GRADUATE MANAGEMENT ADMISSION TEST (GMAT)

  • Eligibility:

The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) has not defined any specific eligibility criteria for taking the test. However, basic eligibility demands the following:

  1. Graduate in any stream from a recognised institute/university.
  2. The candidate must be above 18 years of age. No upper age limit.

Further, different institutes have different criteria for admission into MBA. That, however, comes into play only after one has cleared the test.

  • Examination date:

It is a year-round examination, i.e, students can pick a date of their own preference.

  • How to apply:
  1. Registration: There are 4 modes of GMAT registration – Telephonic registration, Postal Mail, Fax and Online registration. Telephonic registration can be availed only if one is using an international credit card (MasterCard, VISA, American Express).
  2. Exam scheduling: One has to select the city of their choice followed by the preferred centre from the displayed list of available centres in the chosen city. The dates and corresponding available slots for taking the exam in the selected centre show up. Select the slot you want.
  3. Application fee: At the end of the registration process, the candidate needs to submit USD 250 or 15,868 INR as examination fee.
  • General Examination Pattern:
  1. The test generally comprises of four parts which will examine the applicant’s abilities on various subjects such as Writing, Verbal, Reasoning, and Quantitative skills.
  2. Organised in both computer-based and paper-based forms, but it is essentially computer-based in India
  3. On answering a question correctly, the next question is of higher difficulty level, and of lower difficulty level otherwise.
  4. The maximum marks is 800.

 

 

SectionQuestion typesNo. of questionsTime
Analytical Writing AssessmentAnalysis of Argument1 Topic30 mins
Integrated Reasoninga)     Multi-Source Reasoning

b)    Graphics Interpretation

c)     Two Part Analysis

d)    Table Analysis

1230 mins
Optional 8-minute break
Quantitativea)     Data Sufficiency

b)    Problem Solving

3775 mins
Optional 8-minute break
Verbala)     Reading Comprehension

b)    Critical Reasoning

c)     Sentence Correction

4175 mins

 

 

  • Standard Score Distribution

 

SectionScore
Analytical Writing Assessment0 – 6 in half point intervals
Integrated Reasoning1 – 8 in single digit intervals
Quantitative0 – 60
Verbal0 – 60

 

 

The strategy you choose to adopt for preparation is very important.

After completing his B.Tech in 2015, Electrical and Electronics engineer, Anubhav Shrivastava, alumnus of Manipal Institute of Technology, successfully cleared GMAT and is now pursuing his studies in Indian School of Business (ISB). He shares with us, his take on the same.

“It’s a taxing exam. Having been educated as per the Indian system, you are supposed to be better at the Quantitative section than others, by default. So naturally, the focus in preparation should be more on verbal and if it’s not your forte, then you will have a tough time because GMAT English is considered tougher than CAT English. Reading rigorously dense material daily is one habit that you need to develop to crack verbal.”

  • Duration of Exam:

The duration of the exam is 210 minutes, i.e. 3 hours and 30 minutes.

  • Selection procedure:
  1. The candidate gets his/her score immediately after completion of the test.
  2. The score is valid upto 5 years after taking the test.
  3. The GMAC shortlists worthy candidates for admission to various management courses in different institutes, on the basis of their GMAT score.
  4. After getting shortlisted, the final selection of the applicant is made on the basis of several rounds of selection process such as Letters of Recommendation, Statement of Purpose, Personal Interview and/or other rounds held by different Business Schools.
  • Top Universities / Colleges in India and Abroad: 

“In India, I would name IBM (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, primarily), ISB, XLRI, FMS, SP Jain.

Abroad, there are many. All the top 25 B-schools ranked by financial times fall under the list. Depends on your priority. Different B-schools weigh differently in terms of ROI, brand name, industry exposure, curriculum, duration of study, etc.”

On clearing the written exam, how should students prepare/groom themselves for the interviews? How does the preparation for the personal interview differ from that for the written exam?

“Well, hone your communication skills. Improve your profile, and your college CGPA will also play a substantial role in getting a convert. When it comes to tier 1 B-schools. You are already in the backseat if your GPA is less than 8. Because an 8.5 or 9 CGPA in Manipal is the IIT/BITS equivalent of 7. Having said that, an average GPA doesn’t rule you out of the game totally. It just makes it a bit more challenging.

Above all, communication skills and the ability to convince the interviewer of your competence for the college are very important. Your Curriculum Vitae (CV), extracurriculars, academics, and your ability to deal with stress are assessed critically; don’t be nervous, stress is what interviewers feed on.”

What are means do you suggest to prepare for the written exam and the interview?

“Self study and lot of research (from the internet) for interview preparation. I also spoke to some of the almuni of ISB.”


Could you avail these from Manipal?

“No. Personally, I do not endorse coaching for GMAT. But yes, there are a couple of Manipal seniors who are in ISB. So you can always contact us in that regard.”


Do you suggest any online references/sources for preparation?
“GMATCLUB, Manhattan Guides, Aristotle SC, Aristotle Powerscore Bible, Kaplan Verbal Workbook, etc.”

 

For further help in this regard, feel free to contact Anubhav Shrivastava.

anu

Contact No.: +91 81050 05262

E-mail ID: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anubhav.shrivastava.7

-Compiled by Priyanjali Roychoudhury for MTTN

 

 

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