I’ve seen conversations in the GMAT community asking, “Is GMAT 700 a good score?” Since this is a common question, I wrote this article to answer it.
In general, GMAT 700 is a good score. The score puts you ahead of 88% of test takers. The average GMAT score for the top 30 business schools is 700-730. So, a GMAT 700 score improves your chances of securing an admit for any MBA program in the world.
However, a good GMAT score does not guarantee an admit.
Is 700 GMAT Good Enough?
700 GMAT is more than enough for any MBA programs ranking below the top 30. For the top 20-30 business schools, a 700 GMAT score is good enough. However, for the top 20 business schools, a 700 GMAT score is 20 points short of the average GMAT score.
However, you can still get an admit from the top 20 MBA programs if you complement your a 700 GMAT score with the following:
- Compelling Essays
- Impressive Resume
- Strong Letters of Recommendation
- Good Academic Background
You may also have some more questions. Why is the GMAT so hard? How hard is the GMAT? So, I wrote an article explaining how hard is it to get 700 on GMAT. I recommend you read the article for a clear explanation on what it takes to get 700 on GMAT.
GMAT Score and MBA Application
The GMAT score is only one part of your MBA application package. Therefore, using the average GMAT score of the MBA programs to which you wish to apply is not enough.
To get the complete picture, you must evaluate the impact of all parts of your application package on your GMAT score.
Let’s look at each aspect in detail.
Essay
Although the essay questions may take many forms, they always revolve around these five questions:
- What is your goal?
- Why do you need an MBA to achieve your goal? Can’t you achieve your goal without an MBA?
- Why do you need an MBA from this school? Why not other schools?
- How has your past experience prepared you for the MBA program and your post-MBA goal?
- What do you have to offer to your peers? What kind of experience and perspective do you offer others?
You have complete control over your essays. So make sure you give it your best. You can use the following table to measure the impact of essays on your GMAT score:
Resume
An impressive resume highlights not only skills but also measurable results. Examine your key performance indicators across your key performance areas. Then, find instances where you improved an outcome through independent or collaborative initiative.
For example:
Reduced the length of procurement cycle by 73% using artificial intelligence and machine learning.
After you find such instances, organize them by your role or function. Awards and other forms of recognition also adds weight to your resume.
If you have been promoted multiple times within the organization, showcase your progression with the help of a timeline.
But if you are struggling to find things to write in your resume, take a year or two to proactively build your resume to meet the above criteria. GMAT score is valid for 5 years. So, don’t rush the process.
You can use the following table for evaluating the impact of resume on the average GMAT score of your target business school.
Letters of Recommendation
The purpose of the letters of recommendation is to validate your claims in your resume and your essays. You can get a letter of recommendation from your reporting manager or from a client.
The letter of recommendation typically asks the person recommending you the following questions:
- Relationship with the applicant
- Role of the applicant in the organization
- Applicant’s effectiveness in executing the role
- Strengths and weaknesses of the applicant
- The applicants fitness for an MBA program
If you have a good relationship with your reporting manager and your clients, getting a strong letter of recommendation is easy.
But if your relationship with your manager is strained, getting a letter of recommendation may prove difficult. Use the following table to estimate the impact of the letters of recommendation on your GMAT score:
Academic Background
Business schools ask for your GPA and the academic transcripts for your graduate course. Business schools follow a 4.0 GPA scale. If your university does not grade you on a 4.0 scale, you can convert your scores to a percentage and then use the following table:
| Percentage | U.S. Grade Equivalent | 4.0 GPA Scale |
| 70-100 | A | 4.0 |
| 50-69 | B | 3.0 |
| 35-49 | C | 2.0 |
| 0-34 | F | 0.0 |
Note: Some business schools provide a chart or a conversion tool to convert your GPA to the scale the school prefers. The above table is an unofficial generalization meant for reference.
This is the area of your application over which you have no control. Your GPA is set in stone. If you have a poor GPA, you can offset its impact with a high GMAT score or through remedial industry-recognized certifications.
Use the following table to measure the impact of your academic background on your GMAT score:
Quant and Verbal Score for 700 on GMAT – Best Combination
GMAT’s algorithm calculates your total GMAT score from your raw score in the quantitative reasoning section and in the verbal reasoning section.
Therefore, you can get a GMAT 700 score through many combinations of quant raw score and verbal raw score. We refer to this as the quant-verbal split.
You can categorize all quant-verbal splits for getting a GMAT 700 score into three cases. These cases are as follows:
Case A: High Quant Percentile Score with Low Verbal Percentile Score
51 is the highest possible raw score in the quantitative reasoning section. With this score, you can get a GMAT 700 score even if you get a verbal raw score of 34.
| Quant Raw Score | Quant Percentile Score | Verbal Raw Score | Verbal Percentile Score | Difference |
| 51 | 97% | 34 | 71% | 26% |
However, the difference between the percentile scores for a 51-34 quant-verbal split is 26 percentile points. For applicants with this combination, the team reviewing the application may see the verbal reasoning skills undeveloped relative to the quantitative reasoning skills.
Case B: Comparable Quant Percentile Score and Verbal Percentile Score
As the quant raw score goes down, the verbal raw score must goes up to get a GMAT 700 score. The following table summarizes the possible quant-verbal split for cases where the difference between the two percentile scores is within 20 percentile points.
| Quant Raw Score | Quant Percentile Score | Verbal Raw Score | Verbal Percentile Score | Difference |
| 50 | 86% | 35 | 76% | 10% |
| 49 | 74% | 36 | 80% | -6% |
| 48 | 67% | 37 | 82% | -15% |
| 48 | 67% | 38 | 85% | -18% |
For applicants with these quant-verbal splits, the team reviewing the application may see the verbal reasoning skills comparable to the quantitative reasoning skills.
