Is it actually possible to get an 800 on the GMAT?

I've never actually met or even heard of anyone getting a perfect GMAT whereas it seems pretty common on SAT and GRE. Is that b/c its just that difficult or because the creators of the test won't let you? i.e. if you got all 41 V and 37 match questions right they would just give you a 790 or something?

 
someusername:
Yes it is possible. mba.com should have the stats - I guess 50-100 people manage a perfect score every year.

I have seen an 800 score report from a well-known coach, though this was some years ago. Looked legit to me... though in the interest of delivering a complete report, I should say that his score page also showed several slightly lower scores that he'd gotten on previous iterations. In other words, this guy didn't walk in and get the 800 on his first or second go-round.

So yes, I believe it's possible.

 

I can't remember the site, but there's a guy who got an 800 twice in a year and was subsequently barred by the GMAC from testing again since they saw his site and realized he was doing it just to tout his services. They didn't want the score of someone who was so clearly defying the system.

It is possible, just quite rare.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 
APAE:
I can't remember the site, but there's a guy who got an 800 twice in a year and was subsequently barred by the GMAC from testing again since they saw his site and realized he was doing it just to tout his services. They didn't want the score of someone who was so clearly defying the system.

It is possible, just quite rare.

Is it shawn berry?

http://www.perfectgmat.com/

 
Brady4MVP:
APAE:
I can't remember the site, but there's a guy who got an 800 twice in a year and was subsequently barred by the GMAC from testing again since they saw his site and realized he was doing it just to tout his services. They didn't want the score of someone who was so clearly defying the system.

It is possible, just quite rare.

Is it shawn berry?

http://www.perfectgmat.com/[/quote]Yep. Knew I'd recognize that shiny egg anywhere.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 
APAE:
I can't remember the site, but there's a guy who got an 800 twice in a year and was subsequently barred by the GMAC from testing again since they saw his site and realized he was doing it just to tout his services. They didn't want the score of someone who was so clearly defying the system.

It is possible, just quite rare.

Please find the site! I rather pay 2g's to him and score 700 + than paying Kaplan or other prep classes.

Your imagination is your preview to life's coming attractions. - Albert Einstein
 
Tzeentch99:
I've never actually met or even heard of anyone getting a perfect GMAT whereas it seems pretty common on SAT and GRE. Is that b/c its just that difficult or because the creators of the test won't let you? i.e. if you got all 41 V and 37 match questions right they would just give you a 790 or something?

Are you trying to say that you're sick of Earth and need a more challenging planet?

 
<span class=keyword_link><a href=/company/goldman-sachs><abbr title=Goldman Sachs&#10;>GS</abbr></a></span>:
How much does it actually help vs say 770/780 ? Or is it just a marquee issue?
It doesn't. In some cases, it might even hinder. HBS and GSB love to be able to tout that "the GMAT isn't everything! Look, we rejected the guy with the perfect score!"
I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 
Unforseen:
Robert McNamara got an 800 on his GMAT

I find that hard to believe considering that the GMAT didn't exist back in 1939 when McNamara graduated from HBS. Unless of course he took it decades afterwards in order to land that sweet consulting job.

 
Vontropnats:
frgna:
Unforseen:
Robert McNamara got an 800 on his GMAT

No, but Elliot Spitzer did ace the LSAT.

Weirdly enough, two people from my graduating class last year got 180s on the LSAT -- both are at HLS. Crazy.

I don't know much about the LSAT but for HLS 2014 JDs the 25%-75%ile band is 171-176...seems insane. It must be a little easier than the GMAT? Or are they really just that good?

if you like it then you shoulda put a banana on it
 
frgna:
Vontropnats:
frgna:
Unforseen:
Robert McNamara got an 800 on his GMAT

No, but Elliot Spitzer did ace the LSAT.

Weirdly enough, two people from my graduating class last year got 180s on the LSAT -- both are at HLS. Crazy.

I don't know much about the LSAT but for HLS 2014 JDs the 25%-75%ile band is 171-176...seems insane. It must be a little easier than the GMAT? Or are they really just that good?

Having taken the GMAT and prepped to take the LSAT, I found the latter to be a more difficult and grueling test overall. Maybe it's easier to get a perfect on the LSAT (not sure if this is true), but the questions overall, at least in my experience, are harder and require a higher degree of critical thinking. The GMAT math is pretty simple and the verbal section is one of those "you either get it or you don't" type of things...maybe it's just the fact that the LSAT is nothing but reading and that can wear one down a little more.
 
Best Response
Vontropnats:
frgna:
Vontropnats:
frgna:
Unforseen:
Robert McNamara got an 800 on his GMAT

No, but Elliot Spitzer did ace the LSAT.

Weirdly enough, two people from my graduating class last year got 180s on the LSAT -- both are at HLS. Crazy.

I don't know much about the LSAT but for HLS 2014 JDs the 25%-75%ile band is 171-176...seems insane. It must be a little easier than the GMAT? Or are they really just that good?

