Realistic GMAT Focus Score Improvements (updated for 2024-25)

Question

UPDATED 11/29/24 for the GMAT Focus!  
  
I’ve now been tutoring GMAT prep students for nearly a quarter-century—since the year 2000, when I was a junior at Harvard, helping friends and family prepare for the exam.

Upon my graduation, I became a full-time, professional tutor for the Princeton Review. Shortly thereafter, I started my own private, full-time tutoring practice, McElroy Tutoring, which has continued to this day. In those 24 years I have amassed over 24,000 hours of teaching, tutoring, and test-prep experience, both in-person and via Zoom / Skype—which means that I’ve seen lots of GMAT students come and go. In other words, my sample size for measuring score improvements is pretty large for just one tutor, anecdotal as my experiences may still be.

A common answer to the question “how much can I expect my GMAT score to improve?” is “50 to 150 points.” I think that’s a reasonable answer, but let’s get into a bit more detail, because I’ve seen improvements of as much as 300 points on the GMAT...but only on the low end of scores.

Let’s start with standard deviation. According to GMAC, the standard deviation of the GMAT Focus is 88 points. This means that over  \frac{2}{3}  (68%) of all GMAT test-takers will score somewhere between a 465 (17%) and a 645 (88%). If you can manage to break your way out of this massive group of students, then your chances of B-school admission are much greater.

A standard deviation (SD) is a great way to predict test-score improvements, since 82% of test-takers won't improve more than 1 SD, and only 2% will improve 2 SDs or more (this means, of course, that 16% of students will improve between 1 and 2 standard deviations).

To be specific, the math tells us that  only 15.87% of students will improve their test scores more than one standard deviation, and only 2.25% of students will improve more than two standard deviations .

Second, a key principle: it’s much easier to improve low scores than it is to improve high scores. Why? It’s a question of competition. A 505 on the GMAT Focus is 28% and a 605 is 72%. A big jump, yes, but possible with 100 hours or more of prep, because you’re leapfrogging a relatively weaker portion of GMAT test-takers. I've seen plenty of students go from 500 to 650-plus for this reason.

However, a 605 on the GMAT Focus is 72%, and a 705 is 98%. It’s a smaller difference in percentiles, which might lead some to conclude that it’s an easier improvement to make, but I would disagree--in reality, it's a tougher task than is 500 to 600. The same goes for 705 to 805...it’s only a 1% differential, but you have to compete with the top 1% of GMAT test-takers, a highly competitive and intelligent bunch, which is what makes it so much harder to do.

That being said, below is my list of realistic GMAT score improvements if you are willing to put in at least 100 hours of prep, based upon your starting score.

Please keep in mind that of course some students will improve more, or less, than the improvements listed. Hence the term “realistic,” which could also be construed as “average” (for dedicated students).

205 to 475 (+270 pts) = 0% to 20% (+20)

355 to 515 (+160 pts) = 3% to 32% (+29)

445 to 585 (+140 pts) = 12% to 62% (+50)

515 to 605 (+90 pts) = 32% to 72% (+40)

585 to 645 (+60 pts) = 62% to 88% (+26)

605 to 655 (+50 pts) = 72% to 91% (+19)

655 to 705 (+50 pts) = 91% to 98% (+7)

705 to 755 (+50 pts) = 98% to 99% (+1)

755 to 785 (+30 pts) = 99% to 99%

Please note: it’s super-hard to get an 805. If you can score a 705, then you can score an 805...but it will take a lot of persistence and luck. Only about .01% of GMAT test-takers earn an 800, which is 1 out of every 10,000...and keep in mind that some of these scorers will have undisclosed extended time.

Personally, I have scored in the 700s all 6 times I've taken the GMAT (including the GMAT online), and have earned perfect scores on the SAT, ACT, and GRE—but I'm still trying for a GMAT perfect score of my own. As I’ve always said: perfection is attainable, but not maintainable!

diegocml · Answer

Hi mcelroytutoring,

I hit a plateau in my practice tests and was scoring around 460 after 3 consecutive CATs, and my final GMAT score was 410.

If the GMAC standard deviation is of 121 points and, based on what you wrote, most test takers won't improve more than one SD, in theory I will barely be a member of the 500 club.

Since you've mentioned that the chances of scoring 2 SDs or more is higher among low scorers (I think I qualify for that hands down), I should be able to break the 600's and apply for my desired master program.

Now let us talk about your chart just to see whether I understood it.

If I were to jump from 400 to 550 (+150 pts), I would have to study for about 100 hours. Is that correct?

So, provided that I study smart, I may be able to reach 600 with approx 200 hrs of study time.

