Average GMAT Score and Scores for Top MBA Programs
Credit: Image Credit: Dimensions / E+ / Getty ImagesData Summary
The average GMAT score in the U.S. in 2024 was 622, reflecting new scores based on the revised GMAT Focus Edition. - The national average GMAT score has increased considerably in the past five years, rising from 616 in 2019 to a record 654 in 2023, a 38-point jump.
- Scores between 615 and 625 on the Focus Edition correlate to roughly a 680 on the previous GMAT, pointing to another year-over-year increase.
- In 2024, 80.7% of U.S. test takers sent their GMAT scores to MBA programs, 14% sent them to other business master’s programs, and 5.2% sent them to other programs.
- In the newest GMAT edition, you must score 655 or above to be in the top 10% of test takers.
- Although most schools state no preference, the majority of accepted applicants at the most selective business schools take the GMAT over the GRE.
- Though most of the sections on the GMAT are the same as on the GRE, the GMAT has a more challenging quantitative section with harder math questions.
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a standardized exam used by over 6,000 institutions to evaluate test takers’ readiness for graduate schools in business. This includes master of business administration (MBA) programs, business master’s, and others.
Most schools accept GMAT and Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores. Competitive test scores could increase your chances of admission to graduate school and likelihood of receiving scholarships and job opportunities.
Keep reading to learn more about average GMAT scores, score percentiles, and whether the GMAT or GRE is best for you.
Did You Know…
The previous GMAT version lasted from 2012-2024. The GMAT underwent major changes starting November 7, 2023. The GRE also underwent changes starting September 22, 2023, and the length of both exams was reduced by nearly half.
Table of Contents
Average GMAT Score in the U.S.
The average GMAT score in the U.S. in 2024 was 622. At first glance, this seems like a major decline compared to the 654 in 2023, but that actually reflects a changing GMAT.
The streamlined GMAT Focus Edition or GMAT Exam is now the only version of the test after the 10th edition was sunsetted in early 2024. The new GMAT is scored differently, meaning a 700 on the new test doesn’t correlate to the same score on the previous test.
A 625 on the GMAT Focus Edition roughly correlates to a 680 on the transitional GMAT. That points to another year-over-year increase in test scores, although the two tests don’t directly compare.
The average GMAT score in the U.S. increased considerably in the years prior to the GMAT Focus Edition’s debut, jumping by 34 points from 2020 to 2024.
- In 2023, the national average score was a record 654. In 2019, it was 616.
- The average GMAT Focus Edition Score in 2024 was 622. Scores between 615 and 625 on the Focus Edition correlate to roughly a 680 on the previous GMAT, pointing to another year-over-year increase.
- In 2024, 80.7% of U.S. test takers sent their GMAT scores to MBA programs, 14% sent them to other business master’s programs, and 5.2% sent them to other programs.
- From 2020-2024, applicants averaged just over 26 years old.
| Year | Score |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 616 |
| 2020 | 627 |
| 2021 | 658 |
| 2022 | 660 |
| 2023 | 654 |
Average GMAT Scores by School
If you’re considering an MBA program, you might want to compare your GMAT score to the institution’s average. The average scores at more competitive schools are often higher than the national average.
Average GMAT Scores for Top MBA Programs
The most selective schools in the country have average GMAT scores above the 90th percentile. It is worth noting, however, that these are just the averages, and plenty of applicants score below or above the average for each school.
| School | Average GMAT Score |
|---|---|
| Stanford University | 738 |
| New York University (Stern) | 733 |
| University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) | 732 |
| Harvard University | 740 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) | 730 |
| Columbia University | 732 |
| Northwestern University (Kellogg) | 733 |
| University of California, Berkeley (Haas) | 730 |
| University of Chicago (Booth) | 729 |
| Dartmouth University (Tuck) | 727 |
| Yale University (School of Management) | 730 |
| University of Virginia (Darden) | 718 |
Note: The new GMAT exam, released in late 2023, will likely change these averages.
Average GMAT Scores for Other Popular MBA Programs
Other popular MBA programs also require applicants to earn competitive scores. The table below shows the average scores for each school.
| School | Average GMAT Score |
|---|---|
| Cornell University (SC Johnson)* | 710 |
| Rice University (Jones) | 698 |
| Emory University (Goizueta) | 705 |
| Georgetown University (McDonough) | 700 (or 625 GMAT Focus score) |
| Duke University (Fuqua) | 680-770 (the middle 80% of accepted applicants scored in this range) |
Note: The new GMAT exam, released in late 2023, will likely change these averages.
A Changing GMAT
The business school admissions landscape is changing, and the GMAT is changing with it.
The revamped GMAT Focus Edition became the only available version of the admissions test in early 2024 after the GMAC sunsetted the traditional GMAT.
“I believe that we have achieved what we set out to do at the inception of the redesign more than two years ago, allowing business school aspirants to best demonstrate their capabilities in the most relevant and in-demand skillsets like critical thinking and data intelligence,” GMAC CEO Joy Jones said in a previous release.
The Focus Edition has a number of features aimed at being more accessible to students: It’s almost an hour shorter than its predecessor, featuring three 45-minute sections and no longer including an analytical writing section.
Those three sections are:
- Quantitative reasoning
- Verbal reasoning
- Data insights — a new section focused on interpreting and applying data.
“The redesign makes the exam more focused, more accessible, and less daunting,” Rodrigo Malta, managing director of MBA recruitment and admissions at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business, said in an early 2024 GMAC release. “But more focused doesn’t mean easier or less valuable. It just means smarter.”
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE), another popular standardized test, underwent similar changes. The new GRE format takes only two hours instead of four.
