There is no better way to understand GMAT®’s scoring system than to analyze a sample GMAT® Score Report. The GMAT® Exam score looks like this. Alternately, you can download a sample GMAT® scorecard by clicking here
Test Date |
Verbal |
Quantitative |
Total |
Analytical Writing |
Integrated Reasoning |
29 September 2015 |
44 / 98% |
51 / 97% |
770 / 99% |
6.0 / 91% |
7 / 81% |
Please note: The ‘%’ actually represents percentile which can be interpreted as the percentage of GMAT® test takers who score less than you in that particular section. So, a 98%ile on Verbal implies that the candidate has actually scored better than 98% of the GMAT® test takers.
Score Range |
Verbal Reasoning |
Quantitative Reasoning |
Total |
AWA |
Integrated Reasoning |
Highest Possible Score |
60 |
60 |
800 |
6.0 |
8 |
Lowest Possible Score |
0 |
0 |
200 |
0.0 |
1 |
Score Increment |
1 Point |
1 Point |
10 Points |
0.5 Point |
1 Point |
Interpreting the above score screenshot:
- The candidate scored 44 (2nd column) on a scale of 0 to 60 in Verbal which translates to a 98%ile for that section.
- The candidate scored 51 (3rd column) on a scale of 0 to 60 in Quantitative which translates to a 97%ile for that section.
- The candidates overall score is 770 (4th column) on a scale of 200 to 800 which translates to 99%ile overall. The 770 (or 99%ile) is based on the candidate’s performance in verbal & quantitative sections where he has scored 44 and 51 respectively.
- The Analytical Writing section (5th column) is scored separately and does not contribute to the Total Score. The score of 6 in this section, on a scale of 0 to 6, equates to 91 %ile. This implies that since the candidate has scored a complete 6.0 out of 6.0, 91% of the students have scored less than 6.0 out of 6.0 in the test.
- The Integrated Reasoning section (6th column) is scored separately and does not contribute to the Total Score. The score of 7 on a scale of 1 to 8 translates to 81%ile.
While the Total Score is based on the combination of Verbal and Quantitative sectional scores, most universities look for candidates with a balanced Verbal & Quantitative sections. Thus, the individual Verbal (2nd column) and Quantitative scores (3rd column) are also critical. The raw scores for both Verbal and Quantitative sections range from 0 to 60; scores below 9 and above 45 for the Verbal section and below 7 and above 51 for the Quantitative section are rare.
Is a 36 in Verbal or a 41 in Quantitative or a 4.5 in AWA or a 7 in IR GOOD or BAD?
The raw scores alone do not mean much. Each raw score therefore comes with a percentile: If a 36 in Verbal corresponds to 81%ile, it means that 81% of all GMAT® takers scored less than you on the Verbal section. The below tables present the raw score – percentile conversions:
GMAT® Raw Score - Percentile Conversion Tables
OVERALL |
SCORE |
%ILE |
800 |
99% |
790 |
99% |
780 |
99% |
770 |
99% |
760 |
99% |
750 |
98% |
740 |
97% |
730 |
96% |
720 |
94% |
710 |
92% |
700 |
89% |
690 |
87% |
680 |
84% |
670 |
83% |
660 |
80% |
650 |
77% |
640 |
72% |
630 |
71% |
620 |
67% |
610 |
64% |
600 |
61% |
590 |
58% |
580 |
54% |
570 |
51% |
560 |
48% |
550 |
45% |
540 |
42% |
530 |
38% |
520 |
36% |
510 |
34% |
500 |
31% |
VERBAL |
SCORE |
%ILE |
45-60 |
99% |
44 |
98% |
43 |
96% |
42 |
96% |
41 |
93% |
40 |
90% |
39 |
89% |
38 |
85% |
37 |
83% |
36 |
81% |
35 |
76% |
34 |
71% |
33 |
69% |
32 |
66% |
31 |
61% |
30 |
58% |
29 |
56% |
28 |
51% |
27 |
46% |
26 |
43% |
25 |
38% |
24 |
36% |
23 |
32% |
22 |
30% |
21 |
26% |
20 |
22% |
19 |
19% |
18 |
17% |
17 |
15% |
16 |
12% |
15 |
10% |
QUANT |
SCORE |
%ILE |
51-60 |
97% |
50 |
88% |
49 |
79% |
48 |
74% |
47 |
68% |
46 |
66% |
45 |
63% |
44 |
58% |
43 |
56% |
42 |
51% |
41 |
49% |
40 |
47% |
39 |
43% |
38 |
41% |
37 |
40% |
36 |
36% |
35 |
33% |
34 |
31% |
33 |
30% |
32 |
27% |
31 |
24% |
30 |
22% |
29 |
20% |
28 |
19% |
27 |
16% |
26 |
15% |
25 |
13% |
24 |
12% |
23 |
11% |
22 |
9% |
21 |
8% |
AWA |
SCORE |
%ILE |
6 |
92% |
5.5 |
81% |
5 |
60% |
4.5 |
44% |
4 |
21% |
3.5 |
13% |
3 |
6% |
2.5 |
5% |
2 |
3% |
1.5 |
3% |
1 |
3% |
0.5 |
3% |
0 |
0% |
IR |
SCORE |
%ILE |
8 |
92% |
7 |
81% |
6 |
67% |
5 |
52% |
4 |
37% |
3 |
25% |
2 |
12% |
1 |
0% |
Can I get the same Total score (out of 800) with different Verbal – Quantitative raw scores/percentiles?
