How Much Does the GMAT Cost?

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Many people want to know, “How much does the GMAT cost?” Taking the GMAT can represent a significant expense for many students. GMAT fees can rack up quickly if you don’t have a strategy to manage your time and costs.

So, in this article, we’ll go over what the various GMAT exam fees are and when you’ll incur them during the GMAT process. We’ll also discuss the question on every business-savvy student’s mind — how you can reduce your overall GMAT fee expense.

Keep in mind that GMAT costs vary by country, and all of the GMAT fees we’ll discuss in this article are in USD.

If you’re applying to business school, you already know that earning your MBA is an investment in your future that can significantly boost your earnings potential over your lifetime. The GMAT is an integral part of that investment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have strategies in place to mitigate your GMAT-related expenses.

GMAT Cost - How Much Is the GMAT

Here are the topics we’ll cover:

How Much Does the GMAT Cost?

Many potential fees and costs are associated with sitting for the GMAT test. In the following sections, we’ll discuss these GMAT-related costs and fees.

The Cost of GMAT Registration

GMAT Registration Fee

The largest GMAT fee you’ll incur is for test registration. The fee is $275 if you take the GMAT at a test center and $300 if you take it online.

KEY FACT:

It costs $275 to take the GMAT at a test center and $300 to take it online.

The Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) accepts payments via Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover Network. It also accepts Visa and Mastercard debit cards. PayPal is a payment option for those without credit or debit cards. Most students register for the GMAT at www.mba.com (GMAC’s website) and pay the registration fee with a credit card.

If you schedule your exam by phone rather than on the GMAC website, there is an additional $10 fee.

TTP PRO TIP:

To avoid paying an extra $10 to register for the GMAT, use the mba.com website instead of registering by phone.

You may also register and pay for the GMAT by mail. To register by mail, send a personal check, cashier’s check, or money order to:

Pearson VUE
Attn: GMAT
P.O. Box 581907
Minneapolis MN 55458-1907
USA

Checks must be received at least 10 days before your scheduled test date, so the check has time to clear. You may also register via mail with a credit card.

What Are GMAT Fee Waivers?

The GMAT registration fee is expensive for some. Thus, GMAC offers some students the opportunity to receive a GMAT fee waiver. These GMAT waivers cover the cost of taking the exam, allowing students who cannot afford the registration fee to take the GMAT for free.

KEY FACT:

GMAC offers students in need the opportunity to receive a GMAT fee waiver, which covers the cost of taking the exam, allowing them to take the GMAT for free.

How to Apply for a GMAT Fee Waiver

You might be wondering how to get a GMAT fee waiver.

GMAC does not offer registration fee waivers directly to test-takers. There is, however, a GMAT voucher program that allows participating schools to cover part or all of the registration fee for students who demonstrate financial need. Each school can purchase only ten vouchers yearly, so securing one will likely be highly competitive.

Each school has its own eligibility standards for fee waivers, and not all schools offer waivers. So, if you need help covering the cost of GMAT registration, it’s probably worthwhile to speak with the financial aid offices at your desired schools to see what your options are.

Be sure to give yourself plenty of lead time before you plan to take the GMAT, so you’re not scrambling to obtain a fee waiver right before you register for the exam.

TTP PRO TIP:

If you can demonstrate financial need, you can reduce the cost of GMAT registration by registering online and applying for a fee waiver from your school of choice.

US Armed Forces members should check with DANTES to see whether their GMAT fee can be reimbursed. Individuals using GI Bill benefits qualify for GMAT fee reimbursement.

Let’s now discuss some additional fees associated with the GMAT.

How Much Does It Cost to Reschedule Your GMAT Exam?

GMAT Reschedule Cost

The cost of rescheduling your GMAT varies according to how far in advance of your original test appointment you reschedule it. The longer you wait, the steeper the cost.

More Than 60 Days Before Your Test Date

If you reschedule your GMAT exam more than 60 days before your scheduled test date, you’ll pay $55 to reschedule an in-person GMAT and $60 to reschedule a GMAT Online exam.

