Graduate Management Admission Test, or simply GMAT, is an international exam that allows successful candidates to take admissions in various graduate management courses such as Master in Business Administration (MBA) or Master of Finance. It has been recognized by a great many universities and colleges and is among the most well-regarded examinations in the world. But, it is not as straightforward as it sounds like.

Many of you might know that GMAT is not a simple exam. It covers a wide area of questions and is highly competitive in nature. In order to really understand the way about it, you should know what GMAT is all about. In this article, you will find a few pointers on the said exam. We will discuss the necessary aspects of the exam that can help in preparing an effective strategy.

Here are 6 things you should know about GMAT:

1. Format of the exam
   The most important aspect of any exam is the format. Every exam designates a format to test specific skills pertinent to the course applied for. In a typical GMAT paper, there are 4 sections. These are the Quantitative Section, Analytical Writing Assessment, Integrated Verbal Section, and Verbal Section. The candidates get a total of 3 hours and 7 minutes to complete all these sections. Note that the time has been distributed among these sections, and a candidate can only spend a specified amount of time per section. Since the onset of the pandemic last year, an interim format has been designed which is monitored and is workable from home; the said format does not include Analytical Writing Assessment.

1. Score
   Once you have apprised yourself of the format, you should find out about the score range. The total score in the exam varies, from 200-800. Note that the performance of a candidate in the quantitative section and the verbal section are taken together. All the scores are given in increments of 10 such as 440, 320, etc. Depending on the school you have applied to, you should schedule your exam. The validity of the score is five years. The scores will be generated 20 days following the exam.

1. Schedule of the exam
   Like many international examinations, the GMAT offers a flexible schedule and numerous multiple re-takes subject to certain conditions. Candidates can go to the official website, mba.com, or call one of the registered exam centers for registration. You must note that you cannot take a retest within 16 days and not more than 5 times a year. Maximum attempts can only be 8. You should get the details of the schedule on the official website.

1. No passing or failing the test
   Consider GMAT as an exam that makes you eligible to pursue international higher education. There is no such thing called passing or failing the GMAT. The reason is, every university and college stipulates its own qualifying GMAT scores. So, it all depends on the stipulation made by your chosen institute. Just ensure that you have breached the minimum score requirement and you will be eligible to apply for courses in the desired institution. Of course, some universities may extend incentives to high scorers in the exam but that does not disentitle others from admission.

1. There are plentiful resources to study from
   GMAT may be a challenge but you can overcome it with the help of good study resources. While there may be several purchases made towards preparation, you can very easily find good and free study material online. In fact, the official website offers many free practice papers, guidebooks, and whatnot to the candidates. Other than this, you can go through many websites that aim at providing study tips and resources to candidates free of cost or at a minimal fee.

1. There is no set standard of preparation
   GMAT targets your analytical and reasoning abilities and tests them through the various sets of questions. Many candidates are not very comfortable in solving related questions but they can master them with a lot of practice. There are candidates who have always been quick at questions like these and may not require extensive hours of preparation. So, it depends on the candidate’s individual abilities and strengths.

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