Is It Hard to Get 700 on the GMAT?

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Last Updated on May 16, 2023

Many MBA aspirants consider a GMAT score of 700 or higher a key part of a strong business school application. A GMAT score of 700 stands out for many schools, and a score of at least 700 is all but required for gaining admission to top business schools. As a result, MBA applicants often wonder, “Is it hard to get 700 on the GMAT”?

So, in this article, I’ll discuss both how difficult a 700 GMAT score is to get and some ways to make scoring 700 as easy as possible.

Here are the topics we’ll cover:

• What Quant/Verbal Breakdown Do You Need to Get a 700 GMAT Score?
  • How Difficult Is It to Get the Quant and Verbal Scores Needed for Scoring 700?
• How Long Do Students Normally Prepare to Score 700 on the GMAT?
  • Some Interesting Comparisons
• What Percentage of GMAT Test-Takers Score 700+?
• What About People Who Find the Quant or Verbal Section Easy?
• Is It Hard to Get 700 on the GMAT?: The Bottom Line
• How to Make Scoring 700+ on the GMAT as Easy as Possible
  • Understand What the GMAT Tests
  • Master the GMAT One Topic at a Time
• Can an Average Student Crack GMAT 700+?
• Can You Get a 700+ GMAT Score Without Coaching?
• In Summary: How Hard Is It to Get a 700+ on the GMAT?
• What’s Next?

Let’s begin by discussing the type of Quant/Verbal breakdown you need to score 700 on the GMAT.

What Quant/Verbal Breakdown Do You Need to Get a 700 GMAT Score?

Business schools tend to want to see relatively strong GMAT Quant section scores from applicants. Thus, Quant scores tend to dictate the type of Quant/Verbal breakdown you need to get 700. So, for the purposes of this discussion, we’ll assume that you get a Quant score of at least 46.

Let’s consider a few Quant/Verbal breakdowns that produce a 700 GMAT total score. (I’ve discussed this topic in depth in a post on how many questions you can get wrong and score 700 on the GMAT.) These scenarios are shown in the following table. You can see more Quant/Verbal breakdowns that produce 700 GMAT scores on this GMAT score chart.

700 GMAT Score Scenario	Quant/Verbal Breakdown	Counted Quant Questions (Missed/Total)	Counted Verbal Questions (Missed/Total)	Counted Total Questions (Missed/Total)
Balanced	Q48/V38	8/28	8/30	16/58
Strong Quant	Q50/V34	4/28	10/30	14/58
Strong Verbal	Q46/V40	10/28	6/30	16/58
(Note that the table says “counted” questions because each section of the GMAT includes some uncounted, experimental questions. Experimental questions don’t matter for our purposes here, since your performance on the experimental questions doesn’t affect your score.)

We can see that, in all three scenarios, a mid-40s or higher Quant score is combined with a somewhat lower Verbal score to produce a 700 total score.

So, what does this information tell us about how hard it is to get 700 on the GMAT? Let’s discuss.

How Difficult Is It to Get the Quant and Verbal Scores Needed for Scoring 700?

Looking at the above table, we quickly notice that we can miss a fair number of Quant and Verbal questions and score 700 on the GMAT. In our Balanced scenario, we can miss 8/28 Quant and 8/30 Verbal questions. In other words, we can miss about 29 percent of the counted Quant questions and 27 percent of the counted Verbal questions and score 700.

Also, looking at the last column of the table, we see that we can miss between 14 and 16 of 58 counted questions and score 700. In other words, we can score 700 missing around 24 to 28 percent of the counted questions.

Now, 24 to 28 percent is a relatively high percentage of questions. So, it’s possible for test-takers to score 700 while missing a relatively high percentage of questions. Thus, going on this information alone, we could get the impression that scoring 700 on the GMAT is not particularly hard.

We’re starting to get the picture of how difficult scoring 700 is. However, we need more information to truly answer the question of whether it’s hard to score 700. So, let’s next consider how long people prepare for the GMAT.

How Long Do Students Normally Prepare to Score 700 on the GMAT?

Every GMAT aspirant is different. People have different starting points and different speeds at which they learn. So, each person who scores 700 on the GMAT prepares for a different length of time. Still, we can get a sense of how hard the GMAT is by considering how long people who score 700 prepare on average.