Having taken the GMAT and prepped to take the LSAT, I found the latter to be a more difficult and grueling test overall. Maybe it's easier to get a perfect on the LSAT (not sure if this is true), but the questions overall, at least in my experience, are harder and require a higher degree of critical thinking. The GMAT math is pretty simple and the verbal section is one of those "you either get it or you don't" type of things...maybe it's just the fact that the LSAT is nothing but reading and that can wear one down a little more.

Is the LSAT still paper based? I guess that makes a big difference, because in GMAT you always have to balance the "is this question worth the time" where on a paper based you can skip it and come back later. That to me would seem to account for many more perfect scores on the LSAT.

if you like it then you shoulda put a banana on it
 
Vontropnats:
frgna:
Vontropnats:
frgna:
Unforseen:
Robert McNamara got an 800 on his GMAT

No, but Elliot Spitzer did ace the LSAT.

Weirdly enough, two people from my graduating class last year got 180s on the LSAT -- both are at HLS. Crazy.

I don't know much about the LSAT but for HLS 2014 JDs the 25%-75%ile band is 171-176...seems insane. It must be a little easier than the GMAT? Or are they really just that good?

Having taken the GMAT and prepped to take the LSAT, I found the latter to be a more difficult and grueling test overall. Maybe it's easier to get a perfect on the LSAT (not sure if this is true), but the questions overall, at least in my experience, are harder and require a higher degree of critical thinking. The GMAT math is pretty simple and the verbal section is one of those "you either get it or you don't" type of things...maybe it's just the fact that the LSAT is nothing but reading and that can wear one down a little more.

I think the LSAT is harder for most people. In my opinion, it's a better measure of raw intelligence and logical abilities than the GMAT. There are those, however, who just suck at math but are awesome at verbal reasoning. So for those types, the LSAT will be easier.

Yes, HLS numbers are pretty strong. Median gpa is 3.88, and median lsat is 173. For Yale law, the median gpa is 3.92.

 
RonBurgandy:
hamm0:
they say about 50-100 (as quoted earlier) get 800 in any given test season.

Once you score 800, you are barred from taking the GMAT for 5 years.

What purpose would there be in taking it again after you've received a perfect score? It costs money, that sounds pretty illogical.

I think his point was to show it wasn't a fluke and that he has discovered a proprietary method for 'cracking' the GMAT. Doing it more than once would show potential customers that it's legit and worth the money. Even if he only got 1 customer from 'proving' his method by retaking the test, $10,000 > $250.

The GMAT is beatable in the sense you can breakdown the questions and learn what approach is best for answering each one and as someone stated, verbal sections can be easy if you learn the rules to grammar. In my opinion the hardest part about the GMAT is the time constraint (obviously), but if you drill the problems enough and learn to recognize the patterns and 'tricks' of the test you can solve the problems with relative ease. And I know I sounds as though I am overstating how easy it is, but I'm not. I'm simply saying it's beatable if you spend enough time learning the rules and different approaches. The caveat there is most people have a finite amount of time that they can (or will) put into the test.

I'm in a GMAT class right now and it's pretty insane to see the instructor handle some of the problems. Just seeing the question and the possible answer choices can point you in the right direction and give you a pretty accurate guess as to what the answer could be should you have to guess. Again, he's intimately familiar with the test, so keep that in mind.

Anyways, the guy selling his services via that website is probably teaching certain techniques/approaches that allow his students to quickly recognize what they have to do with the question, which gives them more time to execute and get the problem right...plus he's probably just super smart.

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 
FormerHornetDriver:
For what it's worth, I got every question correct on the verbal section and did not get a perfect on that section.

How the hell would you know if you got every question correct? Clearly you made a careless error along the way.

 

Haha. I actually just read through the site and the guy outlines that he teaches you how to figure out the question faster than you otherwise would, thus giving you more time to complete everything. May sound gimmicky but since I started studying a few weeks back, I can see how certain methods would be very helpful.

As far as cost, that will always be subjective. $10k is nothing in the life of the average HBS grad going (back) into finance. This program is similar to others in that you aren't buying a guarantee, you are just paying to mitigate your downside and lower your risk. With that said, I would have a very hard time dropping that amount of money but if I had a trust fund or dad would pay for, why not?

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 

LSAT is much harder. The critical reasoning and reading comp on the GMAT is a joke compared to what you'll see on the LSAT. The math on the GMAT is 9th grade level. Overall the LSAT is significantly harder. I got a 740 on the GMAT, which is like 97%, but barely cracked 160 on the LSAT.

 
FutureBanker09:
LSAT is much harder. The critical reasoning and reading comp on the GMAT is a joke compared to what you'll see on the LSAT. The math on the GMAT is 9th grade level. Overall the LSAT is significantly harder. I got a 740 on the GMAT, which is like 97%, but barely cracked 160 on the LSAT.

That split surprises me for some reason. Do you mind sharing your Q-V breakdown and similar for LSAT?

I took the GMAT and prepped pretty hard for the LSAT. I thought tough LSAT questions were more difficult than tough GMAT questions, but I would also guess that there are more (as a percentage of tests taken) 180's than 800's.

