
Researching the average GMAT scores submitted in applications for top international business schools can be quite useful in benchmarking and estimating your chances of admission to a particular program. However, they should also be taken with a pinch of salt.
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Overall, European business school applicants are known for their top performance on aptitude tests such as the GMAT. According to the latest GMAT Geographic Trend Report published by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the mean GMAT total score in 2017 in Europe is 620 (up 7 points from 2016). The average scores for GRE – the other commonly accepted aptitude test, for the period 2016-2017 per country of citizenship can also be examined via the latest ETS report.
Average GMAT scores at European schools
Despite the excellent scores submitted by European applicants on average, it seems schools on the old continent consistently report lower average GMAT scores compared to their US counterparts. Why is this?
This is largely due to the overall significance attributed to test scores by US institutions. Since some ranking publications use GMAT scores as one of the dimensions to evaluate business schools, institutions also become more eager to report high scores and have a better chance of climbing the rankings as a result. In that sense, it is important to note that the average GMAT score is not always representative of the quality of the school and program. As many MBA program representatives will tell you, admissions directors look at the application holistically and in many cases, test scores are not the most essential criteria for admission.
You can get an overall impression of the average GMAT scores at top European schools from the table below.
School | Average 2018 GMAT | 2018 GMAT Range | Average 2017 GMAT | Y-O-Y Change |
INSEAD | 711 | 600–780* | 712 | -1 |
London Business School | 707 | 600–790 | 708 | -1 |
Cambridge (Judge) | 693 | 570–780 | 695 | -2 |
HEC Paris | 691 | 600–770 | 691 | — |
IESE Business School | 686 | 550–780* | 690 | -4 |
Oxford (Saïd) | 681 | 510–800 | 692 | -11 |
IMD | 680 | 610–770 | 676 | +4 |
IE Business School | 680 | 610–770 | 680 | — |
Mannheim | 678 | 510–770 | 677 | +1 |
SDA Bocconi | 665 | 540–750 | 665 | — |
ESADE | 665 | 550–750 | 665 | — |
Warwick Business School | 654 | 510–750 | 661 | -7 |
Manchester Business School | 650 | 600–760 | 655 | -5 |
Imperial | 642* | 550–720* | 648* | -6 |
ESMT Berlin | 640 | 550–740 | 637 | +3 |
Cranfield | 640 | 600–710 | 640 | — |
Erasmus | 640* | 550–730* | 650 | -10 |
City (Cass) | 638* | 510–720* | 647 | -9 |
St. Gallen | 634 | 560–720* | 674 | -40 |
Lancaster | 600* | 530–710* | 620* | -20 |
An asterisk indicates an estimate based on previously disclosed data and other sources.
Average GMAT scores at US schools
The general trend for schools in North America is a consistent increase in the average GMAT scores reported by top local programs. Competition in the US, where programs are generally much more costly compared to Europe, is fierce as applicants who have a 700+ score can also count on higher chances of getting a scholarship for their MBA studies.
Another interesting trend in admission scores is also related to the rise of the GRE which is now a viable alternative for test takers and potential B-school applicants. More and more international schools are now accepting GRE scores which could explain the reduced number of low GMAT scores in the applicant pool.
You can get an overall impression of the average GMAT scores at top US schools from the table below.
School | 2017 GMAT | 2016 GMAT | 2015 GMAT | 2014 GMAT | 2013 GMAT | 5-Year Trend |
Penn (Wharton) | 730 | 730 | 732 | 728 | 725 | +5 |
Harvard Business School | 729 | 729 | 725 | 726 | 727 | +2 |
Stanford GSB | 737 | 737 | 733 | 732 | 732 | +5 |
Chicago (Booth) | 730 | 726 | 726 | 724 | 723 | +7 |
Northwestern (Kellogg) | 732 | 728 | 724 | 713 | 713 | +19 |
MIT (Sloan) | 722 | 724 | 716 | 713 | 713 | +9 |
Dartmouth (Tuck) | 722 | 717 | 717 | 716 | 718 | +4 |
Columbia | 724 | 720 | 715 | 716 | 716 | +8 |
UC-Berkeley (Haas) | 725 | 717 | 715 | 717 | 714 | +11 |
Yale SOM | 727 | 725 | 721 | 719 | 714 | +13 |
Michigan (Ross) | 716 | 708 | 708 | 702 | 704 | +12 |
Duke (Fuqua) | 702 | 695 | 696 | 690 | 694 | +8 |
Virginia (Darden) | 713 | 712 | 706 | 706 | 706 | +7 |
Cornell (Johnson) | 700 | 700 | 697 | 692 | 691 | +9 |
UCLA (Anderson) | 716 | 715 | 713 | 715 | 706 | +10 |
NYU (Stern) | 714 | 710 | 720 | 721 | 721 | -7 |
CMU (Tepper) | 691 | 686 | 690 | 687 | 691 | — |
Texas-Austin (McCombs) | 703 | 699 | 694 | 690 | 690 | +13 |
UNC (Kenan-Flagler) | 701 | 700 | 701 | 697 | 683 | +18 |
Emory (Goizueta) | 682 | 683 | 678 | 678 | 681 | +1 |
Source: Poets&Quants – Europe; Poets&Quants – the US
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