KEY FACT:

If you reschedule your GMAT exam more than 60 days before your scheduled test date, you’ll pay $55 to reschedule an in-person GMAT and $60 to reschedule an online GMAT.

Within 60 Days of Your Test Date

If you wait until 15-60 days before your scheduled GMAT date, the rescheduling price increases to $110 to reschedule an in-person GMAT and $120 to reschedule an online GMAT.

KEY FACT:

If you wait until 15-60 days before your scheduled GMAT date, the rescheduling price increases to $110 to reschedule an in-person GMAT and $120 to reschedule an online GMAT.

14 Days or Less Before Your Scheduled GMAT Date

If you reschedule your GMAT 1-14 days before your test appointment, you’ll pay a whopping $165 to reschedule an in-person GMAT and $180 to reschedule an online GMAT.

KEY FACT:

If you reschedule your GMAT 1-14 days before your test appointment, you’ll pay $165 to reschedule an in-person GMAT and $180 to reschedule an online GMAT.

Within 24 Hours of Your Test Time

You will forfeit the entire exam fee if you try to reschedule or cancel your test within 24 hours of your test time. Don’t wait until the last minute!

KEY FACT:

You will forfeit your entire exam fee if you wait until 24 hours or less of your exam time to try to reschedule or cancel.

When rescheduling your GMAT, you don’t want to put off what you can do today until tomorrow. Hopefully, you’ll have a realistic timeline and an organized study plan at the beginning of your GMAT prep, so you won’t need to reschedule your exam. But if a circumstance you couldn’t have predicted pops up and you must change your test date, do so expeditiously.

TTP PRO TIP:

The price tag for rescheduling your GMAT gets steeper as your test date approaches. If you need to reschedule your exam, do so expeditiously.

Watch Out for the $10 Phone Fee when Rescheduling

The same $10 fee you’ll incur for scheduling your GMAT by phone applies to rescheduling your GMAT. Thus, if you want to cut costs, reschedule your test online.

TTP PRO TIP:

To cut costs, reschedule your test online rather than by phone.

The one exception to this rule is rescheduling to take the exam in a country other than the one where you were originally scheduled to sit for the GMAT. Because you must contact GMAC by phone to make a country change, the $10 fee doesn’t apply.

So, for instance, if you were originally scheduled to sit for the GMAT in India but need to take the test later in the United States instead, you must request the new date and location change by phone. While you will still pay the normal rescheduling fee, you won’t have to pay the extra $10 phone fee.

How Much Does It Cost to Cancel Your GMAT Exam?

GMAT Cancellation Refunds EU and South Africa
GMAT Cancellation Refunds USA India China

Inside the European Union

Let’s first address the good news: If you’re scheduled to take the GMAT anywhere within the European Union, and you cancel your test appointment within 14 days of registering for your exam, you will receive a full refund for the cost of the exam. Similarly, test-takers in South Africa receive a full refund if they cancel within 7 days of registering.

If you’re testing outside of those countries or those windows have passed, you won’t receive a full refund. Your refund amount will be determined in relation to your test date.

In the United States, India, and China

In the US, India, and China, if you cancel your test appointment more than 60 days before your test date, you’ll receive a $110 refund if you were scheduled to take the GMAT at a test center and a $120 refund if you were scheduled to take the GMAT Online.

KEY FACT:

In the US, India, and China, if you cancel your test appointment more than 60 days before your test date, you’ll receive a $110 refund if you were scheduled to take the GMAT at a test center and a $120 refund if you were scheduled to take the GMAT Online.

Unsurprisingly, as your test day approaches, your refund shrinks.

If you cancel within 15-60 days of your test day, your refund drops to $80 for a test center GMAT and $90 for an online GMAT. Waiting until day 14 lowers the refund to $55 for a test center GMAT and $60 for an online GMAT.

KEY FACT:

If you cancel within 15-60 days of your test day, your refund drops to $80 for a test center GMAT and $90 for an online GMAT. Waiting until day 14 lowers the refund to $55 and $60, respectively.