Yes, a particular total score (out of 800) can be achieved through different combinations of Verbal and Quantitative scores. Below table shows different combinations of Verbal & Quantitative score and the corresponding total score.
|
V |
29 |
30 |
31 |
32 |
33 |
34 |
35 |
36 |
37 |
38 |
39 |
40 |
41 |
42 |
43 |
44 |
45 |
46 |
47 |
48 |
49 |
50 |
51 |
Q |
% |
56% |
58% |
61% |
66% |
69% |
71% |
76% |
81% |
83% |
85% |
89% |
90% |
93% |
96% |
96% |
98% |
99% |
34 |
31% |
530 |
540 |
550 |
560 |
560 |
570 |
580 |
580 |
590 |
600 |
610 |
610 |
620 |
630 |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
670 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
35 |
33% |
540 |
550 |
560 |
560 |
570 |
580 |
580 |
590 |
600 |
610 |
610 |
620 |
630 |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
670 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
36 |
36% |
550 |
560 |
560 |
570 |
580 |
580 |
590 |
600 |
610 |
610 |
620 |
630 |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
670 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
37 |
40% |
560 |
560 |
570 |
580 |
580 |
590 |
600 |
610 |
610 |
620 |
630 |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
670 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
720 |
38 |
41% |
560 |
570 |
580 |
580 |
590 |
600 |
610 |
610 |
620 |
630 |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
670 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
720 |
720 |
39 |
43% |
570 |
580 |
580 |
590 |
600 |
610 |
610 |
620 |
630 |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
670 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
720 |
720 |
730 |
40 |
47% |
580 |
580 |
590 |
600 |
610 |
610 |
620 |
630 |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
680 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
720 |
720 |
730 |
740 |
41 |
49% |
580 |
590 |
600 |
610 |
610 |
620 |
630 |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
670 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
720 |
720 |
730 |
740 |
750 |
42 |
51% |
590 |
600 |
610 |
610 |
620 |
630 |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
680 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
710 |
720 |
730 |
740 |
750 |
750 |
43 |
56% |
600 |
610 |
610 |
620 |
630 |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
670 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
720 |
720 |
730 |
740 |
750 |
750 |
760 |
44 |
58% |
610 |
610 |
620 |
630 |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
680 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
720 |
720 |
730 |
740 |
750 |
750 |
760 |
770 |
45 |
63% |
610 |
620 |
630 |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
670 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
720 |
720 |
730 |
740 |
740 |
750 |
760 |
770 |
780 |
46 |
66% |
620 |
630 |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
670 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
720 |
720 |
730 |
740 |
750 |
750 |
760 |
770 |
780 |
780 |
47 |
68% |
630 |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
670 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
720 |
720 |
730 |
740 |
750 |
750 |
760 |
770 |
780 |
780 |
790 |
48 |
74% |
640 |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
680 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
720 |
730 |
730 |
740 |
750 |
750 |
760 |
760 |
780 |
780 |
790 |
800 |
49 |
79% |
640 |
650 |
660 |
670 |
670 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
720 |
730 |
740 |
740 |
750 |
750 |
760 |
770 |
780 |
780 |
790 |
790 |
800 |
50 |
88% |
650 |
660 |
670 |
670 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
710 |
710 |
720 |
730 |
730 |
740 |
750 |
750 |
760 |
770 |
770 |
780 |
790 |
800 |
800 |
800 |
51 |
97% |
660 |
670 |
670 |
680 |
690 |
690 |
700 |
710 |
720 |
730 |
740 |
740 |
750 |
750 |
760 |
770 |
780 |
780 |
790 |
800 |
800 |
800 |
800 |