yours.
A high percentile score indicates that you outperformed most other test takers on the GMAT. When you receive a low percentile score, it means that you have scored less than the majority of other test-takers. GMAT percentiles are calculated using information from candidates who took the test in the last three years. GMAT percentiles are updated each summer.
For instance, if you took the GMAT in 2012, your percentiles may change from the time you may receive your official result or report. This is because percentiles, which are revised annually, may vary significantly over time.
What is the GMAT Score Range?
Your performance on the Quantitative and Verbal portions of the exam is represented by your total GMAT score, which has a range of 200 to 800.
The results for Analytical Writing and Integrated Reasoning are entirely independent and do not count toward your final GMAT score of 800 points.
What is the Average GMAT Score?
The GMAT test is taken by around 150,000 diverse learners each year, including retakes, for a total of about 250,000 test attempts. Only 9% of these students achieve a score of 700 or higher, 1% achieve a score of 760 or higher, and 93% often do not achieve what is regarded as a good GMAT score. Here is the typical GMAT score reported by GMAC for test-takers between January 2018 and December 2020:
GMAT Section |
Average GMAT Score |
Average GMAT Percentile |
4.49 |
34% |
|
4.41 |
43% |
|
40.02 |
38% |
|
27.08 |
47% |
|
Total GMAT Score |
563.43 |
42% |
How are GMAT Percentiles Calculated?
Your scaled Quant and scaled Verbal scores, which range from 6 to 51, are compared to those of other test-takers. This is not included in your overall GMAT score, which is between 200 to 800 points. The percentage of applicants you outperformed in each GMAT section is indicated by your percentile score.
In other words, if you performed better than 80% of all other test takers on the Verbal section, for instance, you scored in the 80th percentile. The percentile has a defined range from just above 0 to 99.99. You cannot exceed yourself on the GMAT, hence you cannot achieve the 100th percentile.)
Scores on the GMAT are given in increments of 10, such as 700, 710, 720, and so forth. For admission to a graduate management programme, like an MBA, the GMAT evaluates specific analytical, quantitative, writing, and verbal skills. Between 400 and 600 is the range where roughly 70% of test-takers fall.
Finally, based on your overall GMAT score, you will be given a percentile ranking. If you achieve a high score, your total GMAT percentile is likely to be greater than either your verbal or quantitative percentiles. The average GMAT score as of 2022 is 570 points or roughly the 40th percentile.
Total Scores for GMAT Percentile Chart
The percentile chart represents how percentiles for GMAT scores and total scores correlate. The total GMAT score ranges from 200 to 800. GMAC reports that the overall GMAT test taker average is 551.94.
Percentile |
Total Score |
Percentile |
Total Score |
99% |
760-800 |
34% |
520 |
98% |
750 |
32% |
510 |
97% |
740 |
30% |
500 |
96% |
730 |
27% |
490 |
94% |
720 |
25% |
480 |
91% |
710 |
23% |
470 |
89% |
700 |
20% |
460 |
86% |
690 |
19% |
450 |
84% |
680 |
17% |
440 |
82% |
670 |
15% |
430 |
79% |
660 |
14% |
420 |
76% |
650 |
13% |
410 |
71% |
640 |
11% |
400 |
69% |
630 |
10% |
390 |
66% |
620 |
09% |
380 |
62% |
610 |
08% |
370 |
59% |
600 |
07% |
360 |
56% |
590 |
06% |
340-350 |
52% |
580 |
05% |
330 |
49% |
570 |
04% |
310-320 |
46% |
560 |
03% |
280-300 |
43% |
550 |
02% |
250-270 |
40% |
540 |
01% |
220-240 |
36% |
530 |
0% |
200-210 |
GMAT Percentile Chart for Quantitative Section
The quantitative portion has a score range of 0 to 60. GMAC only publishes information on scores in this range since students hardly ever get a 51 or a 6, respectively. The quantitative GMAT score average is 38.91. You can see from the graph that you need to have excellent arithmetic skills to score above the 80th percentile.
