Having prior knowledge of when to expect GMAT scores after the exam and when to send them to your chosen B-schools can help in strategically planning the exam date. This also ensures that the schools receive your scores before the application deadlines of their admission schedules.
As a GMAT aspirant, you might have many questions regarding your GMAT score card — how long does it take to get scores if you have taken the exam in a center or online, how to send your scores to schools, how to cancel or reinstate your scores, and so on. This article will answer some of these frequently-asked questions about your GMAT score.
What Does the GMAT Exam Scorecard Consist of ?
- Information about you (name, address, telephone number, mail address, GMAT ID, digital photograph, exam date, appointment number)
- Scores and percentiles of the four sections (Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA), Integrated Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Verbal reasoning)
- Aggregate score (out of 800)
What are Unofficial and Official GMAT Scores?
An unofficial GMAT score is what you view on your computer screen as soon as you click the ‘Submit’ or “Finish the Test’ button. This score report comprises the individual scores and percentiles of all the sections (except the AWA section) and the total score (sum of Quant and Verbal section), as these sections are system-evaluated. The AWA on the other hand is a subjective section, analyzed and evaluated by human reviewers and hence, is not part of the unofficial score.
Once you get the unofficial scores, you can analyze your performance and decide if you want to keep (accept) your score or reject (cancel) it and retake the exam (you can retake the exam within a gap of 16 days for a maximum of five times in a year).
On the other hand, an official GMAT score constitutes five scores — the scores and percentile rankings of all four sections (including AWA) and the aggregate score of the test. Moreover, the official scorecard also shows your previous five-year GMAT scores as well.
Though the unofficial score is a snapshot of the official score, business schools accept only the Official Score Report and not the Unofficial Score Report during the admission process.
How Long Does it Take to Get GMAT Scores?
You get the unofficial score at once on your computer screen after finishing the exam, but you have to wait for a few more days to get your official score. If you have opted for an online or remotely-proctored GMAT exam, you get your official scores within seven business days of completing the exam. This time limit gets prolonged to 20 calendar days (from the exam date) for a test center-based GMAT exam.
Your scores are made available to you through either of the following methods:
- Your score is delivered through the post at your registered postal address.
- An electronic mail is sent by Pearson VUE (a global organisation that provides computer-based solutions to conducting competitive exams) with a link to view your scores.
- Your score is posted in your mba.com account (the official site for taking GMAT exams) in a user-friendly, downloadable, and printable format.
When and How to Send GMAT Scores to Schools?
Nearly 2300 business management schools globally accept GMAT scores for admissions to 7000+ graduate programs. So, if you see yourself in some of these top business institutions, you need to start preparing and registering for the exam. When you register for GMAT, the fee you pay also includes the charges of sending your scores to up to five schools. Hence, at the time of registration or before appearing for the exam at the test center, you need to make a list of your preferred programs of the top five schools (selected from the database of the official GMAT website). By doing so, you give access to these schools to view your accepted scores sent online to them.
Besides, on receiving the unofficial scores, you get the opportunity to review your score and decide if you want to keep it or cancel it. You only get two minutes to make this decision, if you exceed the time, the score gets cancelled automatically. If you are content with the score (you’ve achieved or exceeded your set target as per the programs selected), you can accept it and send it to your preferred five schools for the programs you wish to pursue. All you need to do is choose the desired programs and schools and click the ‘Report the score’ option, and your GMAT scores will be sent directly to the schools you applied for at the time of registering for GMAT.
The GMAT score is valid for five years from the date you receive it. And, the scorecard sent to the schools encompasses only your accepted GMAT scores of the exams given in these five years.
How to Cancel the GMAT Score?
In case you are not satisfied with your score (when you do not achieve your set target score as per your preferred program and school), you have the option of cancelling it. You can cancel the unofficial score at once after finishing the test centre-based exam without spending a single penny. However, you need to pay a fee of $25 for cancelling the online exam scores within 72 hours after the scheduled start time of the exam.
On cancelling the score, you do not receive the Official or Unofficial Score report. The cancelled GMAT scores do not aggregate to the school version of the official scorecard and are therefore not sent to the schools.
How to Reinstate the GMAT Score?
If you earlier cancelled a GMAT score but wish to restore it, you can reinstate it in your final scorecard by paying a $50 fee (an additional $10 fee if reinstated by phone). The reinstated scores are available to you within five to 20 days of your request and are valid for up to four years and 11 months from the day of the initial exam date. This period is congruent with the five-year validity of the GMAT score, including the lag of one-month reinstatement processing time.
You can send the reinstated scores to the initial list of the top five schools you selected at the time of GMAT registration or before appearing for the exam. The only exception is that if the chosen program is no longer valid, the school will not receive the reinstated scores for that specific program. However, in case the program is valid and the scores are sent, the advantage is that the schools never get any notification of the canceled or reinstated scores and hence, consider the reinstated cancelled score as a valid GMAT score.
How to Get Additional Score Reports (ASR)?
You may opt for an ASR in any of the following cases:
- you did not send your unofficial scores to any school on the exam day
- you wish to send scores to more than the earlier selected five preferred schools
- you want to send reinstated scores to other schools
You can order your ASR online, by sending an e-mail or fax, or by calling the GMAT Customer Service number of your area. The charges are $28 for each additional report and an additional $10 if you order by phone.
It takes about five working days to get an ASR. If you want to send an ASR to a school, you will have to wait for 20 days to receive your official GMAT score and place an order for an ASR. You then have to wait for an additional five days (as mentioned it takes 5 days) to receive and send your ASR to the chosen school. You cannot purchase an ASR if you cancel your score within the stipulated cancellation period (72 hours) or if you recently reinstated your score (for at least one month on account of the reinstatement processing time).
Is Rescoring Available to the Candidates?
Yes, you can request Rescoring if you are not satisfied with the GMAT score. However, this service is only available for the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section and not for the Quant, Verbal, and Integrated Reasoning sections. Also referred to as AWA Rescoring Service, it helps you get the AWA section reevaluated by a separate reader within six months of your test date by paying a nonrefundable $45 fee.
Things to know before applying for rescoring :
- Rescoring may alter your original AWA score and results.
- Rescoring results are final and abiding.
- You get the rescoring results nearly 20 days after the requested date.
- You can submit only one rescoring request.
- You need to contact the GMAT Customer Service to place the rescoring request.
As a GMAT test-taker, it is obvious for you to feel anxious about your unofficial and official scores after giving the exam. After all, your GMAT scores will lead you to the business school of your choice. However, the key to a good score is a smart study plan and consistent preparation so that you are free from any anxious thoughts and stress.
Through this article, we have tried to provide you with all the basic information — sending scores to school, cancelling scores, reinstating and more — that you need to know about your GMAT score card. In case you need more information and clarification, check here.
