GMAT Exam for Beginners: Everything You Need to Know

Every year, over 300,000 students take the GMAT exam to qualify for MBA programs offered by top business schools worldwide. However, very few qualify for the same. So what makes it challenging? Where do the students go wrong?

If you are one of the many MBA aspirants who are new to the concept of appearing for a computer-adaptive test, then this article is the right source of information for you. It points out some of the crucial points that every GMAT exam candidate needs to be aware of to complete the test in an effective manner. 

What is the GMAT Exam? How is it Crucial to the Higher Education Process?

• The GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) is a computer-adaptive test which assesses a candidate’s quantitative and logical skills, along with testing their verbal and reading skills in the English language.

• The GMAT exam is conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council, which consists of a group of scholars who hail from some of the top business schools around the world. 

• In short, GMAT is an exam which has been put together by top business schools in order to compare and assess the skills of international students who aspire to pursue management-level courses in well-ranked B-schools across the world.

•  Let us take a look at some of the factors which every student needs to bear in mind while preparing to take their GMAT exam.

GMAT Exam Overview

The GMAT exam is conducted for 2 hours and 15 minutes( with one optional break for 10 minutes), and the total exam consists of 64 questions in total:  

• Exam Name: GMAT
  
• GMAT Exam for 2025 - Focus Edition Transition: GMAT was replaced by the GMAT (Focus Edition) on February 1, 2024.
  
• Conducted by: GMAC
  
• Official Website: https://www.mba.com
  
• Accepted in: India & Abroad
  
• Types of Questions: All MCQ-based
  
• Score Validity: 5 years
  
• Total GMAT Takers in 2024: 115,286

GMAT Score Requirements

It is essential to have a minimum GMAT score of 200 or a maximum of 700 or above to qualify for a post-graduate management program in any of the top business schools of the world.

What are the sections in the GMAT exam?

Students need to know the GMAT exam structure before making a study plan. Understanding the GMAT exam pattern is the first step towards preparation. Later, understanding the GMAT exam syllabus is the next crucial step.

The GMAT includes three sections:

• Quantitative Reasoning: This section is also called the Quant section. This section is to test the students' ability to solve quantitative problems and reason mathematically.
• Verbal Reasoning: Also called the verbal section, this section measures the editing abilities, reading comprehension skills, and critical reasoning. 
• Data Insights: Data Insights or Data Interpretation is the new section that assesses the applicant’s ability to analyse and interpret different types of data and apply it to real-world business scenarios.

In the recent GMAT exam format, there is no writing assessment.

Exam structure

GMAT Syllabus 2025

The GMAT focus edition syllabus tests the students' abilities on various aspects. The GMAT syllabus for the three sections consists of:

• Quantitative Aptitude: This section consists of Arithmetic and Algebraic math questions.
• Verbal Reasoning: This section consists of critical reasoning and reading comprehension-related questions.
• Data Insights: Topics including Data sufficiency, Multiple-Source reasoning, table analysis, Graphic Interpretation and two-party analysis.

GMAT Registration Process

As per GMAC,  students can register for GMAT exams 6 months before the test dates or a maximum of 24 hours before the GMAT exam date. However, experts advise students to plan their GMAT exams well in advance.   

Below are the steps to follow to register for the GMAT Exam.

How to register:

1. Go to the official GMAT website (mba.com)
   
2. Create an account
   
3. Select your preferred exam (GMAT exam or GMAT Focus Edition)
   
4. Choose a test centre or an online exam
   
5. Pick a date and time
   
6. Pay the exam fee
   

Students who wish to appear for their GMAT exam are required to undertake the following steps before and during their GMAT registration process.

