GMAT plan

Esade’s Full-Time MBA admissions page lists a high score on the Esade Admission Test or, alternatively, a GMAT or GRE. GMAT is therefore accepted, not mandatory; the candidate can use the GMAT route and this assessment does not use CAT. Esade’s published admissions wording recognizes valid scores from the current or previous GMAT edition. No official GMAT minimum or cutoff is stated.[1][5]

For the full-time MBA, INSEAD states GMAT/GRE is mandatory and cannot be waived; the candidate may submit the GMAT route and send the official score directly to INSEAD. Scores are valid for five years and may be taken through the application deadline. INSEAD has no minimum GMAT score; it evaluates section results and publishes recommended section percentiles. GMAT can be submitted after the application form, but the application is not reviewed until all materials, including the score, are received.[9][14]

For the August 2027 intake, a valid GMAT, GRE or Executive Assessment (EA) is normally required unless the applicant qualifies for a case-by-case test waiver. The school accepts GMAT Focus; score reports must remain valid for at least one month after application submission. For this Indian applicant, this recommendation uses the GMAT route only, not CAT.[18][20]

For the July 2027 Nanyang MBA, NTU requires a competitive GMAT/GMAT Focus or GRE score and requests the GMAT/GMAT Focus report; the candidate’s chosen GMAT route is explicitly accepted (the GMAT itself is not the only test option). The application may be submitted with a future test date indicated. The current admissions page publishes no numeric GMAT threshold.[25][27]

For the Full-Time MBA, HKUST’s current admissions table says GMAT/GRE is mandatory for all applicants; the school FAQ says a satisfactory score is generally required. The applicant can use the GMAT route (no CAT route is used for this India assessment). HKUST does not publish a Focusspecific threshold or separate edition-specific admissions rule. The EMBA is different: its FAQ says GMAT is not normally required; it may be requested in the stated exception for applicants without a bachelor’s degree, which does not describe this candidate.[32][34]

For this Indian applicant, this assessment uses only the GMAT route, not CAT. Trinity’s current Full-time MBA entry criteria say a valid GMAT Focus Edition or GRE score is not required at application but may be requested during review; if required, the stated preferred minimum is 555 Focus. The FAQ also describes discretionary waivers. Thus GMAT Focus is a documented route, but not a universal application prerequisite.[41]

The current Full-Time MBA policy requires candidates to satisfy one of five Excellent Fit categories; GMAT is expressly accepted in the external-test category, alongside other tests/ certifications. Thus GMAT is a valid route but is not universally mandatory if another category is met. For India, this assessment uses only the GMAT route, not CAT. The current WHU sheet recommends 555 or higher for GMAT tests taken after May 2023, but calls this a recommendation, not a minimum or cutoff.[50]

For the Full-time MBA, MBS requires an undergraduate degree, at least two years’ documented professional work experience and a GMAT/GMAT Focus Edition or GRE score. The stated test exception is for eligible Australian/New Zealand graduates; the candidate’s Indian B.E. does not meet that exception. GMAT is therefore a documented route for her; MBS says the score must be confirmed before submitting a complete application. No CAT route is documented or used here.[55][58]

The GMBA admissions page lists GMAT as an accepted entrance-test route and says GMAT scores must be from the last 5 years. The current Postgraduate Admission and Selection Policy (approved 29 April 2026) sets GMAT 650+ as the minimum expected score for consideration; applicants below an expected test score may still be referred for interview at the Admissions Director/ Registrar’s discretion. The policy does not specify a GMAT edition or score scale; see the separate Focus/ legacy notes and confirm the applicable format with the school.[62][64]

A personal planning goal of about 645+ Focus is reasonable as a stretch target: it is 30 points above Esade’s reported recent Focus/current-edition class average of about 615. This 30-point buffer is an advisory planning choice, not an Esade recommendation, published requirement or guarantee, and the school does not publish a minimum, median, maximum or score range to establish a formal cutoff.[1][5]

A defensible GMAT Focus preparation target is at least INSEAD’s currently published section recommendations: Verbal 80, Quantitative 80 and Data Insights 77, preferably with a balanced result above them if attainable. This is a target based on the school’s recommendation, not a required minimum or admission guarantee; INSEAD publishes no total-score target or cohort average/median/range in the reviewed MBA admissions material. For India, this assessment uses the GMAT route only, not CAT.[9][10]

A practical, non-official target is 625–635 GMAT Focus: about 10–20 points above NUS’s posted full-time cohort average of 615. This is only a strategic buffer based on that average, not an NUS recommendation, minimum or admission predictor; holistic review and academics, leadership and career progression also matter.[20][21]

A cautious strategic target is GMAT Focus 655+, not an NTU cutoff or guarantee: GMAC’s score-scale guidance associates 655 with about the 90th percentile and 645 with the former 700 score/86th percentile. Use 655+ as a competitive academic-readiness goal given the selective global MBA and this applicant’s career-pivot case; NTU does not publish a school-specific Focus benchmark, so prioritize balanced section performance and the rest of the application too.[25][31]

Provisional target: at least 615 GMAT Focus, not a minimum or guarantee. Basis: GMAC’s concordance maps legacy 660 to Focus 615, and HKUST’s FAQ reports a 660 average without identifying the scale or cohort. Thus 615 is only a transparent parity benchmark against an ambiguous historical average; a higher result can strengthen the academic signal, but HKUST publishes no Focus target or cutoff.[32][39]

A reasonable self-set preparation target is 605+ GMAT Focus: that is 50 points above Trinity’s conditional 555 preferred minimum and provides a cushion if the admissions team requests a score. This is a strategic target, not Trinity’s cutoff, a predicted class average, or a guarantee; no Focus cohort average/median is published, so refine it after diagnostic mocks and admissions guidance.[41]

No unambiguous Focus-specific competitive target is published. A transparent provisional target is at least 555 only if WHU confirms that its post-May-2023 recommendation applies to the current GMAT Focus exam; treat 555 as WHU’s recommended level, not an admission floor. WHU publishes no class average/median/range from which to justify a higher numeric target. Emphasize strong section-level performance, especially quantitative and data reasoning, without claiming a cut-off.[47][50]

Strategic target: 655+ GMAT Focus, not an admissions threshold. This is a planning buffer above MBS’s FAQ-reported approximate successful-candidate Focus average of 635; the separate 695+ GMAT average on the main page is not clearly scale-labelled. Ask MBS to confirm its current cohort benchmark, and do not mistake the legacy 560 minimum for a Focus minimum.[55][58]

Strategic preparation target: 655+ on GMAT Focus, chosen as a strong planning goal because GMAC’s current published 2021–2026 data put 655 at approximately the 90th percentile. This is not an SP Jain cutoff, published target, or cohort average/median; the school has not stated that Focus is accepted under that name or explained how its generic 650 threshold applies. Obtain written confirmation from Admissions before relying on a Focus score.[64][68]