- There is no single good GMAT Focus score for India. A score is good when it clears the school's published minimum, if one exists, and sits inside its last class range.
- ISB accepts the GMAT or GRE with no minimum score, but asks for at least 24 months of work experience.
- Check the scale before comparing numbers. Focus scores run from 205 to 805, and older GMAT scores are built differently.
- GMAC keeps a Focus score valid for 5 years, but schools set their own score windows. Several list GMAT scores taken up to a January 2027 deadline for the 2027-29 intake.
There is no single good GMAT Focus score for India. A score is good when it clears the school's published minimum, if it has one, and sits inside the range its last class reported. Most Indian schools publish only part of that, so the useful skill is checking a school's rule rather than memorising a number.
This post covers what Indian schools had published as of 6 November 2026, why most GMAT cutoff tables online are hard to trust, and when a retake is worth the fee. Where a school publishes nothing, we say so instead of filling the gap with a guess.
Two scales, one confusing table
The GMAT Focus Edition replaced the classic GMAT. It is computer-adaptive, with three sections taken in any order: Quantitative Reasoning (21 questions), Verbal Reasoning (23) and Data Insights (20). Each section has 45 minutes, so the test is 64 questions in 135 minutes. The total score runs from 205 to 805.
The older GMAT, called the 10th Edition, was scored differently. A 700 on that scale and a 700 on the Focus scale do not describe the same performance. Many online tables mix the two without saying which is which, and that is where most confusion starts.
What is a good GMAT Focus score for India, school by school?
As of 6 November 2026, few Indian schools publish a minimum, and almost none publish a class average clearly labelled as Focus. This is what their pages say.
| School and cycle | What is published | What is missing |
|---|---|---|
| ISB, PGP Class of 2028 | GMAT (10th Edition or Focus) or GRE, no preference between them. No minimum score. | No edition-wise class range |
| Great Lakes Chennai, PGPM 2027-28 | GMAT taken in 2024 or later is accepted. No minimum cut-off for CAT, GMAT, XAT or NMAT. | Any score range |
| FORE School of Management, 2027-29 | GMAT taken between 1 Jan 2025 and 31 Jan 2027 | A minimum score |
| Goa Institute of Management, 2027-29 | GMAT taken between 1 Jan 2025 and 15 Jan 2027; score must reach GIM by 31 Jan 2027 | A minimum score |
| TAPMI Manipal, 2027-29 | GMAT taken between 1 Jan 2022 and 31 Jan 2027 | A minimum score |
| Christ University MBA | GMAT 450 as an eligibility floor; GMAT Focus is named among accepted tests | A class range |
| Amity Business School MBA (page lists tests held Sept 2025 to May 2026) | GMAT 550 (500 for the sponsored category) as eligibility floors | A scale label and a 2027-29 cycle |
| IMT Ghaziabad PGDM, 2026-28 scholarship terms | A merit scholarship for CAT or XAT at 98 percentile or above, or GMAT 750 on the 10th Edition scale or 705 on the Focus scale | An admission minimum and a class range |
Where a number exists, it is an eligibility floor or a scholarship threshold, not a typical admit. IMT Ghaziabad's is the one example here that names both editions, and it sets a scholarship bar, not an entry bar. Treat any 'Focus cutoff' for a school missing from this table as a guess until you see the school's own note.
Class mean or minimum: what does good mean?
Three different numbers get called a cutoff. The first is a minimum score, which is a rule. The second is a class mean or range, which describes who was admitted. The third is a shortlisting threshold used inside a round, which schools rarely publish. Only the first one can stop your application at the door.
ISB's Class of 2026 profile gives a good example. It reports a GMAT mean of 683, with a middle 80 percent range of 635 to 730, for a class of 812. But ISB itself sets no minimum and accepts both editions, so a class mean can blend scores from both scales. 683 describes a cohort. It is not an entry bar. Do not read your Focus total against it directly.
Old GMAT scores and the five-year validity
GMAC says a GMAT Focus score is valid for 5 years. That is the test body's rule, not the school's. Each school decides which test dates it will read, and for the 2027-29 intake those windows differ a lot.
Take a score from March 2023. It sits inside GMAC's 5-year validity. It also falls inside TAPMI's window, which starts on 1 January 2022. But it falls outside the windows of FORE and Goa Institute of Management, which both start on 1 January 2025. The same score works at one school and not at another.
If you are planning a gap year, check that your test date falls inside each school's window and that the score can reach the school before its deadline.
Work-experience rules attached to GMAT admissions
A GMAT score does not make you eligible on its own. ISB asks for at least 24 months of full-time work experience, and applicants with less are directed to a separate programme for young leaders. Great Lakes Chennai asks for at least 2 years of full-time experience as of 30 April 2027.
Other schools take a lighter view. Goa Institute of Management scores work experience but states no minimum, and IMI New Delhi states none either. Read each programme's eligibility section before you pay for a test.
Score versus profile: where the GMAT stops mattering
ISB assesses essays, recommendations and a GMAT or GRE score together, in staggered application rounds with interviews. FORE shortlists on test score, then uses interview performance, academic record and work experience in the final selection. MICA asks for CAT, XAT or GMAT and then a separate test of its own.
So a GMAT score is one input. Where a school sets no minimum, extra points may buy you less than a stronger essay or a clearer work story. That depends on the school, and the exact trade-off is not published.
When to retake the GMAT Focus
GMAC's exam policies, read on 6 November 2026, allow up to 5 attempts in a rolling 12-month period and require a wait of at least 16 days between attempts. They state no lifetime cap. GMAC's payment page lists US$275 at a test centre and US$300 online. It shows dollars, so confirm the rupee charge and any taxes when you book.
- Retake if your score is below a minimum a school has actually published.
- Retake if your error log shows a fixable cause, such as one weak section, and you have weeks to fix it.
- Do not retake to chase a number that no school has published.
- Leave a buffer before deadlines. ISB's Round 2 deadline is 6 December 2026 and Round 3 is 17 January 2027.
The GMAT Focus guide has a 10-week plan and a pacing table if you decide to sit again.
What to do when a school publishes nothing
- Open the programme's admissions page and note the accepted editions, any minimum and the score window.
- Email the admissions office with three questions: is there a minimum, which scale are the class figures on, and what is the oldest test date you accept? Keep the reply.
- Look at the most recent class profile for a range, and note the cohort year.
- If there is no minimum and no range, treat the school as profile-led and put your effort into essays and work history.
- If you also hold a CAT score, the MBA Predictor shows estimated chances at CAT-based colleges, which gives you a comparison route.