How to Get a Perfect 805 GMAT Score

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Many people wonder how to score a perfect 805 on the GMAT. Often, they hear that scoring 805 will not help their MBA applications or that scoring 805 is virtually impossible. While I agree that business school admissions officers generally don’t view an 805 GMAT score much differently from how they view, say, a 775, I think scoring 805 is totally doable. Also, much of what applies to scoring 805 on the GMAT is useful for achieving any GMAT high score. So, in this article, I’m going to discuss some key aspects of scoring 805 on the GMAT. If you use the information to score 685, 735, or 775 instead, we’ll still have a win! 

Here are the topics we’ll cover:

• The Performance Required for a Perfect 805 on the GMAT
• 5 Keys to an 805 Performance
  • #1: Develop a Winning Mindset
  • #2: Master One Topic at a Time
    • Learn Each Topic From the Ground Up
  • #3: Develop Skill in Finding Ways to Answer
  • #4: Achieve 100 Percent Accuracy
  • #5: Take Care of Your Health and Wellness
• Key Takeaways
• What’s Next?

Let’s begin by discussing the GMAT performance you’ll need to score 805.

The Performance Required for a Perfect 805 on the GMAT

As you likely know, your GMAT total score, which ranges from 205 to 805 in 10-point increments, is based on your performance on the Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Data Insights (DI) sections of the GMAT. Each section has the same scoring scale: 60 to 90, in 1-point increments. To earn an 805 total score, you must earn a score of 90 in each of the 3 sections. So, how do you earn a section score of 90 in Quant, Verbal, and DI?

According to TTP’s GMAT score research, a section score of 90 almost certainly requires getting every question in that section correct. While it is theoretically possible to miss a question and still score 90 in that section (because the GMAT is computer-adaptive), we have yet to see it happen. If you’re aiming for a perfect 805, plan to get all 21 Quant, 23 Verbal, and 20 DI questions correct.

So, we can see why, according to the GMAC, the makers of the GMAT, fewer than 50 people out of the over 200,000 people who take the GMAT each year achieve a perfect score. Getting all the questions on the GMAT correct is not easy!

Now that we know what it takes to score 805, let’s continue by discussing 5 crucial aspects of preparing to ace the GMAT. 

5 Keys to an 805 Performance

To score 805, learning GMAT strategies and GMAT test-taking techniques is necessary, but it’s not sufficient. From developing the right mindset to taking care of your health, here are 5 tips to help you prepare to achieve your highest possible score on test day.

#1: Develop a Winning Mindset

As we discussed earlier, people often feel that scoring 805 on the GMAT is virtually impossible. If you believe that, achieving a GMAT perfect score is going to be pretty challenging because you’re creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Think about it: you’ll be attempting to do something that you yourself believe likely can’t be done. To set yourself up to score 805, or close to it, you have to develop the proper mindset.

One key step to developing such a mindset? Realizing that test-takers regularly get every Quant question, every Verbal question, or every Data Insights question correct. So, to score 805 on the GMAT, you’re not doing anything unprecedented. Instead, you just have to put together 3 section performances that many people are capable of. Furthermore, we know that some people do achieve perfect GMAT scores. So, you can adopt the attitude that you can accomplish what other people have.

Another aspect of developing a mindset conducive to acing the GMAT is adopting a growth mindset. In the context of preparing for the GMAT, adopting a growth mindset means that we see our weaknesses as fixable. For example, if you’re strong in Quant but weak in Verbal, or vice versa, you believe you can develop strong skills in your weaker area. Similarly, if you don’t feel strong in any GMAT section, you believe you can improve in every section. The clearer you are about your ability to improve, the more confident you’ll be and the more motivation you’ll have for your GMAT prep.

In addition to the right mindset, you must have an effective preparation approach. So, let’s now discuss the most effective way to study for the GMAT.

#2: Master One Topic at a Time

Regardless of your GMAT score goal, the most effective way to prepare for the GMAT is to master one topic at a time. To master a topic, you first learn the concepts involved in that topic. After improving your concept knowledge, you then do dozens of GMAT practice questions on that topic until you achieve high accuracy. Once you’ve mastered one topic, you move on to the next and repeat the process. By proceeding in this way, you eventually master the entire GMAT.

For instance, if you were studying rate questions, you’d first learn the concepts involved, such as the rate-time-distance formula. Then, you’d answer dozens of rate questions, starting with easy questions and working your way up to harder questions, until you virtually couldn’t get them incorrect. 

Similarly, if you were working on GMAT Critical Reasoning questions involving assumptions, you’d learn the concepts involved in answering those questions. Then, you’d answer Identify the Assumption practice questions until you totally understood how to get them correct.

Why is this approach to GMAT prep so effective? Because it gives you an opportunity to focus on understanding a set of concepts and then to apply them to practice questions. One great benefit is that you can apply what you learn in answering one question to subsequent similar questions.

As you master each topic, make sure to study it in depth, from its foundational concepts to its high-level applications.

Learn Each Topic From the Ground Up

An important part of truly mastering a topic is learning it from the ground up, and here’s why.