There isn’t a lot of reliable information on how long GMAT 700-scorers typically prepare. However, here’s what I’ve seen during my many years working in the GMAT preparation space. To score 700, people typically prepare for 200 to 300 hours over around two to four months.

Once again, we’re talking about a typical amount of time to prepare. Many people spend much more time preparing for the GMAT to score 700, and some spend much less time. Also, people who want a very high GMAT score, such as 740, often spend another few months preparing. So, 200 to 300 hours is not a perfect standard.

Still, this information gives us a sense of how hard a 700 score on the GMAT is to achieve. If people who score 700 typically need 200 to 300 hours of GMAT preparation, then scoring 700 is somewhat hard, but not brutally difficult.

Some Interesting Comparisons

For comparison, people preparing for CFA Level 1 prepare for around 300 hours on average. People preparing for the CPA Exam typically spend 300 to 500 hours preparing. So, GMAT test-takers who score 700 typically take less time than people spend preparing for either of those tests.

So, from this information, we get the sense that scoring 700 on the GMAT is somewhat hard, but not quite as hard as passing some major tests that are known to be hard.

We’re getting a clearer picture of how doable scoring 700 on the GMAT is. To make the picture even clearer, we can consider one more statistic, the percentage of GMAT test-takers who score 700+.

What Percentage of GMAT Test-Takers Score 700+?

To determine what percentage of test-takers score 700+, we can start with GMAT percentile information provided by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). According to the information provided at the time of this writing, 700 is an 87th percentile score. In other words, in scoring 700+, GMAT test-takers score higher than 87 percent of GMAT test-takers overall.

However, this information doesn’t mean that only 100 – 87 = 13 percent of GMAT test-takers score 700+. According to GMAC, nearly 30 percent of test-takers take the GMAT exam two times or more. So, there are many more GMATs taken than GMAT test-takers. Also, most people score higher on retakes than they do the first time they take the GMAT. So, it seems likely that around 20 percent of GMAT test-takers score 700+ on the GMAT.

Twenty percent is a pretty significant percentage of test-takers scoring 700+. Also, many people who take the GMAT are satisfied with below-700 GMAT scores. Thus, the percentage of test-takers truly aiming to get 700+ scores who achieve them is higher than 20 percent.

So, what does this information tell us? It fits with what we’ve discussed regarding the percentage of questions you can miss and how much people prepare to score 700. Once again, we get the sense that scoring 700 on the GMAT is somewhat but not extremely difficult for MBA applicants.

There is another interesting fact about the GMAT to consider: many people find the Quant or Verbal section easy. So, let’s consider what that fact indicates in the context of how difficult 700 on the GMAT is to achieve.

What About People Who Find the Quant or Verbal Section Easy?

Many people come to the GMAT ready to score in the mid-40s or higher on the Quant section, before studying for the GMAT. These people, many of whom are from countries where math education is emphasized, find the GMAT Quant section relatively easy.

There are also people who find the Verbal section of the GMAT relatively easy. These people, who often have studied English or the humanities, can achieve the kind of GMAT Verbal section scores needed for scoring 700 with little preparation.

So, why am I bringing up these people? Well, they help to illustrate a key point about the GMAT.

These people don’t find the Quant or Verbal section of GMAT relatively easy for some strange or unknown reason. Rather, they find the Quant or Verbal section of the GMAT relatively easy because they have learned some things related to the GMAT in the course of  their education. Thus, we can see that, through having learned some normal things that many people learn, people often find scoring 700 on the GMAT relatively straightforward.

So, the examples of these people help to show the following. Regardless of whether people study math or English in school or put in 300 hours of GMAT-focused study, by preparing effectively, they can achieve the Quant or Verbal section scores necessary for scoring 700 on the GMAT.

Through having learned some normal things that many people learn, people often find scoring 700 on the GMAT relatively straightforward.

So, what does everything we’ve considered indicate about the difficulty of scoring 700 on the GMAT?

Is It Hard to Get 700 on the GMAT?: The Bottom Line

Given everything we’ve discussed, from the number of questions you can miss to the amount of time people prepare and the percentage of people who score 700+, the bottom line is this. For MBA applicants, scoring 700 on the GMAT isn’t easy, but it’s totally doable with effective preparation.

