Graduate Management Admission Test

Graduate Management Admission Test
Name	Graduate Management Admission Test
Acronym	GMAT
Administered by	Graduate Management Admission Council
Purpose	Admission to business school programs such as Master of Business Administration, Master of Finance, Master of Accountancy
Launched	1953
Format	Computer-adaptive test; paper-delivered where applicable
Duration	~3.5 hours
Score range	200–800 (quantitative/verbal); integrated reasoning 1–8; analytical writing 0–6

Contents

Graduate Management Admission Test is a standardized assessment used primarily for admission to graduate business school programs such as the Master of Business Administration and specialized master's degrees. It evaluates analytical, quantitative, verbal, and integrated reasoning skills for applicants to management programs at institutions including the Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Wharton School, INSEAD, and London Business School. The test is managed by the Graduate Management Admission Council and is delivered globally in partnership with testing providers and regional centers.

Overview

The exam measures skills in areas relevant to success at professional schools such as Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School, MIT Sloan School of Management, Kellogg School of Management, and Yale School of Management. Scores are reported to applicant-target schools including Chicago Booth School of Business, Sloan School of Management, IE Business School, HEC Paris, and SDA Bocconi School of Management. The assessment format has evolved alongside policies at institutions like University of Pennsylvania and University of Cambridge which weigh standardized measures during admissions cycles.

The test originated in the mid-20th century amid expansion of postgraduate management programs at institutions such as Harvard Business School and Wharton School and was formalized under organizations including the Educational Testing Service and later the Graduate Management Admission Council. Major milestones involved adoption by schools like Columbia Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business, introduction of computer-adaptive testing similar to systems used by the Scholastic Aptitude Test era, and later revisions paralleling curricular trends at London Business School and INSEAD. Policy shifts at universities such as Oxford University and corporate hiring practices influenced test content and delivery.

Sections include quantitative problem solving akin to topics covered at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, verbal reasoning reflecting critical reading practices at University of Chicago, integrated reasoning introduced in response to analytics trends at Carnegie Mellon University, and analytical writing mirroring argumentation emphasis at Yale University. Item types draw on skills associated with curricula at Columbia University, Northwestern University, Duke University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Michigan. The computer-adaptive algorithm for scoring echoes methodologies developed at testing centers linked to Educational Testing Service and influenced by psychometrics research pursued at Stanford University and Princeton University.

Scoring conventions (200–800) are routinely cited by admissions committees at Harvard Business School, Wharton School, INSEAD, and Stanford Graduate School of Business; integrated reasoning and analytical writing measures are reported separately and considered by programs at Columbia Business School, London Business School, HEC Paris, and IESE Business School. Score validity and reporting timelines are coordinated with application deadlines at institutions like Yale School of Management and University of Pennsylvania and are used alongside credentials from universities such as Oxford University and Cambridge University.

Preparation materials range from commercial offerings produced in collaboration with publishers used by students at Harvard University, Princeton University, Columbia University, and Stanford University to courses run by test-prep companies with alumni networks at Wharton School and Kellogg School of Management. Resources include practice tests, review books, and classroom instruction drawing faculty from programs such as MIT Sloan School of Management and London Business School, as well as tutoring services connected to alumni of INSEAD and HEC Paris. Test centers and remote-proctoring partnerships operate through regional hubs linked to institutions like National University of Singapore and University of Hong Kong.

Critiques have come from advocacy and research groups associated with higher-education debates at Harvard University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and organizations monitoring access to postgraduate study, citing potential biases and calls for holistic review practices similar to those adopted by Yale University and Princeton University. Reforms have included test-delivery changes influenced by remote-proctoring pilots linked to University of Oxford and expansion of accepted alternatives by schools like INSEAD and IESE Business School. Ongoing discussions among councils and committees involve representatives from Harvard Business School, Wharton School, London Business School, and regional accrediting bodies such as AACSB International.

Category:Standardized tests