  1. Because the LSAT is on paper, everyone gets the same mix of easy, medium, and hard questions. However, GMAT's CAT feature gives the best test takers more opportunities to screw up.

  2. For high scorers, marginal points on the LSAT are worth much more than marginal points on the GMAT, so naturally high scoring LSAT takers have more incentive to prep for perfection than naturally high scoring GMAT takers.

  3. The LSAT is taken almost entirely by native English speakers, whereas the GMAT has a more international mix. A lot of the people who can ace the quantitative section of the GMAT will trip on the V section.

 
tctc33:
FutureBanker09:
LSAT is much harder. The critical reasoning and reading comp on the GMAT is a joke compared to what you'll see on the LSAT. The math on the GMAT is 9th grade level. Overall the LSAT is significantly harder. I got a 740 on the GMAT, which is like 97%, but barely cracked 160 on the LSAT.

That split surprises me for some reason. Do you mind sharing your Q-V breakdown and similar for LSAT?

I took the GMAT and prepped pretty hard for the LSAT. I thought tough LSAT questions were more difficult than tough GMAT questions, but I would also guess that there are more (as a percentage of tests taken) 180's than 800's.

  1. Because the LSAT is on paper, everyone gets the same mix of easy, medium, and hard questions. However, GMAT's CAT feature gives the best test takers more opportunities to screw up.

  2. For high scorers, marginal points on the LSAT are worth much more than marginal points on the GMAT, so naturally high scoring LSAT takers have more incentive to prep for perfection than naturally high scoring GMAT takers.

  3. The LSAT is taken almost entirely by native English speakers, whereas the GMAT has a more international mix. A lot of the people who can ace the quantitative section of the GMAT will trip on the V section.

My split was Q 50 V 41

 

It's possible, but it basically has to be your life. Professional GMAT instuctors and Profs are typically among the ranks who actually pull it off. I would never make this a goal, or else you're going to drive yourself crazy. There's very little differentiation between anything above a 750.

 

It can be done, you need to just be naturally good at these kind of tests tough or just a fucking work horse, I got v. close to 800 with minimal work (less than 50 hours using only kaplan book and no tutor)

 

There's an 800 post on GMATClub.com w/ an official score report from the GMAC posted... it's pretty awesome. They basically said the guy can't take it again because he crushed it and it made them look stupid.

'Before you enter... be willing to pay the price'
 

I think anything above 750 is unnecesary. It is like having $2 billion instead of $1 billion? What is the difference in terms of lifestyle? Nothing! This is the same with 750+. No wonder is gonna happen if you pass this mark.

 

I know someone who got an 800 and went to Wharton (UVA undergrad). It does happen, but anything above 750 is fine. Only difference seemed to be that an 800 is really the only GMAT score which you can put on your resume and will make you stand out to banks - other scores will not stand out since everyone will have gotten that high.

 

Umm... did I even say it was for undergrad? I guess I confused you. I meant to say if you go through the people that are in those MBA or M.Fin. programs, some of them that got in may have an 800 GMAT.

I didn't mean Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or Stanford for their undergrad, I meant for their MBA or Princeton's M.Fin. programs; some of those students might have an 800 GMAT, which helped them in getting into those programs.

 

Dixm, yes i know exactly what you said and what you meant. That's why your list of schools is WRONG.

Harvard/Stanford, ok.

Princeton, they don't have a business school. I don't think you knew that when you wrote your first statement. In addition, ONLY MBA programs require the GMAT exclusively. Other grad programs including Master in Finance programs only require GRE. Now there might be some random program out there which doesn't fit the mold, but in general this is the way it is. You need to look up the definition of GMAT. Basically, you shouldn't talk about Princeton in any discussion about bschools (this forum) or GMAT (this thread).

Yale, it's considered a decent but NOT a top-notch business school. It is highly unlikely that anyone there would have a 800 GMAT. If your goal is to look for students with 800 GMAT scores, that's not where you'd look.

Your "list" of schools is stereotypical of someone who doesn't know anything about graduate bschools, hence my comment.

 

Nope, not in his first statement he didn't. His list of 4 schools have one clear thing in common: They are all top undergrad programs. Clearly Dixm didn't know anything about graduate programs and simply made some stuff up.

Also, when choosing between GRE and GMAT, most will choose GRE because its an easier test. If you take the GMAT and got an 800, most likely you will be at (or be applying to) a prestigious MBA as opposed to a Masters in Finance program, which is less highly regarded.

 

Yes. A good friend got an 800 on his GMAT. (He also has a master's in Engineering, sick) Got into the MBA program at University of Chicago and graduated at top of his class. Interestingly, same guy interviewed with Boston Consulting Group, Bain and McKinsey and got dinged from all of them! I think a manager at BCG straight out told him he would never make it in management consulting. Harsh.

Frustrated, he started his own business (technology company) and 4 years later sold it to private investors. He "retired" for about two years. Just started another company though...

 

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