GMAT Quantitative Scaled Score |
GMAT Percentile |
51 |
97% |
50 |
87% |
49 |
77% |
48 |
71% |
47 |
65% |
46 |
62% |
45 |
59% |
44 |
54% |
43 |
52% |
42 |
47% |
41 |
45% |
40 |
43% |
39 |
39% |
38 |
38% |
37 |
36% |
36 |
33% |
35 |
29% |
34 |
28% |
33 |
26% |
32 |
24% |
31 |
21% |
30 |
20% |
29 |
18% |
28 |
17% |
27 |
14% |
26 |
13% |
25 |
12% |
24 |
11% |
23 |
10% |
21-22 |
08% |
20 |
07% |
18-19 |
06% |
16-17 |
04% |
13-14-15 |
03% |
10-11-12 |
02% |
07-08-09 |
01% |
06 and below |
0% |
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GMAT Percentile Chart for Verbal Section
Verbal scores can vary from 0 to 60, just like quantitative scores, with the majority of students scoring between 6 and 51. The typical GMAT verbal score is 26.8, which is considerably less than the typical quantitative score. The GMAT score percentiles are less competitive since fewer students achieve high Verbal scores. A verbal score of 45 or higher places the student in the 99th percentile.
GMAT Verbal Scaled Score |
GMAT Percentile |
45-51 |
99% |
44 |
98% |
42-43 |
96% |
41 |
94% |
40 |
91% |
39 |
89% |
38 |
85% |
37 |
83% |
36 |
81% |
35 |
76% |
34 |
72% |
33 |
69% |
32 |
67% |
31 |
62% |
30 |
60% |
29 |
57% |
28 |
52% |
27 |
47% |
26 |
44% |
25 |
40% |
24 |
37% |
23 |
33% |
22 |
31% |
21 |
27% |
20 |
23% |
19 |
20% |
18 |
18% |
17 |
15% |
16 |
13% |
15 |
10% |
14 |
09% |
13 |
07% |
12 |
05% |
11 |
04% |
10 |
03% |
09 |
02% |
07-08 |
01% |
06 and below |
0% |
GMAT Percentile Chart for Integrated Reasoning Section
The Integrated Reasoning component, which was added in 2012, is graded on a scale of 1 to 8. This section's average score is 4.23. An ideal score of 8 correlates to the 92nd percentile, as only roughly 8% of test-takers get this total.
GMAT Integrated Reasoning Score |
GMAT Percentile |
08 |
92% |
07 |
82% |
06 |
69% |
05 |
54% |
04 |
40% |
03 |
27% |
02 |
13% |
01 |
0% |
GMAT Percentile Chart for Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) Section
The AWA score on average is 4.37. An essay score of 6 is considered to be the 90th percentile, as only roughly 10% of test participants get that mark.
GMAT AWA Score |
GMAT Percentile |
06 |
90% |
5.5 |
81% |
05 |
57% |
4.5 |
43% |
04 |
20% |
3.5 |
13% |
03 |
06% |
2.5 |
05% |
1.0-2.0 |
03% |
0-0.5 |
0% |
Top 15 Business Schools GMAT Percentiles
The chart below displays the median and average GMAT percentile at the top 15 business schools for the class of 2017. The average GMAT percentile for leading colleges is 95th, and the average GMAT score is roughly 719.
Top Business Schools |
Average GMAT Percentile |
Average GMAT Score |
91-94% |
717 |
|
Cornell University (Johnson) |
89% |
700 |
Dartmouth College (Tuck) |
91-94% |
717 |
Duke University (Fuqua) |
86-99% |
696 |
96% |
730 (median) |
|
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) |
91-94% |
710 (median) |
New York University (Stern) |
94% |
720 |
Northwestern University (Kellogg) |
94-96% |
724 |
96-97% |
737 |
|
91-94% |
715 |
|
94-96% |
726 |
|
University of Michigan Ann Arbor (Ross) |
89-91% |
702 |
University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) |
96% |
730 |
University of Virginia (Darden) |
89-91% |
706 |
96% |
730 (median) |
|
Overall Average |
95% |
719 |
To conclude, earning a high GMAT score is not about blind practising, but rather about understanding everything in detail. Putting a major effort to learn from errors is also necessary to achieve a high GMAT score. So, playing to your strengths and managing your weaknesses are two of the most crucial skills to learn in your GMAT preparation.
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