GMAT Focus Edition for Pakistani Students: Format, Fees and Free Prep

The GMAT is an admissions test that many business schools ask for, and some MBA scholarships are decided on the same application. This guide covers what the test looks like now, what it costs, how to prepare for free, and when the GRE or a waiver may be a better route. Everything here was checked against GMAC (the organisation that runs the GMAT) and the schools' own pages on 17 October 2026. Rules and fees change, so confirm on mba.com before you book.

The GMAT now means the Focus Edition

The older version of the GMAT (the 10th Edition) could last be taken on 31 January 2024. Since 1 February 2024 the only GMAT is the Focus Edition, which mba.com now simply calls "the GMAT exam". Prep material written before 2024 may be for the old test, so check before you rely on it.

Scores from the old version stay valid for five years. Check whether each school still accepts them. Source: GMAC

Format and scoring

The test has three sections, each 45 minutes long (mba.com exam structure):

That is 64 questions in 2 hours 15 minutes, with one optional 10-minute break after the first or second section. You choose the order of the sections. You can also bookmark questions, review them at the end of a section and change up to three answers per section.

Scoring works like this (mba.com scores):

• Total score: 205 to 805, in steps of 10, so every total ends in 5.
• Section scores: 60 to 90 each.
• Official Score Report: free, usually ready in 3 to 5 days and occasionally up to 20. It shows your percentiles and a breakdown of how you did by question type and how you used your time.
• Sending scores: your fee includes sending scores to up to five programmes, if you choose them within 48 hours of your official score appearing. Extra reports cost more.
• Superscore: if you test more than once, your report includes a Superscore built from your best section scores across valid attempts. Check whether each school accepts it (UVA Darden says it does).

Retakes and score validity

• You can take the GMAT up to five times in any rolling 12 months, online or at a centre. Cancelled attempts still count.
• You must wait at least 16 days between attempts.
• There is no lifetime limit. The one exception: after a perfect 805 you must wait five years to test again.
• Scores are valid for five years and can be reported for up to 10 years.

Changing a booking within 24 hours of the start time isn't allowed, and if you don't turn up you lose the whole fee. Source: mba.com exam policies

Online or at a test centre

The online GMAT has the same structure, number of questions, timing and score scale as the test-centre version. It is available worldwide except in Mainland China, Iran, Cuba, Sudan and North Korea, so you can take it from Pakistan. Source: GMAC

mba.com shows test-centre locations only when you book, so check which cities in Pakistan have a centre at that point. Online can help if you live far from a centre. Read the online test requirements on mba.com before you choose it, and think about whether your internet and power will hold for the full test.

Fees and payment

GMAC lists fees by country on its payment page. We could not confirm the current fee for Pakistan, so select Pakistan there and check before you book.

For a rough idea only: a GMAC article updated in October 2024 said the online exam "costs $300 globally" and test-centre fees are "usually $275", varying by location. That figure is two years old and may have changed. Source: GMAC, October 2024

A few practical points for paying from Pakistan:

• GMAC accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover cards. Make sure your card is enabled for international online payments, because a declined payment cancels your appointment automatically.
• Rescheduling and cancellation fees depend on how close to the test date you make the change. The amounts are on mba.com.
• Fee waivers are usually given out through participating business schools and programmes, which set their own rules. Ask the admissions office of a school you're applying to. Source: mba.com support

ID: get your name right before you book

Check this carefully before you book. GMAC's rules (ID requirements):

• Your ID must be current, valid, original and government-issued, with your name, date of birth, a recent photo and your signature.
• Your name must be in the Roman alphabet and match your mba.com profile exactly. Your date of birth must match too.
• A passport is always required if you test outside your country of citizenship. Expired passports are not accepted.

mba.com shows the exact rule for each country only through a country selector, and we could not confirm what it says for Pakistan. The safe choice is to use a valid passport and register your name exactly as it is printed on it, including the order of your names. If your passport is close to expiring, renew it before you book.

Free official prep

GMAC's free materials (prep page) are the best place to start, because they are written by the people who make the test:

• GMAT Official Starter Kit with Practice Exams 1 and 2: two full-length practice tests and 70 sample questions across all three sections. You open them through GMAT Official Practice from your mba.com account.
• GMAT Mini Quiz: a short set of real questions with explanations.
• Free 6-Week GMAT Official Study Planner and a quiz that suggests a personal prep plan.

GMAC also sells the Official Guide, an online question bank and more practice exams. Save the two free practice exams for when you have studied for a while, so they tell you something useful.

Free third-party resources (not official)

These are run by private companies, not GMAC. Their questions are written to imitate the GMAT, and their practice scores may not match your real score. Most need you to sign up, and several also sell paid courses.

• GMAT Club (gmatclub.com): a large forum with free question banks, a daily question and a free mock test.
• e-GMAT: a free trial with video lessons, practice questions and an adaptive mock test.
• Target Test Prep: a five-day free trial.
• Kaplan / Manhattan Prep: free practice exams, a free trial class and a seven-day trial. Check that any practice test is for the Focus Edition.

GRE or GMAT for an MBA?