400 to 550 (+150 pts) = 12% to 45% (+33) (  My BASELINE  )   100 hours  
500 to 600 (+100 pts) = 31% to 61% (+30) (  Minimum score for application: 600  )   100 hours   -  200 hours to reach master's minimum requirement 
600 to 700 (+100 pts) = 61% to 89% (+28) (  Ideal Score: 650  )   100 hours  
700 to 750 (+50 pts) = 89% to 98% (+9) (  Dream Score: 700+  )   100 hours

Well, I just refuse to believe that one can't have exponential growth, but your post is very insightful! Thanks for sharing.

mcelroytutoring · Answer

Sorry for the delay in responding,  diegocml ! Yes, you read that right: an 150-point improvement is possible, but it takes a serious commitment of time.

Any updates on your progress? It looks (from your profile) like you have improved by 80 points already, with a significant improvement on Quant. Put your best Quant score and best Verbal score together, and you have potential for a 530. That's 130 points of improvement right there! Your goal of 600 is within reach if you stay focused.

TaN1213 · Answer

Hello,

I have my 1st Gmat attempt in middle of December. Have been preparing for the concepts for 6+months now. The following are my CAT scores:
Gmatprep 1st free test- 490(3 months before)
Princeton CAT - 540 (1 month before)
Gmatpre 2nd free test - 580 (today)- Got 14 incorrect in verbal and 13 incorrect in Quant.

I feel that my hold on verbal & Quant has improved. But still didn't get at least a 600. Now I am feeling disheartened whether I can pull my score by 120 points to touch 700 in about one month. Is it too much to expect? Need motivation

Is this jump possible in this short time span?

Thank you.

Is this jump possible in this short time span? Thank you.

vj1994 · Answer

How difficult is it to improve from 710 to 750 ?

Posted from my mobile device

ankitnoida2018 · Answer

The effort in the research and the post is highly appreciable. However, it may be good to just keep it simple and focus on learning. Knowing beforehand that there is a ceiling you cannot cross may do more harm than good. Furthermore, with due respect, I have seen people scoring from 370 to 700+. My own score improved by more than 200 points from where I started. Personal opinion- with full respect to your research. Kudos.

bb · Answer

Someone just flagged this post for me to comment on improvement. Let me know if you have specific questions. I honestly, no table is perfect and no guideline is exact. I have seen people improve a lot and I also have seen people be able to maintain their improvement to my surprise. Great great example is Souvik who after two years of business school was able to get a 760 after just a couple hours of refreshing..... I agree that score improvement has diminishing returns and that the general 80/20 rule hold with GMAT as it holds with everything else

You will have to put in quite a bit of work to reach the top person tiles for obvious reasons. At the same time, I suggest that you don’t feel limited by this table or prediction. You can read a number of debriefs in the shared GMAT experience to get a sense of both the improvement in the effort an improvement of a particular level can carry. I would say that probably the most improvement I’ve seen on GMAT Club it’s about 350 points and they probably have been around 10 people who have been been able to improve that much. I am not saying this to discourage anyone but to indicate the amount of effort you will have to put in. Also, there are many aspects to applications and with the number of business schools waiving GMAT requirements, it is more true than ever. I have personally improved my score by about 220 points and it was the most stay had to work until that point and probably the most effort I’ve ever put into anything. Also I would caveat that improving certain areas is easier than others. These areas vary and differ for each one of us. If you have a good Norred math and struggled with it ever since missing a couple of those crucial seventh grade lessons, you’ll have to go back all the way to the seventh grade and retrace your steps. That’s going to be a lot of work. At the same time if you are a non-native speaker, you will have to build up your English language skills and train your ear to master the verbal section. I always recommend starting with the easier for you section. Get some easier wins and then build up momentum for the harder areas. Believe me, you don’t want to box with Mike Tyson as your first opponent. Go to boxing bag 1st 🤣 Posted from my mobile device

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Anyone who wants some confirmation that the potential for improving your GMAT score is basically unlimited can read this debrief by GMAT Club member daldilaimi, who went from 250 on her first GMAT to 780 on her last one. https://gmatclub.com/forum/530-point-gm ... 56872.html

mcelroytutoring · Answer

Improving from 250 (1%) on their worst attempt at the GMAT to 780 (99%) on their best is a remarkable and incredible achievement, and I congratulate this student on their (now-verified) 530-point GMAT score improvement!

However, although it is certainly possible, this type of improvement is definitely not "realistic" (see the title of the post), and I also worry about the possibility of an already high-scoring student intentionally "bombing" their first test in order to simulate a huge GMAT score improvement: even this student admitted to giving up a bit on their 250 attempt.

One should also note that their two verified GMAT attempts were nearly 5 years apart (December 2016 and January 2021), a span of approximately 1,500 days—which only further reiterates that this oft-repeated story is a blatant _Target Test Prep marketing ploy, NOT a realistic GMAT score improvement.

Since you are no longer employed by _TTP, you're now free to admit the same—barring an NDA, of course. Or you could just go back to practicing medicine without a license, since that has obviously worked out so well for you.

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Realistic GMAT Focus Score Improvements (updated for 2024-25)

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