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Looking for online GMAT coaching? Know the three-section test first, then judge any course against it. The GMAT is the international entrance test for graduate management programmes, used by business schools worldwide and by a growing number of Indian institutions for their executive and international programmes. Its current Focus Edition has three sections — Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning and Data Insights — of forty-five minutes each.
Two features make it unlike the Indian management entrances. It is computer adaptive, so the difficulty of each question depends on how you have answered the previous ones, and it allows you to review and edit a limited number of answers within a section before it closes. Both change strategy in ways that are worth understanding before you start preparing.
GMAT · checked 19 September 2026
The dates, vacancies and rules below are read on the conducting body’s own site and rewritten as each notice appears. The guide beneath carries the full pattern, syllabus, cut-offs and free mock tests.
Checked 19 September 2026
Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), at test centres and online, year-round
Business schools worldwide, and Indian executive and international programmes
Three 45-minute sections — Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, Data Insights — 2 hours 15 minutes plus an optional 10-minute break; section…
Total 205–805 in ten-point steps; sections 60–90; question-adaptive with a review-and-edit allowance
Notification
Checked 12 September 2026 on mba.com and GMAC’s support centre. The GMAT is the three-section test introduced as the Focus Edition and now simply called the GMAT: 45 minutes each of Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning and Data Insights, taken in any order the candidate chooses, with an optional ten-minute break and a scale of 205 to 805. It is offered at test centres and online throughout the year, both formats scored and accepted alike. The official score report is usually ready within five days, occasionally up to 20, and up to 35 free score reports can be sent within 48 hours of its release; scores are valid for five years and reportable for ten. Attempts must be 16 calendar days apart and are capped at five in any rolling 12 months, online and centre combined. The fee in India is US$275 at a centre and US$300 online, plus GST, shown at booking.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Structure | Quantitative Reasoning 21 questions; Verbal Reasoning 23; Data Insights 20; 45 minutes each; 2 hours 15 minutes |
| Order and review | Any section order; an optional 10-minute break; within a section, up to three answers can be changed at the end |
| Scale | Total 205–805 in steps of 10; each section 60–90 |
| Fee | US$275 at a test centre and US$300 online for India, plus 18 per cent GST, at booking; rescheduling and cancellation fees rise closer to the date |
| Results | Unofficial score on screen; official report usually within five days, up to 20; 35 free reports within 48 hours of release, then paid additional reports |
| Validity | Five years; reportable for ten |
| Retakes | 16 calendar days between attempts; five in any rolling 12 months, online and centre combined; cancelled or missed appointments do not count |
Overview
The GMAT is taken year-round at test centres and online, with candidates scheduling their own appointment. Scores are valid for several years and may be sent to schools selectively, which gives candidates more control over how their record is presented than the Indian entrances do.
The Focus Edition restructured the test around three sections. Quantitative Reasoning covers problem solving without geometry; Verbal Reasoning covers reading comprehension and critical reasoning without sentence correction; and Data Insights combines data sufficiency, graphics interpretation, table analysis, multi-source reasoning and two-part analysis into a section of its own.
Geometry was removed from the quantitative section and sentence correction from the verbal section, while data sufficiency moved into the new Data Insights section. Preparation material written for the earlier format therefore covers content the current test does not ask and omits emphasis it does. Check that any material you use is written for the Focus Edition.
Online GMAT coaching
The GMAT is question-adaptive, has no essay and no sentence correction, and gives a third of its weight to Data Insights — data sufficiency, multi-source reasoning, tables and graphs. Online GMAT coaching built for the old four-section test teaches the wrong things. A good course teaches the three sections as GMAC now sets them, the adaptive pacing that punishes unfinished sections, and the review-and-edit rule.
This guide and its six sub-pages are free, as are the diagnostic tests and the quantitative and verbal study material. Brolly Academy runs online training from Hyderabad for students anywhere in India; enquire there for live online GMAT coaching, a demo class and batch dates.
