GMAT Scores: Range, Percentiles and What a Good Score Is

Your total score runs from 205 to 805 in steps of 10, and every total ends in a 5. Each of the three sections, Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning and Data Insights, is scored from 60 to 90 in steps of 1. The total is not a simple sum of the three sections; GMAC computes it from your performance across all three. The standard error of measurement is 30 to 40 points on the total and about 3 points on a section, so a 655 and a 685 are closer than they look.

Scores come from three ingredients: which questions you answered correctly, how difficult those questions were, and how many you left unanswered. There is a penalty for not finishing a section, and GMAC says plainly that guessing beats leaving a question blank.

The honest answer is percentile-based, because schools read your score against their current class. 555 is the average. 565 is the 50th percentile. 655 is the 90th. 705 is the 98th. 735 and above is the 99th.

For the most selective MBA programs, published class medians sit in the high 600s to the 700s on the Focus scale, so 655-plus is competitive and 705-plus is strong anywhere. For strong full-time programs outside the top tier, 605 to 655 is a reasonable target. Round your aim to the tier of school you want, not to a universal number: a 645 that clears your target program's median with your work profile does more for you than a 705 aimed at a program that does not fit.

Since August 12, 2026, GMAC also issues a Superscore automatically if you test more than once: your best section scores across attempts combine into one total.

The classic GMAT scored 200 to 800; the current scale runs 205 to 805. GMAC publishes a concordance table so a 10th Edition score can be read in Focus terms by percentile:

A classic score maps to a small range of Focus scores, not one number. GMAC's own guidance is that comparing scores across editions is not a precise exercise, so use the concordance for orientation and the percentile for meaning. Schools convert internally.

Use the score converter to map any old score to its Focus Edition equivalent.

You see your unofficial score on screen the moment you finish, and your official score follows in 3 to 5 days, occasionally up to 20. You review the official score before any program sees it, then pick up to five programs for free within 48 hours; after that window each report costs US$35. Scores stay valid for five years, and scores between 5 and 10 years old can still be sent if you have not tested in the past five. On the current GMAT there is no cancel-at-the-test-center step, because programs only see scores you choose to send.