Remember That GMAT Cancellation Fees Vary by Country

Again, cancellation fees may vary by country, so check mba.com to confirm the pricing in your area.

For instance, in South Korea, if you cancel your exam more than 14 days before your test appointment, you’ll pay a $55 cancellation fee if you’ve scheduled an in-person GMAT and a $60 fee if you’ve scheduled an online GMAT.

So, test-takers may have some more leeway when weighing cost vs. timeline.

TTP PRO TIP:

GMAT cancellation fees vary by country, so check mba.com to confirm the pricing in your area.

How Much Do I Pay If I Miss My GMAT Altogether?

If you miss your exam altogether — in other words, you forget to cancel or are a “no-show” at the test center — you’ll forfeit the entire $275 (or $300 if you scheduled a GMAT Online exam).

KEY FACT:

If you miss your exam at the test center, you’ll forfeit the entire $275. If you miss your GMAT Online, you forfeit the entire $300.

Those fees also go for waiting until 24 hours before your exam to cancel (or reschedule). Canceling within 24 hours isn’t allowed, so you will effectively forfeit your exam cost.

KEY FACT:

You cannot cancel your GMAT exam appointment within 24 hours of the exam time. If you do so, you’ll forfeit your entire GMAT exam cost.

Rescheduling your exam to a later date will raise the cost of taking the GMAT just once to as much as $550, a hefty expense, especially in the unfortunate event that you don’t hit your score goal on your first try and you need to make a second attempt.

It Pays to Be Prepared Before You Schedule Your GMAT

It pays — quite literally — to be as well-prepared as possible when it comes to setting your test date. Selecting a test date before you’re prepared to sit for the GMAT, and then realizing that you need more time to study as that date approaches, could cost you big.

It pays — quite literally — to be as well-prepared as possible when it comes to setting your test date.

For some, being able to schedule the “ideal date,” and then cancel if need be, is worth the potential expense. That is perfectly fine. The point is to make a conscious decision (barring any unforeseen circumstances) about whether your priority is cost-cutting or flexibility and how much of the latter your wallet can handle.

TTP PRO TIP:

Be careful about selecting a test date before you are ready to take your GMAT. You may forfeit some or all of your exam costs if you need more time to study.

GMAT Score Cancellation Is No Longer an Issue

In previous years, schools received a list of all GMAT scores you had ever received, unless the score was canceled. Students would have to pay up to $25 to cancel their scores within 72 hours of taking the test. Fortunately, this cost no longer applies.

There’s no need to cancel a score. When you send your score report to schools, you select which scores will be sent. Thus, a poor score will never be seen by the schools, unless you choose to send it.

KEY FACT:

Since you choose which scores to send to schools, there is no need (and no cost) to cancel a score.

Free!  Detailed Performance Insights

Everyone knows the best deal is free, and the GMAT provides you with a very valuable freebie. When you receive your Official Score Report, you will be provided with detailed feedback about your performance on the exam.  This part of the report is called “Detailed Performance Insights,” and it replaces the previous “Enhanced Score Report,” for which students were previously charged $30.

Free is good. And the Detailed Performance Insights (DPI) section is packed full of great feedback. It provides you with:

  • Score data by section (Quant, Verbal, and Data Insights)
  • Your score data in relation to the scores of other applicants at your desired schools
  • Your specific skill performance in each section
  • Your performance by question type on each section
  • Your time management statistics for each section

Given the small sample size of questions on any one GMAT, crafting a study plan solely based on your DPI feedback is not recommended. However, the DPI is certainly useful for getting a bird’s-eye view of your GMAT performance. Furthermore, your DPI could reveal some weak points you didn’t realize you had.

TTP PRO TIP:

The Detailed Performance Insights part of your Official Score Report is a free tool to gain insight into your performance on a given GMAT. However, you shouldn’t rely on the DPI to identify all of your strengths and weaknesses.

How Much Does It Cost to Order an Additional GMAT Score Report?