Case C: High Verbal Percentile Score with Low Quant Percentile Score
51 is the highest possible raw score in the verbal reasoning section. With this raw score, you can get a GMAT 700 score with a quant raw score as low as 36.
However, the difference between the percentile scores for the two sections is for all cases more than 29 percentile points.
| Quant Raw Score | Quant Percentile Score | Verbal Raw Score | Verbal Percentile Score | Difference |
| 47 | 60% | 39 | 89% | -29% |
| 46 | 57% | 40 | 90% | -33% |
| 45 | 54% | 40 | 90% | -36% |
| 44 | 48% | 41 | 94% | -46% |
| 44 | 48% | 42 | 96% | -48% |
| 43 | 45% | 42 | 96% | -51% |
| 43 | 45% | 44 | 98% | -53% |
| 42 | 41% | 44 | 98% | -57% |
| 42 | 41% | 45 | 99% | -58% |
| 41 | 38% | 45 | 99% | -61% |
| 41 | 38% | 46 | 99% | -61% |
| 40 | 36% | 46 | 99% | -63% |
| 40 | 36% | 47 | 99% | -63% |
| 39 | 33% | 47 | 99% | -66% |
| 39 | 33% | 48 | 99% | -66% |
| 38 | 31% | 49 | 99% | -68% |
| 37 | 29% | 50 | 99% | -70% |
| 36 | 26% | 51 | 99% | -73% |
For applicants with these quant-verbal splits, the team reviewing the application may see the quantitative reasoning skills undeveloped relative to the verbal reasoning skills.
Given the three cases, let’s look at the ideal quant-verbal mix for getting a GMAT 700 score.
Ideal Quant-Verbal Split for GMAT 700
As shown in Case C, a verbal reasoning score in the 90th percentile can get you a GMAT 700 score even if your quantitative reasoning score is in the 54th percentile.
However, people who review your application see the 36-percentile-point difference between your quant and verbal percentile score as a weakness. Here’s why:
Your verbal reasoning score shows your ability to cope with the rigor of the MBA program as far as verbal reasoning is concerned. However, the quantitative reasoning raw score indicates that you may struggle with quantitative aspects of the program.
A large difference between your percentile score in the quantitative reasoning section and the verbal reasoning section hurts your chances of admission into top MBA programs.
Therefore, you must minimize the difference between percentile scores in your quantitative reasoning section and verbal reasoning section.
Thus, the ideal quant-verbal combination for GMAT 700 is:
| QUANT RAW SCORE | QUANT PERCENTILE SCORE | VERBAL RAW SCORE | VERBAL PERCENTILE SCORE | DIFFERENCE |
| 50 | 86% | 35 | 76% | 10% |
| 49 | 74% | 36 | 80% | -6% |
Also, here are the ideal splits for a 700+ score:
| Total Score | Quant Raw Score | Quant Percentile Score | Verbal Raw Score | Verbal Percentile Score | Difference |
| 800 | 51 | 97% | 51 | 99% | -2% |
| 790 | 51 | 97% | 50 | 99% | -2% |
| 780 | 51 | 97% | 46 | 99% | -2% |
| 780 | 51 | 97% | 47 | 99% | -2% |
| 780 | 51 | 97% | 48 | 99% | -2% |
| 770 | 51 | 97% | 44 | 98% | -1% |
| 770 | 51 | 97% | 45 | 99% | -2% |
| 770 | 50 | 86% | 45 | 99% | -13% |
| 770 | 50 | 86% | 46 | 99% | -13% |
| 770 | 50 | 86% | 47 | 99% | -13% |
| 760 | 51 | 97% | 42 | 96% | 1% |
| 760 | 50 | 86% | 44 | 98% | -12% |
| 750 | 51 | 97% | 41 | 94% | 3% |
| 750 | 50 | 86% | 42 | 96% | -10% |
| 740 | 51 | 97% | 39 | 89% | 8% |
| 740 | 51 | 97% | 40 | 90% | 7% |
| 740 | 50 | 86% | 41 | 94% | -8% |
| 730 | 51 | 97% | 38 | 85% | 12% |
| 730 | 50 | 86% | 39 | 89% | -3% |
| 730 | 50 | 86% | 40 | 90% | -4% |
| 720 | 51 | 97% | 37 | 82% | 15% |
| 720 | 50 | 86% | 38 | 85% | 1% |
| 720 | 49 | 74% | 39 | 89% | -15% |
| 720 | 49 | 74% | 40 | 90% | -16% |
| 710 | 51 | 97% | 35 | 76% | 21% |
| 710 | 51 | 97% | 36 | 80% | 17% |
| 710 | 50 | 86% | 36 | 80% | 6% |
| 710 | 50 | 86% | 37 | 82% | 4% |
| 710 | 49 | 74% | 37 | 82% | -8% |
| 710 | 49 | 74% | 38 | 85% | -11% |
Next Steps
If you’re aiming for a 700+ score, I recommend reading the following articles:
- How to Score a 700 on the GMAT (21 Awesome Tips)
- How to Start GMAT Preparation from Scratch (Ultimate Guide 2021)
- How to Score 51 in GMAT Quant (21 Field-Tested Tips)
- How to Prepare for GMAT Verbal (21 Awesome Tips)
Get in Touch
If you need my help with your GMAT preparation, you can get in touch with me via email. Here’s my email ID:
ask@graduateexams.com
I look forward to help you on your journey for a GMAT 700+ score. All the best.
Sources
Percentile Data: What Your GMAT Percentile Ranking Means
Quant-Verbal Split Data: Manhattan Prep GMAT Score Calculator
Image Credits
Featured Image: Infographic vector created by vectorjuice – www.freepik.com