GMAT Scoring

Question

Hi,

I am looking for clarification...

Based on what I've read, would I be right in saying that ONLY the Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning sections contribute to the final score out of 800?

I know some schools are also interested in the scores from the other two sections but the school I'm hoping to go into are only concerned about prospective students gaining 600 or above.

This being the case... are the Integrated Reasoning and Analytical Writing sections important?

TIA for any advice

siddharthkapoor · Answer

Yes, only Verbal and Quants sections contribute towards final GMAT score; however, this is not a reason to ignore IR and AWA sections, even though your target school only expects a GMAT score of 600+. While a high score in IR and AWA sections might not be determining, a low score in IR and AWA is disapproved and may prove to be a disadvantage, even in your target school; therefore, it's important to not score low in IR and AWA.

MahmoudFawzy · Answer

short answer "No". paying much attention to them may not give you an advantage, but neglecting them may bring you disadvantage.

In General, There's no absolute minimum as it all depends on your entire application profile,
but you shouldn't draw negative attention to your scores. For IR, you'll need 4 and up out of 8, and for AWA you will need 4.0 out of 6.0 (3 is not ideal and less than that you'd be drawing negative attention to that area)

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sarahf93,

To answer your immediate question: YES - the Quant and Verbal sections are the only two sections to contribute to your overall Score (out of 800). That does NOT mean that you should avoid preparing for the IR and Essay sections though. For example, many Schools expect Applicants to be able to score at a minimal level on the Essay (that typically means a 4.0 or higher out of 6.0) - and Schools can actually ask GMAC for access to read your Essay response. As such, you wouldn't want to do anything lazy or careless with that part of the GMAT.

Before I can offer you any additional advice, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) Have you taken any practice CATs/mocks yet? How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your goal score?
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
7) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

AjiteshArun · Answer

Yes. Only the quant and verbal sections contribute to the main score. You can "tank" your AWA and IR if you are sure that your target schools will not hold that against you, and that you will not apply to other schools in the future.

Getting a reasonably good score in AWA and IR may not be as difficult as you might think. Try taking a GMATPrep practice test. That will give you a good idea of what to expect.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi sarahf93,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. So, although IR and AWA are scored separately from and considered less important than quant and verbal, schools still do care about your IR and AWA scores in that scoring very low in those sections would probably be a red flag on your application.

The good news is that you can master AWA without a significant amount to prep. Furthermore, IR contains components of both verbal and quant, so if you can master those sections first, you should be able to prep for IR fairly easily.

Feel free to reach out with further questions. Good luck!

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