GMAT Additional Score Report cost

Recall that you can send your scores for free to up to five schools, as long as you order the report to be sent within 48 hours of your score being made available at mba.com

If you wish to send your score report to more than five schools, you can order an Additional Score Report (ASR). ASRs are $35 per report when ordered online or $45 when ordered by phone. Note that ASRs look exactly like Official Score Reports.

KEY FACT:

ASRs are $35 per report when ordered online or $45 when ordered by phone.

Now, let’s discuss some more strategies for limiting GMAT costs.

Limit GMAT Costs by Being Prepared: Priceless

So much of mitigating the inevitable expense of the GMAT is having a strategy before you start preparing.

You want to be organized and methodical in your GMAT prep. A big part of that is creating a GMAT schedule that considers your application deadlines, likely prep time, and budget, and leaves enough wiggle room if you have to make an unexpected change to your plans.

TTP PRO TIP:

To limit costs, create a GMAT schedule that considers your application deadlines, likely prep time, and budget. Be sure to leave some room for the unexpected.

The Potential Cost of Not Being Prepared to Take Your GMAT

Let’s play out a possible scenario.

GMAT Student A schedules her exam according to when she wants to take the GMAT, not when she is truly ready to take the GMAT.

The bill so far is $275 ($300 for the GMAT Online).

Ten days before her scheduled test, she realizes that there is no way she’ll be able to hit her score goal. Thus, she reschedules.

That’s another $165 ($180 for an online GMAT), bringing the total cost to $440 ($480 for online).

We’re still on a single GMAT attempt.

Student A still needs to hit her score goal to be competitive at her top-choice schools. Thus, she studies for a few more months and schedules another GMAT.

The total is $740 ($780 online).

Luckily, she hits her score goal this time, but after her exam date, she decides that there are two additional schools to which she’d like to send her scores. So, she orders two ASRs for $70.

All told, Student A spends $810 ($850 online) to take the GMAT twice.

This cost doesn’t even account for the price of books, courses, classes, tutoring services, or other resources she may have used for GMAT prep.

For instance, if she took all 6 official practice exams (and we recommend that every GMAT student does), that alone would add another $130 to the total GMAT cost, bringing the total to $940 ($980 online).

How to Avoid Unnecessary GMAT Costs

So, how do you avoid the type of unnecessary spending that plagued Student A throughout her GMAT journey? Let’s discuss.

Start With a Baseline GMAT Score

You must start your prep by figuring out your baseline level of GMAT proficiency. To do so, take one of the free official practice exams from mba.com. Your exam score will give you a sense of the study time you may need to hit your score goal.

Know Your Target GMAT Score

You must have a score goal in mind to know what to aim for! That means researching the average GMAT scores at the schools to which you plan to apply. Starting your GMAT prep without a score goal in mind is like running a race without knowing where the finish line is.

Be Organized in Your Planning

You must be organized in your planning for the GMAT, so you don’t end up making key decisions at the last minute. Additionally, you have to be organized in your learning for the GMAT, so you don’t derail your schedule with ineffective studying.

Choose Your GMAT Prep Resources Wisely

You must choose your GMAT study resources wisely.

There is a range of GMAT resources available. They can cost anywhere from a few dollars for a used book to thousands of dollars for an in-person class or private tutoring.

It’s best to base your decision on what types of resources to use on more than just price. For instance, many students hope to prepare for the GMAT using only free study resources. There are plenty of such resources available online. However, relying solely on free resources for your GMAT prep is likely to result in a patchwork, disorganized approach that could leave you with significant gaps in knowledge and skill and make it harder to predict when you’ll be ready to take your exam.

TTP PRO TIP:

Relying solely on free resources for your GMAT prep will likely result in a patchwork, disorganized, and ineffective approach. It’s best to base your decision on what types of GMAT study resources to use on more than just price.

Online GMAT Self-Study Courses Can Be Cost-Effective

Many students find that an online self-study course allows them the flexibility to incorporate GMAT prep into their daily lives while providing an excellent middle ground regarding cost.

For instance, perhaps you have a little money to spend but work full-time. In this case, attending an in-person class would be difficult for you. A self-study course allows you to set your study time around your work schedule rather than forcing you to adhere to a fixed class time.

