GMAT Score Chart & Why Your Score Matters

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a standardized test that measures the abilities of prospective MBA students in analytical writing, integrated reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and verbal reasoning. Your GMAT score provides business schools with a standardized measure of your academic skills and aptitudes that can be compared to those of other applicants and indicates your potential for success in an MBA program. High performance on the exam can help persuade admissions committees to overlook other weaknesses in your application, such as a low undergraduate GPA or limited work experience. 

“The best thing about the MBA admissions process is that it is truly holistic,” says Clear Admit’s Co-Founder Graham Richmond. This means that there are multiple components that go into an application and many ways for applicants to shine. The GMAT is one of those components, and it falls into the broader ‘academic aptitude’ element that schools assess. As such, your result on the test will be viewed alongside your undergraduate GPA, choice of major, rigor of coursework, the caliber of undergraduate institution, and any other grades or coursework pursued so as to paint a picture of your classroom abilities and intellectual firepower.”

A high GMAT score also makes you a more competitive candidate for scholarships, which can help offset the cost of attending an MBA program. Your GMAT score can also impact your job prospects after graduation, as some employers use them as a screening tool for job candidates, especially for highly competitive and analytical roles.

Richmond highlights a key point applicants must keep in mind: “While the GMAT is just one piece of a complex puzzle, it is important to do as well as you can on the exam. As far as setting a goal for your test result, I recommend looking at the schools you are targeting and reviewing their class profiles to see the average GMAT scores as well as the middle-80% ranges. This should help in setting a target.”

Our GMAT score chart lists the range of scores for a school’s most recently admitted MBA class. It’s essential to thoroughly prepare for the GMAT and strive to achieve your best possible score. However, you can see what scores admits to your target schools are hitting, giving you an idea of what to aim for. If, after prep work and retakes, your score is outside the range for the schools you were targeting, you can identify alternative schools where your application would be most competitive. 

The total score range for the GMAT is 200 to 800, with the majority of test-takers scoring between 400 and 600. A score of 700 or above is what top-tier business schools expect to see from their applicants. 

The chart below lists the top business schools in the United States and Europe in alphabetical order. The average GMAT score shown is the average from the Class of 2024 (or Class of 2023 for one-year programs). Schools that report median scores or a range rather than the class average are noted in the GMAT score chart. 

Note: GMAC recently announced upcoming changes to the GMAT to be implemented later in 2023. See more here. 

*Median Score
**80% Range
^Class of 2023