How Hard Is The GMAT™ Exam?

If you’re applying to business school, taking the GMAT can be daunting, and some candidates are fearful of the difficulty level of the test.

However, as the leading standardized admission test for business schools, the GMAT exam is an important way for schools to compare candidates from a wide range of professional, academic, and geographic backgrounds without bias.

Scoring well on the GMAT exam will boost your chances of admission, helping you get into your top choice business schools. And by dedicating some time and effort to preparing for the GMAT, you can do exactly that.

Also, keep in mind that many business schools and universities offer scholarships to their graduate business students, based on need, diversity, or merit. A good GMAT exam score is often part of the qualification criteria for scholarships and bursaries, which should be applied for early in the admissions cycle.

Is the GMAT exam harder than the GRE?

The GMAT and GRE are both widely accepted standardized exams for business school admissions globally. Each exam tests a candidate’s suitability for the program they are applying to.

There’s no simple answer to whether the GMAT or GRE is easier or harder. How hard the test is for you depends on your previous experience and educational background. While the GMAT exam requires prep on the quant side, the GRE may be harder for candidates who are less strong on the verbal or written side, for example.

To assess how hard the GMAT or GRE might be for you, and to understand which test to choose, it helps to understand the differences between the GMAT and the GRE.

Both the GMAT and GRE have sections to test Quantitative Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning. The GRE also has an essay component within its Analytical Writing assessment, while the GMAT incorporates a section on Data Insights designed to prepare students for the data-rich business world and the demands of making decisions based on multiple sources of data. 

While the GRE is designed to evaluate candidates across various graduate disciplines, the GMAT exam is specifically designed for business schools.

Experts agree that the GMAT’s quant-focused nature makes it a more precise measure of a candidate’s ability to handle an analytical business school program.

“The correlation between a student’s GMAT score and first-year performance in business school is well-established, and stronger than with the GRE,” says Chris Kane, head of test prep at Menlo Coaching.  

“The GMAT exam is known to be more rigorous quantitatively, so it predicts a student’s success on the data-driven MBA coursework optimally,” agrees Stacy Blackman, founder of MBA admissions consultancy Stacy Blackman Consulting.

What does the GMAT exam assess?

Graduate business programs want to know you have the capability and aptitude to do well on their programs, which the GMAT seeks to prove.

“By preparing for the GMAT exam, a candidate is sharpening skill sets needed to hit the ground running in their first semester,” says Scott Edinburgh, founder of Personal MBA Coach.

All three sections of the GMAT evaluate specific skills that are crucial to doing well on the MBA.

“Business schools require a standardized measure to evaluate an applicant’s readiness for critical thinking, communication, and the ability to analyze data, understand arguments, and present ideas in a cohesive way,” says Susan Berishaj, founder of Sia Admissions.

She adds that while business schools are looking for an overall competitive score, most are focused on the quant aspect as they anticipate the challenge of teaching difficult data and analysis to incoming students.

How hard is the GMAT exam, really?

Your success on the GMAT exam depends largely on how much time you are willing to spend preparing for it. Time spent studying for the exam will be paid off later as it prepares you for studying an MBA or business master’s.

The mean score achieved by test takers under the current scoring system—implemented in early 2024—is around 555. Searching the range of GMAT scores at your top target schools will help you understand what to aim for. The GMAT score ranges at top business schools such as Harvard and Stanford, for example, are roughly in the region of 675 to 695.

The GMAT exam difficulty level varies for each candidate but spending time preparing will undoubtedly reduce it. For many candidates, the difficulty of the GMAT is not in the content itself but, as with many other tests, the timing and pressure of an exam setting.

“I feel like the GMAT is more about time management rather than difficulty of content. The computer adaptive nature of the exam pushed me to excel in trying to manage time, being intuitive, and making sure I was able to complete all questions,” says Sanjana Sahal, former Full Time MBA student at Imperial College Business School.

Candidates have 2 hours and 15 minutes to complete all sections of the GMAT exam, excluding one optional 10-minute break.

“For me the difficulty came from time pressure. You have to get used to abandoning questions if you think you won’t be able to answer them in time,” says Rowan Canter, former MBA student at ESMT Berlin.

How to prepare for the GMAT exam

If you’re worried about the GMAT difficulty level, preparing well in advance will give you the best possible chance of scoring well.

There are many online testing resources that can help you prepare for each section of the GMAT and building a study plan will ensure you stay on top of everything. You can also access the FREE GMAT™ Official Starter Kit, which includes Practice Exams 1 & 2 and replicates the exam format and computer adaptive scoring algorithm.

As much as preparing for the content of the exam is important, mastering GMAT timing will also give you the best chance of acing the exam.

“Where I’ve seen the highest success is from clients who followed a regimented study plan, took a test-prep course to help them understand the concepts, and hired a tutor for weekly sessions to address specific weaknesses,” says Susan from Sia Admissions.

In her experience, it takes three months on average for candidates to prepare for the GMAT and achieve their desired score.

Acing the GMAT is all about learning the best practices for you and giving yourself enough time to cover revision for all sections of the exam.

Developing a GMAT study plan

Your GMAT study plan should help you stay on track week in, week out as you progress through the material. GMAT preparation plans can range from a couple of weeks to many months, with test takers studying anywhere up to 10 hours per day.

One method for constructing your plan is to plot your typical week, highlighting the time slots that you have available for study. With an estimate of how much time you can commit to study each week, you can then calculate how many weeks of study you need.