Those changes to the GMAT and GRE come as a growing number of business schools drop standardized tests as a requirement for admissions. The University of New Mexico in 2024 announced it would no longer require the GMAT or GRE for its executive MBA program, joining several similar programs that have gone test-optional.
“Removing the exam as a requirement rewards that experience,” A University of New Mexico press release read.
Washington University in St. Louis’s new Flex MBA program, offered by its Olin Business School, likewise does not require the GMAT or GRE.
While test-optional policies are on the rise, many schools still require the GMAT for admissions. Many others allow or even encourage students to submit the standardized test, even though they don’t require it. The GMAT is accepted at more than 7,700 programs worldwide, according to the GMAC.
Some business schools even require supplemental materials in addition to the GMAT Focus Edition. Harvard Business School, one of the country’s top business programs, announced it would require a writing assessment in addition to the test.
“Writing is an essential component of the MBA program,” the Harvard Business School website reads.
“Therefore, to be admitted to HBS all students must have an official writing assessment. You can satisfy this with a valid GRE, GMAT (10th Edition), or English language test score. If you only submitted the GMAT Focus, which lacks a writing section, HBS will contact you at the interview stage about taking the separate GMAC Business Writing Assessment (to be released July 2024).”
The GMAC’s Business Writing Assessment, which debuted in 2024 after the GMAT Focus Edition launched, allows test takers 30 minutes to analyze an argument.
Although more schools are becoming test-optional, many are reporting high GMAT scores in their 2026 MBA classes. Olin reported a record-setting GMAT score and a 10-year high GRE score for its 2026 MBA class.
GMAT Score Percentiles
In the newest GMAT, you must score 655 or above to be in the top 10% of test takers. In the previous edition, a score of 700 put you in the top 14%. This change shows that it’s harder to achieve a top score with the updated version.
| SCORE | PERCENTILE RANKING |
|---|---|
| 805 | 100.0 |
| 750 | 99.0 |
| 705 | 98.2 |
| 655 | 91.3 |
| 605 | 71.7 |
| 555 | 49.0 |
| 505 | 27.6 |
| 455 | 15.1 |
| 405 | 6.7 |
| 355 | 3.0 |
| 305 | 1.0 |
| 255 | 0.3 |
| 200 | 0.1 |
Did You Know…
Many popular online MBA programs waive the GMAT or GRE requirement, especially for prospective students with extensive work experience.
How Many People Take the GMAT?
In 2024, there were around 78,429 unique GMAT test takers around the world. The number of test takers and tests taken have decreased considerably in recent years, although 2024 saw a slight increase.
- Globally, there were nearly 117,510 test takers in 2020, marking a -33.3% change in those taking the exam.
- Globally, the number of tests taken has decreased by nearly 33.4% from 2020 to 2024, going from roughly 173,176 tests taken to fewer than 116,000.
| Location | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | 225,621 | 173,176 | 156,453 | 124,112 | 108,851 | 115,286 |
| United States | 63,945 | 45,648 | 38,509 | 24,789 | 21,657 | 23,299 |
The percentage of GMAT test takers who are at least 25 years old and have working experience has been on the rise in recent years.
Roughly 35% of candidates in 2020 had no work experience, but that figure dropped to just 23% as of 2024. The percentage of test takers under 25 was 47% globally in 2024, a decrease from 52% in 2020.
That’s not surprising, given the rise of online MBA programs geared towards working adults since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of women taking the exam decreased slightly between 2020 and 2024, falling from 46% to 42%.
Should You Take the GMAT or GRE?
Most full-time MBA programs require applicants to submit either GMAT or GRE scores. While schools state that they do not prefer one over the other, the majority of accepted applicants at some of the most selective business schools took the GMAT over the GRE.
- Among Harvard Business School’s class of 2026, 63% of students submitted the GMAT, in contrast to 41% for the GRE.
- For the University of Chicago’s Booth, 56% submitted their GMAT scores, and 38%, their GRE scores.
- At Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, 58% submitted GMAT scores, and 42%, their GRE scores.
While the GMAT and GRE overlap somewhat, they have key differences, such as the scoring scale and exam sections.
The GMAT and GRE both cover analytical writing, quantitative reasoning, and verbal reasoning, but the GMAT has an additional section called integrated reasoning.
The GMAT is also known to have a more challenging quantitative section with harder math questions. The GRE tends to have a harder verbal reasoning section with more challenging vocabulary.
The GRE is more commonly required for graduate programs in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, social work, and education.
Frequently Asked Questions About the GMAT
The GMAT is two hours and 15 minutes long, with just 3 sections and no writing assessment. The GRE is similar in length, taking a total of one hour and 58 minutes to complete.
Sources
- GMAT Geographic Trend Report: Testing Year 2023. Graduate Management Admission Council. October 2023.
- GMAT Geographic Trend Report: Testing Year 2024. Graduate Management Admission Council. October 2024
- Understanding Your Score. Graduate Management Admission Council. October 2024
- GMAT History. Graduate Management Admission Council. Accessed December 2024.
- GMAT Focus Edition Sets to Deliver Test, Pathway to In-Demand Skills, B Schools and Career. GMAC Press Release. Graduate Management Admission Council. August 2023.
- Class of 2025 Profile. Harvard Business School Admissions. Accessed October 2023.
- Chicago Booth Full-Time MBA Class of 2025 Profile. 2004-2023.
- MBA Entering Class Profile. Stanford Graduate School of Business. Accessed October 2023.
- Exam Structure, Content & Features. GMAC. Accessed December 2024.
- Interpreting Your GRE Scores: 2024-25. Educational Testing Service. Accessed December 2024.