GMAT Strategy

erjamit wrote:I am planing for Fall'09 admissions and as per information I have gathered till now it seems I have to write GMAT by July'2008.
I wanted to ask if instead of July'08 if I write the same around April'08 will I be at a dis-advantage because of percentile scores. Or it is immaterial? and only the GMAT score out of 800 matters.

Regards

It is indeed immaterial when you take the test. Just take it whenever you feel sufficiently prepared!

I'm not sure about the last part of your question, but your entire GMAT score does matter - the '800' part as well as the AWA.

erjamit wrote:I mean what is the difference between the percentile score and the "800" score.

And which is more important the percentile score or the score out of 800 e.g 760/800.

760 is an absolute number whereas percentile score is a relative no. I read somewhere on the net that your percentile score will vary depending on the people who write the GMAT after you. Is it true?

This might be a Stacy Blackman question, but I think that most b-school admissions committees pay attention to the absolute score (750) first, then look at the percentiles. B-school committees might examine your individual percentiles closely, depending on your background.

For example, if you were an English major in college, b-schools might want to see whether you have the ability to manage the quantitative courseload, and they will examine your quant percentile closely...

The percentile rankings and GMAT scores are the same thing - a 750 is the 98th percentile, for example. Any candidate who presents a 750 is also going to present a 98th percentile. So the school can look at either number; it's the same piece of information.

The scale conversions can change over time, but we are talking years, not days, weeks, or even months. For example, up until about the middle of last year, a 750 was the 99th percentile and had been for at least 5 years.

Any changes that do occur will be very minor - just one point in either direction.