GMAT vs GMAT Focus – Percentiles

Let’s take a look at the percentiles – scores relation on the GMAT Focus scale and also how it compares to the conventional GMAT. Let’s also discuss how it impacts us.

How do Verbal Scores stack up?

Unattainables

• Conventional GMAT: 45 and above
• GMAT Focus: 87 and above will be extremely difficult to get for mere mortals.
• Advice: Ignore

Dream Come True

• Conventional GMAT: 41 and above
• GMAT Focus: 86 to 84 would be fantastic Verbal scores – in 90 %ile
• A flair for Verbal and strong understanding of Critical Reasoning will be required to attain these. The flair can be developed with a consistent reading habit. With Sentence Correction out of the window, we have lost one of our reliable quick fixes.

The Good to Bad Tumble

• Conventional GMAT: 40 to 26 goes from 90%ile to 40%ile (15 scores)
• GMAT Focus: 83 to 78 goes from 90%ile to 40%ile (6 scores!)
• This is a matter of concern. Granularity has massively decreased in Verbal. So it will be hard to set yourself apart in the middle levels. 2 extra mistakes and your Verbal percentile could plummet! So ‘some’ extra effort in Verbal will not set you apart.

Strategy wise, either be brilliant in Verbal to showcase it or be mediocre and outshine in the other two sections.

How do Quant Scores stack up?

Unattainables

• Conventional GMAT: Nothing
• GMAT Focus has a 90 in that sphere now.

Dream Come True

• Conventional GMAT: 51 which is a 97%ile
• GMAT Focus: 89 to 86 are above 90 %iles

The Good to Bad Slower Tumble

• Conventional GMAT: 50 to 44, went from 90%ile to 40%ile (Just 7 scores)
• GMAT Focus: 85 to 76, the percentile will go from 90%ile to 40%ile (10 scores)

The Quant of conventional GMAT was not granular enough at higher scores. Even 51 was just a 97%ile. GMAC has rectified it by adding more tiers here. Now the granularity has somewhat increased at both the higher and middle score levels. Hence there is a better chance of your effort making a difference in your score. You have more opportunity to showcase your strength in Quant in GMAT Focus (from 89 to 86).

Data Insights

The Integrated Reasoning section cannot be compared with the Data Insights section.

Data Insights is all about Quant (Data Sufficiency Questions) and about the application of Ratios, Percentages, Variation and Number Properties in the Integrated Reasoning kind of questions. You will need to be really good at these topics to do well here. As per current trends, GMAC expects this section to be difficult for the test takers but it is likely that test takers have been ignoring Integrated Reasoning for the most part till now. Once they start giving enough importance to it too, they will likely do much better in it and the estimated percentiles may move quickly in the first few months at least.

Unattainables

• GMAT Focus: 90 and 89

Dream Come True

• GMAT Focus: 88 to 81 (8 scores – Fabulous!)

The Good to Bad Tumble

• GMAT Focus: 80 to 74 went from 86%ile to 40%ile (7 scores)

Here you have 8 scores to aspire to! Your additional effort will keep visibly moving you up the ladder as you progress.

Overall GMAT Score

So how does the overall GMAT Focus picture compare to the Conventional GMAT picture?

First 8 total scores in GMAT Focus belong to the Unattainable category. To be honest, we are not sure what they mean by 100%ile. Commonly, percentile means the percent of test takers who scored below given score. Then 100%ile scores could be reserved scores for future use and the actual total scores may start from 725. Then the granularity of the total scores pretty much remains the same. Whatever your target score was on the Conventional GMAT, you can assume about 55 – 65 point lower score on the GMAT Focus scale.

Getting a good total score has just got a bit more challenging. You must perform well on 3 sections now, not just two, to hit a high total score. Perhaps that is the reason GMAC decided not to increase granularity at middle score levels (our conjecture).

That said, it is probably good news for people struggling with Verbal. The weightage of Quant has increased somewhat. Note that some Integrated Reasoning questions do have a critical reasoning aspect too, so the change is not dramatic, but it is there. Time to take that Integrated Reasoning seriously!