Many schools now take either test, so you can choose the one that suits you. Some examples from the schools' own pages:

• Harvard Business School accepts the GRE or GMAT with no preference (HBS 2026-27 Application Guide).
• Stanford GSB accepts the GMAT or GRE with "no preference for one test over the other" and sets no minimum score. It requires a test and does not accept the Executive Assessment (Stanford GSB).
• UVA Darden accepts the GMAT, GRE, Executive Assessment, LSAT and MCAT and views them equivalently (Darden FAQ).

ETS says more than 1,300 business schools accept the GRE for some or all MBA programmes. Two things matter for Pakistani applicants:

• Fulbright asks MBA applicants for the GRE General Test, with at least 145 in each section, and USEFP says you may be asked for the GMAT if you are selected. If Fulbright is in your plans, the GRE may let one test serve both purposes. See our GRE guide.
• Some schools publish a preference or a minimum. Always check each programme's own test page.

The Executive Assessment, briefly

The Executive Assessment (EA) is a separate GMAC test for experienced professionals, aimed mainly at Executive MBAs and some master's programmes. It takes 90 minutes, has 40 questions in three sections and is scored 100 to 200. It costs US$350 plus local taxes (mba.com). Only take it if the programmes you want accept it, since some (such as Stanford GSB) don't.

Test waivers

Some schools will waive the test for strong candidates, but each sets its own rules:

• UT Austin McCombs (Full-Time MBA) considers a waiver if you have an analytical degree with solid quantitative coursework and at least three years of progressive analytical work experience. You apply at least 10 days before you submit, and admitted students without a test must take a paid quantitative prep course (McCombs).
• UVA Darden decides waivers case by case, looking at analytical study and at least three years of work experience. A waiver lasts only for that cycle and must be approved before the round deadline (Darden FAQ).

Some scholarships still need a score: Oxford's Pershing Square and Skoll awards require a GMAT or GRE, and LUMS asks for a test score too. A waiver can save time, but check whether the scholarships you want need a score.

How to aim for 655 or higher

There is no magic number, and schools look at the whole application. Stanford GSB, for example, sets no minimum. But if you are aiming for 655 or higher, it helps to know what that score means, and that depends on how other test takers did.

GMAC's latest table (published August 2026, covering test takers from July 2021 to June 2026) puts these totals at (GMAC concordance table):

A higher percentile means fewer people scored above you. A 655 sits close to the 90th percentile, and moving from 655 to 705 takes you from about 89.6 to 97.5. These are Focus Edition scores, so don't compare them with targets you read about for the old GMAT (such as LUMS's "GMAT 700" merit rule, which you should ask LUMS to explain for the Focus scale).

How long people study

GMAC has published survey figures, not requirements:

• In March 2021, mba.com reported that test takers surveyed in 2020 (on the old GMAT) studied for a median of 80 hours. Those scoring 700 or more on the old scale had a median of 100 hours, and those under 500 a median of 50 hours (mba.com, 2021).
• In September 2024, GMAC said top scorers (645 and above) report studying over 90 hours, and called two to three months "plenty of time" as a rule of thumb (GMAC, 2024).

Your own time will depend on your starting point.

A suggested 10-week plan

This is a suggestion for someone working full time, not a formula, and results depend on the student.

1. Week 1: take the Mini Quiz, read the format, and work through some Starter Kit questions untimed to find your weak section.
2. Weeks 2 to 6: study one section at a time, starting with your weakest. Aim for 8 to 10 hours a week. Keep an error log: for each mistake, write why you got it wrong.
3. Week 7: take Official Practice Exam 1 under real conditions, at the time of day you will test, then review every question.
4. Weeks 8 and 9: go back to the question types the score report shows as weak. Practise timing, since running out of time costs more than a few hard questions.
5. Week 10: take Official Practice Exam 2, review it, rest the day before, and book with your ID checked.

If you are well short of your target, it's better to move your test date than to sit it unprepared. Remember the limit of five attempts in any rolling 12 months and the 16-day gap between them.

Stay inside the rules

GMAC bans memorising or sharing test questions, getting questions in advance, using notes and using unauthorised software, including generative AI tools, during the test. Penalties include score cancellation recorded on your file, GMAC telling the schools you applied to, bans of a year or for life, and legal action (exam policies).

In practice, that means:

• Avoid anyone selling "real exam questions" or "leaked" GMAT papers. Using them counts as getting questions in advance.
• Never let someone else take the test for you, and never use a fake or borrowed ID.
• Don't post or discuss questions from your test afterwards, even in study groups.
• Pay only with your own card, or a family member's card with their permission. A disputed or fraudulent payment can cancel your scores.

None of this is worth the risk. A cancelled score can end an application, and a scholarship with it.

Your next step

Create a free mba.com account, try the Mini Quiz and the Starter Kit, and pick a test date that leaves time before your first deadline. Then read our MBA scholarships for 2027 article, browse all scholarships, and use the eligibility checker to see which ones fit you. Before you book or apply, confirm the fee, ID rules and test policy on mba.com and on each school's official page, because they are the final word.