If you’re OK with occasionally being stumped by a question when you take the GMAT, you can prepare by learning formulas or approaches to answering questions while not being 100 percent clear about the underlying theories. As long as you can generally apply the formulas or approaches, you’ll be able to get most questions correct.

However, if you want to get every GMAT question correct, you must go beyond simply learning formulas and approaches. To be ready for anything the GMAT can throw at you on test day, you must understand the underlying concepts. 

For instance, to prepare for permutations questions, you’d go beyond learning the permutations formula to understanding why the formula works. You’d also learn the basic theory underlying how permutations are counted. That way, if you were to see a permutation question to which the formula was not readily applicable, you could answer the question by applying the underlying theory.

Let’s now discuss another aspect of being fully prepared: finding a way to answer virtually any GMAT question.

#3: Develop Skill in Finding Ways to Answer

If you’re aiming for a perfect GMAT score, you can’t guess on any questions. You can’t simply decide to punt on particularly challenging questions and move on. Instead, you must find ways to answer them. So, your GMAT study plan must prepare you to get the correct answer every time. Here’s one way to do so.

When answering a practice question, don’t look at the explanation until you’ve come up with an answer. Keep at it, regardless of whether you have to spend an hour estimating, hacking, or doing long division. Do whatever you have to do to answer that question before you read the explanation and learn how to answer it in under 2 minutes.

Now, I’m not saying to begin your preparation in this manner. Once you have a decent grasp of the material, though, you should start fighting your way to correct answers. In practicing this way, you develop a skill that goes beyond Quant, Verbal, and DI skills: you are learning to win against all odds. On test day, chances are that you’ll encounter at least one question that stumps you at first. If you’ve practiced finding paths to solutions, you’ll have skills you can use to answer anyway.

Now, you might wonder how you’ll have time to apply this skill on test day. After all, you have about 2 minutes per GMAT question. To invest 3+ minutes on the hardest questions, you must save time on easier questions. If you prepare as we discussed above, you’ll be able to answer most questions quickly. Thus, you’ll have extra time to answer the most challenging questions.

Next, let’s discuss another key aspect of acing the GMAT: achieving 100% accuracy. 

#4: Achieve 100 Percent Accuracy

It seems obvious that you should aim for high accuracy on GMAT questions. However, it’s one thing to understand in theory how to answer a GMAT question and another to be able to get the correct answer every time. So, another crucial part of training to score 805 on the GMAT is training to get every question correct.

Any time you miss a question, your move is to analyze what went wrong, similarly to how you would review a concept that you didn’t know. Did you become excited and careless part way through answering the question? Did you forget to consider 0? What did you have to do differently to get the correct answer? You have to become an expert in doing things correctly every time. To do so, you must be analytical in identifying your mistakes, as well as identifying ways to avoid them on future questions. 

To work toward 100% accuracy, practice getting long streaks of correct answers with the Streaks Method. Start with 10 to 15 correct answers in a row and work your way up to what you’ll need on test day: 21 Quant questions, 23 Verbal questions, and 20 Data Insights questions correct in a row.

Let’s now discuss one more thing you can do to improve your odds of scoring 805 on the GMAT: taking care of your health and wellness.

#5: Take Care of Your Health and Wellness

Your level of health and wellness is a huge factor affecting how you perform in any activity, including test-taking. So, along with preparing for the GMAT in the academic sense, mastering the GMAT requires taking care of your health and wellness. 

As you study for the GMAT, be sure to take care of yourself by doing things such as eating well and getting sufficient sleep and exercise. Also, be sure to take care of your emotional health. So many times, I’ve seen people have trouble with the GMAT not because their GMAT-specific skills were not strong enough but because outside factors were undermining their efforts. In particular, issues related to stress or anxiety can make succeeding in any endeavor difficult.

To earn a GMAT top score, you must be at your best on test day. Taking care of your health and wellness gives you the best chance to perform to the best of your abilities.

Let’s wrap up by reviewing the key aspects of scoring 805 on the GMAT.

Key Takeaways

In this article, we’ve discussed several important points to keep in mind as you aim for a perfect GMAT score. 

• Scoring 805 on the GMAT likely requires getting all 64 questions in the Quant, Verbal, and Data Insights sections correct.
• Adopt a winning mindset by believing that you can improve your weaknesses and achieve a perfect score.
• To thoroughly master the GMAT, study one topic at a time, from the ground up.
• When practicing GMAT questions, find a way to answer each question, even when it stumps you at first.
• Aim for 100% accuracy by being analytical about your mistakes and employing the Streaks Method.
• Devote some time to caring for your health and wellness so you can perform to your potential on test day. 

What’s Next?

To gain some more insights into how to maximize your GMAT score, check out these posts on how to increase your GMAT Quant score and how to score high on GMAT Verbal.

For additional keys to performing well, check out these GMAT Verbal tips, GMAT Quant strategies, and GMAT Data Insights techniques. 

Finally, review these useful time management strategies for GMAT Quant and Verbal.