Step 1: Gather information

Make sure you have the following information when scheduling your GMAT exam:

1. The application deadlines for your chosen graduate business programs.

2. Location-specific regulations that may apply to you.

3. Any special scheduling instructions if you have a disability and are receiving any testing accommodations?

4. An idea of how long you will need to prepare for the exam.

5. Test centre sites near you.

Step 2: Build your timeline

1. Use the information you gathered in Step 1 to build your timeline.

2. Add extra time if you are registering by mail or paying by personal check or money order.

3. Add extra time if you are applying for testing accommodations.

Step 3: Apply for your exam

Four ways to schedule your exam:

• Online: Create your MBA.com account

• Phone: Call GMAT Customer Service for your region (Note: You may be charged an additional service fee of US$10.)

• Postal mail: Complete the form and mail it along with your payment

• Fax: Complete the form and fax it to the number shown
  Pay for your exam by credit card or debit card, check or money order. GMAT Exam Fees and Payment Information.

Step 4: Review your confirmation

1. Ensure your name listed on the confirmation EXACTLY matches your form of identification.

2. Confirm that your GMAT test date and test centre are correct. Note: If your test centre says “DoD” or “Military,” make sure you have the proper identification before your test date.

GMAT Exam Fee

GMAT Rescheduling Fee(Focus Edition)

GMAT Cancellation Fee

GMAT Exam Dates 2025

•  The best part of GMAT exams is that they are administered throughout the year. Therefore, GMAT exam dates are easily available every month. This is possible only if the test centre is open.
• Applicants can retake the GMAT Focus exam after 16 calendar days have passed since the previous exam.
• The maximum no. of times an applicant can appear for the Graduate Management Admission Test is up to 5 times in a year and up to 8 times in their lifetime.
• In case the applicant misses their GMAT exam on their registered date, they can reappear for the exam within 24 hours.  These applicants have to do the registration again and also pay the fee. 

GMAT 2025 Test Centres

All the major cities in India have GMAT exam centres. The cities include

• Delhi, NCR
  
• Mumbai
  
• Kolkata
  
• Pune
  
• Nagpur
  
• Chandigargh
  
• Lucknow
  
• Amritsar
  
• Jaipur
  
• Jalandhr
  
• Ahmedabad
  
• Surat
  
• Punjab
  
• Rajasthan
  
• Andhrapradesh
  
• Telangana
  
• Tamilnadu
  
• Madhyapradesh
  
• Jharkand
  
• Westbengal
  
• Karnataka
  
• Kerala
  
• Odisha
  
• Assam

Before choosing the GMAT test centre, make sure to choose the centre that is near your place. And most importantly, check whether you will be able to reach there on time during the test day.

Top Tips for Your GMAT Exam

Prepare a study plan before the preparation

• An early GMAT study plan will ensure that you settle on a definite direction in which you will prepare GMAT. The students mostly come up with a 12-week study plan that helps them to be aware of the tricks and tricks required to meet their objectives in business schools.
• On average, students devote 3-6 months to GMAT preparation. This is a tip: before you can make a decision on the length of time you need to prepare for the GMAT, do a GMAT mock test. Based on the score you obtain in the mock test, you would determine how much time you would require to take advantage of the GMAT.

 Select GMAT prep material

• The second stage of GMAT preparation is an online and offline collection of GMAT preparation. The online GMAT preparation materials are numerous,  and you can use these materials to prepare to take the GMAT test.
• You may also go through the official prep material for GMAT. Choose the material with a similar scoring algorithm to the GMAT. Another thing is to solve past exams. The following is a sample of the GMAT preparation books:

Official study material for GMAT

• Manhattan GMAT Guides
• And other books of Veritas, Magoosh, Kaplan, etc.
• Forums of GMAT Club and Beat the GMAT.
• Thursdays with Ron videos

Work on your weaknesses

• Taking into consideration your previous academic performance, find your weak points and work on them first during the preparation for GMAT. Once you have determined your areas of weakness, schedule and practice on them.
• Among the three GMAT sections and sub-sections in them, identify the areas that you need to better and dedicate all your attention to strengthening your skills as part of your GMAT preparation plan.

