The Best GMAT Scoring Grid to Calculate Your Score

percent-997401__480

Are you hoping to achieve a specific GMAT total score? Wondering how your verbal and quantitative scores contribute to your GMAT total score?

If so, you’re not alone. Almost every test-taker who takes the GMAT is looking to achieve a certain goal score, and many don’t fully understand how GMAT scores are calculated. To be fair, calculating GMAT scores can be really confusing!

In this guide, I’ll help clarify how GMAT scoring works and provide a sample GMAT score matrix that shows you how your scaled quantitative and scaled verbal scores combine to create your total score. First, I’ll explain how to calculate a GMAT score. Next, I’ll walk you through our GMAT scoring grid. Finally, I’ll talk about how you can use this GMAT score grid to inform your GMAT prep.

 

How to Calculate GMAT Scores

Calculating GMAT scores can be confusing, particularly because the verbal and quantitative sections of the GMAT are adaptive. That means that you’ll receive harder or easier questions throughout the test based on how you’re performing.

Before we talk about how to calculate a GMAT score, let’s break down what contributes to your GMAT scores.

Not sure how or what to study? Confused by how to improve your score in the shortest time possible? We've created the only Online GMAT Prep Program that identifies your strengths and weaknesses, customizes a study plan, coaches you through lessons and quizzes, and adapts your study plan as you improve.

We believe PrepScholar GMAT is the best GMAT prep program available, especially if you find it hard to organize your study schedule and don't want to spend a ton of money on the other companies' one-size-fits-all study plans.

     Improve Your GMAT Score by 60 Points, Guaranteed     

Your official GMAT score consists of five parts:

    • Total Scaled Score (on a scale from 200 to 800)
    • Verbal Scaled Score (on a scale from 0 to 60)
    • Quantitative Scaled Score (on a scale from 0 to 60)
    • Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) Score (on a scale from 0 to 6)
    • Integrated Reasoning Score (on a scale from 1 to 8)

The total score is a combination of your verbal and quantitative scaled scores. Your GMAT total score is without a doubt the most important part of your GMAT score, because your GMAT total score is the part of your GMAT score that business schools are most concerned with.

There are three things that determine your scaled scores: the number of questions you answer correctly, the number of questions you answer, and how difficult the questions you answer are. Because the GMAT is adaptive, your scaled scores are constantly changing as you answer questions. You don’t need to get every question right to score well on the GMAT – rather, because GMAT scoring weights the difficulty level of the questions you answer, you can get multiple questions wrong and still see a strong score.

 

calculator-428294__480

 

How to Use the PrepScholar GMAT Score Matrix

In the following sections, we’ll provide you with two charts that you can use to predict your GMAT total score and score percentile.

We created this GMAT score matrix so that you can predict your GMAT total score based on your quant and verbal scores. You can use this GMAT score grid to understand the verbal and quantitative scores you need to achieve your goal GMAT total score.

In order to use this GMAT score matrix, first, locate your scaled quantitative score using the leftmost column.

Next, move over in the chart to match your quant score with your scaled verbal score, using the topmost row.

Where the two boxes meet is your predicted GMAT total score, based on your scaled verbal and quant scores.

 

hands-1004132__480

 

How We Made the PrepScholar GMAT Scoring Grid

We crafted this GMAT score grid by averaging crowdsourced data from test-takers who’ve taken the GMAT. We averaged together data about their scores and percentile rankings to create the PrepScholar GMAT Score Grid.

 

PrepScholar GMAT Scoring Grid Disclaimer

While we have crunched a ton of data to make sure this GMAT score grid is as accurate as possible, GMAC releases very little information about its scoring algorithm. It’s impossible to predict your GMAT total score based on your scaled section scores with 100% accuracy.

The best way to achieve your goal GMAT score is to make and stick to a well-crafted GMAT study plan. For more information about making a GMAT study plan, check out our total guide to GMAT study plans, which includes four sample GMAT study plans.

 

PrepScholar GMAT Scoring Grid

Screen Shot 2017-06-20 at 6.10.49 AM

There are a couple of key takeaways from this GMAT scoring grid.

You can use this grid to understand how your specific section scores combine to create your total score. This helps you estimate where you need to be on the verbal and quant sections to achieve your goal total score. If you’re trying to achieve a 650 on the GMAT, you can aim for different combinations of verbal and quant scores to achieve that goal total score. Play to your strengths — if you’re better at quant than verbal, make sure you see what kind of scaled quant score you’ll need to outweigh a struggling verbal score.

You can see that verbal scores tend to weigh more heavily than quant scores. You can make up a lot of points on the GMAT by scoring well on the verbal section. For instance, a scaled score of 30 on the verbal section increases your score more than a scaled score of 30 on the quant section. If you’re really trying to boost your GMAT score, make sure you’re spending adequate time preparing for the verbal section.

 

What’s Next?

Looking for more information about calculating your GMAT score to better inform your GMAT prep? Our Best GMAT Score Calculator guide breaks down your GMAT score in more detail and explains how your GMAT score is calculated. Use this guide to understand how to make substantial improvements to your GMAT total score.

Trying to decide whether or not you should retake the GMAT? Deciding to retake the GMAT is a serious decision, and requires careful thought. In our guide to retaking the GMAT, we help you decide whether or not to retake the test and walk you through the process of registering for the GMAT again, so that you save money and are better prepared on test day.

Wondering how to get a perfect GMAT score? Achieving a score of 800 on the GMAT is a dream for most test takers. In our guide for how to get a perfect GMAT score, we break down the strategies you’ll need to ace the GMAT and get as close to an 800 as possible.

Was this helpful? Sign up for FREE GMAT and MBA guides!

Author: Hayley Milliman

Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females.