What is the GMAT score range for top business schools? 

TL;DR 

• The range of GMAT scores at the world’s leading business schools suggest that while there is no minimum score to be accepted, aiming for a certain target can improve your chances 
• Top business schools often tend to expect a GMAT score at around the 77th percentile, with many of them recording an average GMAT score above the 80th percentile 
• However, students in current MBA classrooms have been admitted into top schools with scores as low as 515, suggesting it’s still possible to gain admission even if you score below the average range 

The GMAT exam is often one of the most important aspects of a business school application, recognized as a quality indicator for schools when measuring your suitability for an MBA program. Almost two-thirds of entrants to the Harvard Business School MBA in 2025 sat the GMAT exam.

GMAT score ranges tell you what both the lowest and highest-scoring students in an MBA class earned on their GMAT exam. Like average GMAT scores, understanding the range of GMAT scores that current students at your target school submitted can help you understand what GMAT score you should aim for.

By analyzing GMAT score ranges, you can determine which schools you have a higher chance of getting into, or where you may need to increase your score to get accepted.

The GMAT exam was updated in early 2024 to incorporate a new scoring system. Below, we show the most recent class averages based on the new edition of the test, as well as delving deeper into these changes. 

The GMAT score range at leading business schools  

The GMAT exam was updated in February 2024. Alongside changes to the format of the test, this also brought changes to the scoring. If you sat the GMAT before February 1st, 2024, your GMAT scores will still be valid for five years as normal.

Previously, many test takers aimed for a top score of 700 or more. On the latest edition of the GMAT exam, a score of 645 is equivalent to a 700 due to the new score scale. 

To help you better understand the competitiveness of your score compared to average GMAT scores from previous years, we have provided a helpful concordance table that gives an indication as to how scores compare.

When we discuss GMAT score ranges, we quote the new scores as they appear in the schools' class profiles for the entering MBA Class of 2025. However, given that many schools still include legacy GMAT scores in their class profile, we’ve also included these in the table above. 

What GMAT exam score should I aim for?

GMAT data from leading schools shows that there is often no minimum or ideal GMAT score—even at the very best institutions in the world. 

Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, a school that is historically one of the hardest to get into worldwide, accepted students in 2025 with scores as low as 515. This is in the 32nd percentile, that places the score higher than approximately 32% of all test-takers, but shows that a significant 68% of candidates scored higher. 

Similarly, students with scores of 545 were admitted at IESE Business School, 555 at London Business School, and 575 at the Indian School of Business.  

This year, we haven't included Stanford Graduate School of Business in our list because it didn’t appear in the 2026 Financial Times Global MBA Ranking, but the school’s latest MBA class profile shows that the lowest accepted GMAT score was 615. That’s in the 76th to 80th percentile, meaning one-quarter of test-takers scored higher. That’s despite Stanford having the lowest acceptance rate of any school in the world. The school also specifies that there is no minimum GMAT score required for admission.   

However, these can be viewed as exceptions rather than the norm. Most schools—particularly in the US—tend to expect a GMAT score of at least 620 (or the 77th to 79th percentile). And many of those schools have an average GMAT score of 670 or more (the 80th percentile). 

This means that, if you want to give yourself the best possible chance of getting accepted, you should still aim to score at the higher end of a school's GMAT score range.  

How important is a school's GMAT score range? 

Clearly it's important to use the information GMAT ranges provide to guide you when identifying target programs and preparing your application. But, it's also important to remember there are limitations as to what can be learned from average GMAT data. 

While your GMAT score is important and can offer you an edge when it comes to showing your potential, it’s not the full picture when it comes to applying to business school.

To give yourself the best chance of success, it's vital that you consider the strength of your application as a whole, including your essays, recommendations, average GPA, and the narrative you convey throughout the entire admissions process.