Last year over 900 students took the GMAT test from Pakistan to apply at the top business programs in the US. Few students from Pakistan, if any, will get a perfect score of 800 on the GMAT, but some will go over 700. Interestingly enough, the top 10 programs all have an average GMAT score of over 700 (out of 800) for admitted applicants. Stanford has the highest average GMAT scores at 732 with Harvard Business School having the 2nd highest GMAT scores at 727. This implies that the competition at the top is extremely tough for Pakistani students – not only do they want high GMAT scores but also have quality essays, reference letters and relevant work experience.

Many students in Pakistan ask me if GMAT is a reliable measure of ones potential to do well in the business school. Well the answer is pretty much yes. GMAC, the organization that creates the GMAT, has done thorough research showing that GMAT is a great predictor for MBA success. There is no doubt that GMAT is just one of the many factors that predict success at the graduate school – hard work, discipline, past work experiences are among the many other factors. Nevertheless according to a Kaplan study in 2011, GMAT is the most important predictor for success at the MBA program, implying that Pakistani students must take it very seriously.

In 2013, 932 people took the GMAT test in Pakistan with an average GMAT score of 497. As you can see the GMAT scores for Pakistani students are really low but nevertheless, there are many GMAT test takers who also go beyond the 700 mark. For those of you applying to a top Business program from Pakistan, here are the average GMAT scores for these MBA schools.