Minimum GMAT score for Ivy League Schools

Applying to the Ivy league schools for a management program like the MBA or Executive MBA can seem pretty intimidating. And while it is obvious why it is harder to get into these schools, often times, many of us have hoped and wished that we could get in. If you are amongst these people, its best to attend GMAT coaching classes.

And there are a lot of people who are capable of getting admitted to the Ivy League, but they are held back by some aspect of their profile and the first hurdle to getting into most of the top business schools is the GMAT score.

Five years ago, a 700 on the GMAT was enough to be considered for the Ivy League. But now, with the ever-increasing competition and the influx of Indian and Asian applicants, the average GMAT scores for the sample set of applicants has increased to 720 on the GMAT for the Ivy League.

Minimum GMAT score for getting into a good B school

While many B schools will tell you that the GMAT score alone does not determine your chances of getting an admit, it still happens to carry a considerable amount of weight in determining if you are eligible to study at those institutions. 

Now, any school worth going to and I mean that in a very generic sense, will expect a minimum of at least 600 on the GMAT.

There is however a GMAT coaching centre called Plan A, that has ensured that 80% of their students have scored above 650 on the GMAT. This is a pretty impressive feat for a start-up. But the people there seem to have figured out how to make even an average student score well on the GMAT.
Now, personally I would say a 650 on the GMAT is a competitive score and will allow most colleges to consider your application. But it is also important to keep in mind that a good GMAT score alone is not  enough to secure an admit into top tier B schools.

The best practice tests for the GRE

There are hundreds of online GRE practice tests that are available. However, not all of them are functional computer adaptive tests. Most of them are just random difficulty questions drawn at  random from a large question bank without any correlation to how you answer your questions.

There are some GRE coaching centres and GRE coaching classes that provide GRE practice tests that are akin to the real exam, however you must be careful in how you view these tests as a apart of  your study routine.

Taking the tests that are not computer adaptive can be good practice for the concepts, but it is highly recommended that you do not use these tests to gauge your performance or progress. If you do, there is a high chance of being misled.
The best tests out there that provide an accurate analysis of your performance are the Manhattan GRE tests. There are 6 of them and it is best to take anywhere between six to ten mock tests at minimum before you attempt the main exam. But also keep in mind that your performance will be reflective of how accurately you recreate the exam environment when you take the mock tests.

GMAT – Stuck at 650

In the best efforts to make a generalized statement, the concepts can only get you so far on the GMAT. And if you are near the 650 mark, then you can be fairly confident that you are sound with your concepts. However, to cross this threshold, you need to pay attention to a couple of things:

1.       Time Management – If you are unable to finish your exam on time or are struggling with finding time to answer certain questions or a certain type of question, then your best bet would be to attend a few GMAT classes.

2.       Strike Rate of getting correct answers on your mocks – This is something you can analyse for yourself, If there exists a pattern to your right and wrong answers, then it maybe that you are finding it hard to maintain concentration and focus

3.       Total number of questions that you have gotten wrong on your mocks – This in correlation with the above two points can be indicative of the difficulty level of the questions that you are encountering in the test and this just means that you need to practice the more difficult problems in the concepts or topics that you are not comfortable with.

GMAT – Stuck at 600

In this series of blogs, we will be uncovering some of the most common issues behind why your score may not be improving beyond a certain point. It is important to keep in mind that this may not be the case for everybody, and it is best to sign up at the best GMAT coaching centre you can find.

Alright, so let us assume that you have begun your preparation a few weeks or months ago and you have worked out all the problems and questions in the GMAT Official Guide for the current year or the ones from the previous two years from whenever you are aiming to take your GMAT.

If you haven’t done so then that might be the leading cause for you to not be able to cross the 600 mark on the GMAT.

GMAT – Stuck at 700

Some of the best GMAT coaching centres in the world would give you some form of the same analogy.

It could help you to a large extent if you imagined that the GMAT was your opponent in a chess match or some other intellectual battle. And a measure of who is the better player is determined by what score you get on the test. Now, generally a 650 on the GMAT implies that you and the test are evenly matched. Anything above 650 means that you are the better player, but how much better would depend on how much higher your score is than 650. And by that measure, anything below 650 would imply that the GMAT is the better player.

Now, with this outlook, do what you would do when facing such an opponent. Think harder. Go to the next level in your own brain. Grow. Learn. Apply.