The average GMAT score for the outgoing class provides candidates a good idea of the score to target to gain admission to their dream school. A still better better guide would be the average GMAT scores for the past five years at the B-school, since events such as fewer jobs, higher cost of finance or even a rising economy, where jobs are aplenty, can affect the quality of candidates applying to B-school. With this in mind, we bring you the average GMAT scores for the past five years at top US B-schools.
Before we go ahead, a quick word of advice. A rise or fall in average GMAT scores is not necessarily a good or a bad thing. You have to remember, that GMAT is only one criterion in admissions to B-schools. So a fall or rise in this aspect can not be seen in isolation.
Not always is a rise in average GMAT scores an indicator of rising student quality: some schools can selectively admit high scorers with otherwise lackluster profiles in order to boost the average GMAT number and thereby appear as a ‘tough’ and prestigious B-school to get into.
Infact, rising GMAT at a B-school could well indicate falling student quality: it could well be the case that the admission process at the B-schools is admitting high scorers lacking other skills that make a good manager.
Similarly, a fall in GMAT scores doesn’t necessarily reflect falling student quality: a school with historically high GMAT scores could well be attempting to have a more diverse class or MBAs with a well-rounded set of skills.
Therefore, see this list as more of a guidance on the score you need target rather than as commentary on the quality of the B-school.
Key trends
In bold – schools offering a one year MBA
| B-school | 2013 GMAT | 2012 GMAT | 2011 GMAT | 2010 GMAT | 2009 GMAT | 5-Year rise/fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Harvard Business School | 727 | 724 | 724 | 724 | 719 | +8 |
| 2. Stanford GSB | 732 | 729 | 730 | 728 | 726 | +6 |
| 3. Chicago (Booth) | 723 | 720 | 719 | 715 | 714 | +9 |
| 4. UPenn (Wharton) | 725 | 718 | 718 | 718 | 718 | +7 |
| 5. Northwestern (Kellogg) | 713 | 708 | 712 | 714 | 706 | +7 |
| 6. MIT (Sloan) | 713 | 710 | 710 | 718 | 711 | +2 |
| 7. Columbia | 716 | 715 | 716 | 712 | 713 | +3 |
| 8. Dartmouth (Tuck) | 718 | 717 | 718 | 716 | 712 | +6 |
| 9. Duke (Fuqua) | 694 | 690 | 689 | 697 | 687 | +7 |
| 10. UC-Berkeley (Haas) | 714 | 715 | 715 | 718 | 718 | -4 |
| 11. Cornell (Johnson) | 691 | 694 | 691 | 687 | 700 | -9 |
| 12. Michigan (Ross) | 704 | 703 | 703 | 704 | 701 | +3 |
| 13. Virginia (Darden) | 706 | 703 | 701 | 699 | 701 | +5 |
| 14. UCLA (Anderson) | 706 | 704 | 704 | 710 | 711 | -5 |
| 15. New York (Stern) | 721 | 720 | 719 | 715 | 717 | +4 |
| 16. Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) | 691 | 693 | 686 | 694 | 687 | +4 |
| 17. Yale | 714 | 717 | 719 | 722 | 715 | -1 |
| 18. UNC (Kenan-Flagler) | 683 | 692 | 689 | 686 | 677 | +6 |
| 19. Texas-Austin (McCombs) | 690 | 692 | 692 | 684 | 681 | +9 |
| 20. Indiana (Kelley) | 664 | 664 | 670 | 664 | 664 | —— |
| 21. Emory (Goizueta) | 681 | 677 | 681 | 680 | 676 | +5 |
| 22. Georgetown (McDonnough) | 688 | 683 | 686 | 684 | 685 | +3 |
| 23. Washington (Olin) | 696 | 698 | 696 | 695 | 686 | +10 |
| 24. Washington (Foster) | 670 | 670 | 675 | 681 | 681 | -11 |
| 25. Vanderbilt (Owen) | 688 | 682 | 695 | 673 | 653 | +35 |
| B-school | 2013 GMAT | 2012 GMAT | 2011 GMAT | 2010 GMAT | 2009 GMAT | 5-Year rise/fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26. Ohio State (Fisher) | 666 | 668 | 674 | 676 | 677 | -11 |
| 27. Rice (Jones) | 676 | 673 | 673 | 672 | 668 | +8 |
| 28. USC (Marshall) | 686 | 690 | 687 | 690 | 690 | -4 |
| 29. Maryland (Smith) | 654 | 656 | 661 | 670 | 658 | -4 |
| 30. Wisconsin | 676 | 675 | 680 | 675 | 663 | +13 |
| 31. Georgia Tech (Scheller) | 678 | 678 | 674 | 678 | 684 | -6 |
| 32. Notre Dame (Mendoza) | 690 | 687 | 692 | 685 | 683 | +7 |
| 33. Penn State (Smeal) | 645 | 643 | 650 | 650 | 652 | -7 |
| 34. Texas A&M (Mays) | 648 | 649 | 647 | 646 | 652 | -4 |
| 35. Iowa (Tippie) | 671 | 665 | 666 | 657 | 662 | +9 |
| 36. Minnesota (Carlson) | 686 | 692 | 686 | 694 | 683 | +3 |
| 37. Rochester (Simon) | 680 | 680 | 675 | 677 | 682 | -2 |
| 38. Michigan State (Broad) | 655 | 641 | 638 | 636 | 640 | +15 |
| 39. SMU (Cox) | 650 | 639 | NA | NA | 656 | -6 |
| 40. Boston University | 682 | 680 | 684 | 681 | 680 | +2 |
| 41. Purdue (Krannert) | 607 | 643 | 635 | 654 | 643 | -36 |
| 42. Arizona State (Carey) | 673 | 676 | 674 | 672 | 673 | —— |
| 43. Brigham Young (Marriott) | 665 | 672 | 670 | 675 | 672 | -7 |
| 44. Illinois-Urbana-Champagn | 661 | 650 | 650 | 641 | 634 | +27 |
| 45. Boston College | 666 | 666 | 656 | 662 | 663 | +3 |
| 46. Wake Forest (Babcock) | 632 | 648 | 651 | 653 | 658 | -26 |
| 47. UC-Irvine (Merage) | 654 | 657 | 663 | 673 | 675 | -21 |
| 48. Florida (Hough) | 681 | 695 | 678 | 694 | 685 | -4 |
| 49. Georgia (Terry) | 645 | 637 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| 50. George Washington | 644 | 632 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Source: data from B-schools
Cover image credit: thepartneringgroup.com