Eligibility
| Condition | Rule |
|---|---|
| Age | Eighteen or older; candidates aged 13 to 17 may test with written parental or guardian consent lodged with GMAC before the appointment. |
| Qualification | None; business schools set their own degree requirements for admission, not for the test. |
| Identity document | An original, physical, valid government photo ID whose name matches the mba.com registration exactly; requirements are set by testing location, and candidates testing outside their country of citizenship must present a passport. Check GMAC’s location-specific regulations for India before booking. A candidate without acceptable ID is not admitted and the fee is forfeited. |
| Where | At test centres worldwide throughout the year, or online from home or another private location; both are scored and accepted alike, and both count together for attempt limits. |
| Attempts | At least 16 calendar days between appointments and no more than five in any rolling 12-month period; cancelled or missed appointments do not count. |
| Accommodations | Requested and approved through GMAC before scheduling; a standard appointment should not be booked first. |
Selection process
Each stage in order, and what it actually tests.
| Stage | Format | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Reasoning | Adaptive, 45 minutes | Problem solving questions covering arithmetic and algebra. Geometry is not tested in the Focus Edition, and data sufficiency has moved to the Data Insights section. |
| Verbal Reasoning | Adaptive, 45 minutes | Reading comprehension and critical reasoning. Sentence correction is not tested in the Focus Edition. |
| Data Insights | Adaptive, 45 minutes | Data sufficiency, multi-source reasoning, table analysis, graphics interpretation and two-part analysis. A scored section in its own right, testing the ability to work with data presented in several forms at once. |
| Review and edit, and score reporting | Within each section, then at the end | A limited number of answers may be bookmarked and revisited at the end of each section. Scores are reported on a 205 to 805 scale, and candidates may choose which scores to send to schools. |
Procedure
Everything runs through an mba.com account: registration, appointment changes, the official score and score sending.
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Test fee in India | US$275 at a test centre; US$300 online; plus GST, at booking |
| Rescheduling and cancellation | Fees depend on how close to the appointment the change is made and are listed on the exam payment page; changes closer to the date cost more |
| Emergencies and missed appointments | A request with evidence through GMAC Customer Care; not guaranteed |
| Score reports | Up to 35 free within 48 hours of the official score; paid additional reports after that |
| Validity | Five years; reportable for ten |
| Attempts | 16 days between appointments; five in 12 months, online and centre combined |
Exam pattern
| Section | Questions | Time | Content | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Reasoning | 21 | 45 minutes | Problem solving in arithmetic and algebra; no geometry; no calculator | 60–90 |
| Verbal Reasoning | 23 | 45 minutes | Reading comprehension and critical reasoning; no sentence correction | 60–90 |
| Data Insights | 20 | 45 minutes | Data sufficiency, multi-source reasoning, table analysis, graphics interpretation, two-part analysis; on-screen calculator | 60–90 |
| Total | 64 | 2 hours 15 minutes | Question-adaptive within each section; up to three answers changeable per section at the end | 205–805 in steps of 10 |
| Programme tier | Typical range |
|---|---|
| The most selective US and European MBAs | Class averages around 675–705; competitive applications from 655 |
| Top-30 US and leading Asian and European schools | Averages around 625–665 |
| Indian programmes accepting the GMAT — ISB, IIM executive and one-year programmes, XLRI and others | Commonly 605–665 for competitive applications; each publishes its own |
| Specialised master’s in finance, analytics and management | Typically 585–655, with Data Insights and quantitative scores weighed |
Study plan
Sources
Checked 12 September 2026 against GMAC’s support-centre articles on retake limits, score validity, score release and score sending, and mba.com for the exam description. The India fee is as shown at booking on mba.com at the date checked and is stated before GST; confirm when registering.
Exam resources
Six resource pages, each kept in step with the latest official notification.
