We all know that the GMAT is a critical aspect of the process of applying to business school. However, understanding why the test is used and how it functions within an application package are lesser known. Understanding the how-and-why of the GMAT is important because it allows us to frame the exam properly. As such, the ability to provide thoughtful, insightful answers to “Why do I have to take the GMAT?” or “Is my GMAT score really that important?” will help advisees view the test from the proper perspective and respect it enough to thoroughly prepare for it on its own terms.
The two big quantitative metrics in an application package are undergraduate GPA and GMAT scores. According to the test maker, these are ideally used in tandem by an admissions committee along with other admissions criteria to holistically assess a candidate. Unlike undergraduate curricula, which can vary widely, the GMAT is a standard tool for objective assessment of potential academic performance. It is in those final three words that we uncover the true metric of the GMAT Score Report: potential academic performance.
All institutions that use the GMAT as an assessment tool can and should request from GMAC a free Validity Study Service. Since the GMAT is used to predict academic performance, it is therefore important that individual institutions understand exactly how scores correlate with specific programs. The Validity Study Service will “demonstrate the relationship between test scores and performance in a specific academic program.” (source: GMAC.com)
GMAC provides very robust resources and guidelines defining the GMAT and its usefulness. At 60 years old, the GMAT has proven itself a valid selection tool and invaluable to the b-school admissions process. MBA and other graduate management degree aspirants are well-served to move beyond superficial and unhelpful lamentations on the required exam and instead move quickly toward a test prep regimen that will allow them to beat it. Proper messaging of the how-and-why of the GMAT will help put folks onto the proper path in short order.