Now that we have a sense of the level of difficulty of scoring 700 on the GMAT, let’s discuss how to make it as easy as possible.

How to Make Scoring 700+ on the GMAT as Easy as Possible

Two key things we can do to make scoring 700 on the GMAT as easy as possible are understanding what the GMAT tests and mastering the GMAT one topic at a time. Let’s discuss each of these.

Understand What the GMAT Tests

Understanding what the GMAT tests helps us to score 700+ because, through understanding what the GMAT tests, we’ll prepare optimally. So, what does the GMAT test?

We can get some clues regarding what the GMAT tests by considering the full names of the Quant and Verbal sections. They are the Quantitative Reasoning section and the Verbal Reasoning section. These names clue us into the fact that, more than anything else, the GMAT tests reasoning. So, to score 700+ as easily as possible, while preparing, we can take into account that the GMAT tests reasoning.

Thus, when training for GMAT Quant, we can go beyond reviewing math topics to learning how to reason our way through the tricks and twists of GMAT quant questions in order to arrive at correct answers. Similarly, for best results in GMAT Verbal, we can keep in mind that the Verbal section isn’t simply testing our knowledge of grammar rules or our ability to identify keywords in reading passages. Rather, GMAT Verbal tests our skill in using reasoning to determine what makes sense and understand logical relationships between statements.

So, we can see how understanding what the GMAT tests will make a big difference in the results we get from our GMAT study.

Master the GMAT One Topic at a Time

The fastest and easiest way to master the GMAT is to work on one topic at a time. This study approach works best for multiple reasons.

One reason is that it allows us to focus on one topic’s set of concepts and strategies at a time. By focusing on one set of concepts and strategies at a time, we can learn and understand them well.

Another reason is that this study approach allows us to answer many similar practice questions in a row. By answering many similar questions in a row, we can efficiently become skilled in answering each type of question.

To master a topic, we first learn the concepts and GMAT strategies involved in that topic. Then, we practice by answering questions involving that topic untimed until we’re getting them correct consistently. Finally, we work on answering questions involving that topic faster until we’re answering them correctly at test pace. Then, we move on to the next topic and do the same thing.

By using the study plan of mastering topics one at a time, we can eventually master the entire test. Also, preparing this way, we’re never overwhelmed during our GMAT prep because we’re learning one thing at a time.

Let’s now answer some questions that often come up with regard to scoring 700 on the GMAT.

Can an Average Student Crack GMAT 700+?

If you’ve been an average student and you’re wondering whether you can score 700+ on the GMAT, the answer is yes. With effective preparation, students of all levels score 700+ on the GMAT. In other words, regardless of your starting point, by learning one thing at a time, you can develop the knowledge and skills you need for scoring 700+.

Can You Get a 700+ GMAT Score Without Coaching?

People also often wonder whether they can get a 700+ GMAT score without a course or any type of coaching. The answer is that it’s possible to prepare for the GMAT and score 700 without a course or coaching. However, preparing for the GMAT entirely on your own will likely take much longer than preparing with some support.

That said, you don’t have to sign up for an expensive class or hire a tutor to master the GMAT in a reasonable amount of time. There are a variety of resources available that are both relatively inexpensive and powerful. One such resource is the Target Test Prep self-study online GMAT prep course, which you can try for five days for just $1.

Let’s now wrap up with the key takeaways from what we’ve discussed.

In Summary: How Hard Is It to Get a 700+ on the GMAT?

In exploring how difficult it is to score 700 or higher on the GMAT, we’ve seen the following:

• It’s possible to score 700 on the GMAT while missing relatively high percentages of the Quant and Verbal questions.
• To score 700, people normally spend around 200 to 300 hours preparing for the GMAT.
• It’s likely that around 20 percent of GMAT test-takers score 700+.
• Some people who have studied math or verbal topics before preparing for the GMAT find the GMAT Quant or Verbal section relatively easy.
• Scoring 700+ on the GMAT is not easy, but it’s reasonably straightforward to do with effective preparation.
• To make scoring 700+ on the GMAT as easy as possible, understand what the GMAT tests and master the GMAT one topic at a time.

What’s Next?

Now that you better understand the level of difficulty of scoring 700 on the GMAT, you could learn more about how to achieve a 700+ GMAT score by reading this post on how to prepare for GMAT Quant and this one on how to master GMAT Verbal.