Questions
Three sections of forty-five minutes each — Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning and Data Insights — taken in an order the candidate chooses, for a total of about two hours and fifteen minutes. The test is computer adaptive and scored on a 205 to 805 scale. Notably, the Focus Edition removed geometry from the quantitative section and sentence correction from the verbal section, and moved data sufficiency into the new Data Insights section.
A scored section combining data sufficiency, multi-source reasoning, table analysis, graphics interpretation and two-part analysis. It tests the ability to synthesise information presented in several different formats at once, which is closer to actual managerial work than any other part of the test. Because it draws together question types that were previously scattered or unscored, it needs preparation as a project in its own right rather than as an extension of the quantitative section.
The difficulty of each question depends on how you have answered the previous ones, so the test converges on your ability level rather than presenting a fixed paper. Two practical consequences follow. Early questions carry disproportionate influence on where the algorithm places you, which makes a careless early error expensive. And because the sequence is adaptive, only an adaptive practice test can realistically predict your score — a linear mock, however well written, cannot.
At the end of each section you may revisit and change a limited number of answers you have bookmarked along the way. It is a facility no Indian management entrance offers, and using it well requires two habits: bookmarking uncertain questions liberally as you go so you can find them quickly, and reserving time for the review, since the facility is worthless once the section clock has run out. Change an answer only when you have a specific reason — second-guessing without new insight generally makes things worse.
Almost entirely, apart from broad subject areas. The GMAT is adaptive rather than fixed, taken year-round rather than annually, valid for several years, retakeable after a short interval, and sendable to schools selectively — which gives candidates far more control over their record. Its content is narrower but tested more precisely: no geometry, no sentence correction, and critical reasoning examined on exact logical structure. CAT, by contrast, rewards breadth of problem-solving and set selection under severe sectional time pressure.
US$275 at a test centre and US$300 online, plus 18 per cent GST, at the date checked. Attempts must be 16 calendar days apart and are limited to five in any rolling 12-month period, with online and centre tests counted together; cancelled or missed appointments do not count.
An unofficial score appears at the end of the test; the official score report is usually available within five days and occasionally up to 20. Up to 35 free score reports can be sent within 48 hours of release, and schools typically receive them within eight hours. Scores are valid for five years and available for reporting for ten.
For most candidates the quantitative section is revision and the verbal section is method; Data Insights is the section that most rewards teaching, because its question types are unfamiliar and its pacing unforgiving. Buy coaching that spends real time on Data Insights and adaptive pacing and uses GMAC’s official practice exams; a course still teaching sentence correction and the essay is out of date.
The three 45-minute sections as GMAC sets them, the 205–805 scale and 60–90 section scores, Data Insights in full, quantitative and verbal method, adaptive pacing and the guess-and-move rule, section-order strategy and the review-and-edit allowance, and official adaptive practice exams with error analysis. It should also cover the retake rules — a 16-day gap and five attempts in 12 months — so that a second attempt is planned, not improvised.
Create an mba.com account with your name exactly as on the ID you will present, choose a test-centre or online appointment, agree to the policies, pick a centre and slot, and pay at checkout — US$275 at a centre or US$300 online, plus 18 per cent GST. Check GMAC’s location-specific ID regulations for India before booking, and request any accommodations before scheduling.
ID check, photograph and security procedures, then three 45-minute sections — Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning and Data Insights — in the order you choose, with an optional ten-minute break. Up to three answers per section can be changed at the end. An unofficial score appears immediately; the official score reaches your account usually within five days.
No. Nothing is sent to schools until you choose to send it. After the official score appears you decide whether to send it — up to 35 reports free within 48 hours — or to retake after 16 days and send the better result. Scores are valid for five years.
Class averages at the most selective US and European MBAs sit around 675–705 on the 205–805 scale; top-30 programmes around 625–665; ISB, the IIM executive and one-year programmes and other Indian schools accepting the GMAT commonly see competitive applications from about 605. Each school publishes its own figures.
Read the syllabus, attempt a free mock, then fix the section that costs you the most marks.
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