Furthermore, the right self-study course will give you a detailed road map for your GMAT prep. You’ll know what to study, how much time you’ll need to prepare, and whether you’re on track to hit your score goal. Removing the guesswork from your GMAT prep can help keep costs low further down the line.

Plus, most online self-study courses offer a free or low-cost trial. So, you can test out different courses before committing to one. Thus, you can avoid bouncing from course to course until you find one that works, a situation that could cost you significant time and money.

Summary: How Much Does the GMAT Cost?

  • It’s always a good move to keep your GMAT-related costs low.
  • You’ll pay $275 to register to take the GMAT at a test center.
  • Registering to take the GMAT Online costs $300.
  • Some students will be able to qualify for a GMAT Fee Waiver.
  • Rescheduling your exam costs $55 to $180, depending on how far in advance you reschedule.
  • Cancellation fees vary by country.
  • The Detailed Performance Insights report is free and is part of your Official Score Report
  • Additional Score Reports (ASRs) can be ordered for $35 each.
  • Study books and courses can add additional costs to your GMAT investment.

Finally, let’s answer some frequently asked questions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How Much Are GMAT Fees?

While there are a number of fees associated with the GMAT, the cost to register for the GMAT in person is $275. The cost to register for the GMAT online is $300.

What Is the GMAT Cost in India?

The GMAT registration fee in India is $275.

What Forms of Payment Can I Use to Pay GMAT Fees?

GMAC may restrict certain forms of payment in certain countries. In general, GMAC accepts payments made with a credit card, debit card, personal check, money order, or cashier’s check, but you should check this payment information page if you have questions about purchasing a GMAT product.

Is There a GMAT Reschedule Fee?

There are costs associated with rescheduling your GMAT exam. The cost to reschedule your GMAT exam depends on how long before your exam you reschedule.

  • To reschedule your in-person GMAT more than 60 days before the exam, you’ll pay a $55 fee. Rescheduling an online GMAT requires a $60 fee.
  • To reschedule your in-person GMAT 15-60 days before the exam, you’ll pay a $110 fee. Rescheduling an online GMAT requires a $120 fee.
  • To reschedule your in-person GMAT 14 days or less before the exam, you’ll pay a $165 fee. Rescheduling an online GMAT requires a $180 fee.

Why Is the GMAT So Costly?

Most people would rather spend $275 on anything other than registering for the GMAT. However, it’s essential to consider the cost of taking the GMAT as an investment. The price is an investment in yourself, your future growth, and future earnings. If you play your cards right, you’ll realize an exceptionally high ROI on taking and scoring well on the GMAT.

How Do I Reduce GMAT Costs and Fees?

You can reduce the cost of taking the GMAT by:

  1. Booking a GMAT date when you know you’ll be ready to earn the score you seek.
  2. Not rescheduling, canceling, or retaking the GMAT.
  3. Preparing with powerful yet cost-effective GMAT prep materials.

How Can I Register for the GMAT?

To register for the GMAT, you can follow the steps provided in this article.

What Is the Process to Reschedule or Cancel My GMAT Appointment?

Follow the steps in this article, which walk you step-by-step through how to reschedule or cancel your GMAT appointment.

What Is the Duration of the GMAT?

The total exam time for the GMAT Online exam and the in-person GMAT is 2 hours and 15 minutes (with one optional 10-minute break).

How Many Sections Are on the GMAT?

There are 3 sections on the GMAT exam:

  • Quantitative Reasoning
  • Verbal Reasoning
  • Data Insights

You can read more about the GMAT format here.

How Is the GMAT Scored?

Your GMAT total score (composite score) ranges from 205 to 805. The GMAT is an adaptive test. Thus, your total GMAT score is not calculated based on only the number of questions you answer correctly. The question difficulties also matter.

You can learn more about how the GMAT is scored here.

What’s Next?

Now that you’ve learned how to be cost-conscious about your GMAT expenses, make sure you are as good at getting a great score as you are at saving money!  Read these 25 test-day tips for maxing your GMAT score.

Good luck!

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