 Don't stick to one question

• You will get a penalty in case you miss each exam part. There will also be deductions for questions that will not be answered. Do not lose your time trying to solve one perplexing question; instead, set aside a stopping time on a question.
• You should not take more than two and a half minutes to answer a question. Therefore, having these pointers in mind, plan your GMAT preparation plan.

Pay attention to the time constraint when training for the GMAT

• Given that time is a limited factor, it is important to build your speed. Pay more attention to the area that is consuming excessive time. To illustrate this, when you realise that you are spending a lot of time in the Quantitative section, then practice your Quantitative skills.
•  Take the GMAT practice exam daily and train your speed. This will help you to feel confident when it comes to GMAT preparation and will not feel overwhelmed in a test environment.

Use an elimination strategy

• Do not take too long to answer a question that you cannot answer. Do not be obsessed with providing the correct answers.
• When there is an inconvenience of a question to answer, simply check the one that is closest to the correct answer and proceed to the next question.
• Applying this tactic in your GMAT testing will help you on the actual GMAT examination date.

Better visual literacy during GMAT preparation

• Be able to read charts, symbols, tables, and graphs to become more efficient when planning GMAT.
• There are also visual data questions in GMAT exams; therefore, this skill will also contribute to you having more time to manage your time better. This will assist you in solving the GMAT Quant section.

Form the correct type of skills

• It is also a timed test; therefore, train cut-to-cut skills, which will be handy during the process of taking the GMAT test. Understand your weak area and practice it, such that it will not count towards your performance in the whole exam.
•  The preparation for GMAT ought to be firm, and no stone should be left unturned.

Practice as much as you can

• Practice more and more! You know, they say practice makes a man perfect. As a strategy to prepare for the GMAT exam, use this, and later go to the free GMAT sample papers after your preparation is done.
• It will assist you in determining your level of readiness for the test. Moreover, make sure that the scope is retractable in case the necessity might occur.

Face Your Fears

• It is essential to recognise that verbal reasoning accounts for a significant portion of the GMAT exam. Although the entire process may seem really boring to pay attention to, you must understand this aspect of the GMAT exam and work on your language skills thoroughly.
• Some of the top business schools of the world pay attention to a candidate’s understanding of the English language because it plays an equally important role in helping students adapt to the curriculum. So, if you are one of those who cringe on hearing ‘Shakespeare’, now is the time to set those fears aside and polish your language and writing skills.

Get Those Quants On Point

• The Quantitative Aptitude section can be a nerve-wracking one, even for a math genius. There is always that one problem which takes up an entire lifetime to crack. One thing which you need to remember as a GMAT aspirant is the fact that the test does not grant you sufficient time to ponder on just one problem.
• This is where mental math skills come into the picture. So if you were an ABACUS genius back in your school days, then now is the time to revive those skills and put them to good use.

Practice Makes Everyone Perfect

• At the end of the day, practice is what will help you ace the GMAT exam. To be able to attempt the GMAT exam successfully in one go, you must attempt as many practice mock tests as possible.
• This will give you a wide range of questions to solve and will also help you to understand where you lag, so that you are able to focus on that particular area of the GMAT curriculum.

Keep Attempting Till You Get it Right

• Last but not least, it is important not to lose hope. Do not be disheartened if you couldn’t clear your GMAT exam on the very first attempt. Candidates are allowed to retake the GMAT a maximum of 8 times in their entire lifetime.
• So, if you are not satisfied with your GMAT scores, remember that you can always retake the GMAT. The registration fees for the GMAT exam are $275, which is non-refundable under any circumstances. It is also important to understand that candidates cannot retake the GMAT more than 5 consecutive times within a span of 12 months.

Conclusion

In summary, a clear understanding of the GMAT structure, early planning, the right preparation resources, and regular practice are the keys to achieving a competitive score. The exam demands both analytical thinking and time management, so developing these skills early in your preparation is crucial. Even if your first attempt doesn’t meet expectations, the GMAT offers multiple retake opportunities. Approach the exam strategically, stay focused, and you will be well-positioned to secure admission to top business schools worldwide.