GMAT Score for ISB: Cutoff and When to Retake If Your Score Is Low
ISB has no GMAT cutoff. In its Class of 2027, the median score was 675, and scores ran from 575 to 795. If your score is below the median, retake only if the mock tests you have taken since your exam have scored higher than your real score, or if one section pulled your total down. You also need enough time to retest before your round’s deadline.
Pick your score band to see where your score sits →
Source: ISB Class Profile, Class of 2027.
ISB does not have a cutoff. In a talk with Crackverbal, Pritesh Zaveri, ISB’s admissions director, said that applicants tend to look at the average score because it is easy to work out. He suggests looking at the range instead.
The range is simply the lowest score and the highest score in a class. In the class that joined ISB in April 2026, the lowest score was 575. Zaveri added that ISB has also rejected an applicant who scored 775.
So a low score did not keep one applicant out, and a high score did not get another one in. Your score matters, but it is only one part of your application.
If you searched for ISB’s GMAT Focus Edition cutoff, this guide covers it too. The GMAT Focus Edition and the GMAT are the same exam. GMAC, which runs the GMAT, dropped the “Focus Edition” name on July 1, 2024.
At Crackverbal, we have helped hundreds of students get into ISB. This guide answers the questions they ask us first, starting with the scores ISB’s admits actually have.
What GMAT score do ISB admits have?
The best place to start is ISB’s own numbers. Here are the GMAT figures for ISB’s Class of 2027, the class that joined in April 2026.
| Class of 2027 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Average GMAT score | 672 |
| Median GMAT score | 675 |
| Lowest to highest GMAT score | 575 to 795 |
| Students | 839 (424 in Hyderabad, 415 in Mohali) |
| Average work experience | 4.1 years |
Sources: ISB Class Profile, Class of 2027; ISB press release on the Class of 2027, May 7, 2026.
What the average and the median tell you
The average is what you get when you add up every student’s score and divide the total by the number of students. ISB’s average is 672.
The median is the score right in the middle of the class. Half the class scored 675 or more, and half scored 675 or less.
The two numbers are close, so they tell you the same thing: a typical ISB student scored around 675. From here on, this guide uses the median, because it shows exactly where the middle of the class sits.
What if your score ends in 0?
Every score on the current GMAT ends in 5, such as 655 or 675. A score that ends in 0, such as 700, comes from the older GMAT, which GMAC stopped offering in early 2024.
The older GMAT used a different scale, and its scores look higher. So a 700 on the older test cannot be compared with ISB’s median of 675 on the current test.
ISB also gives numbers for the older GMAT for the same class. On the older GMAT, the Class of 2027 had a median of 723, and scores ranged from 640 to 780. If your score ends in 0, compare it with these numbers.
Will ISB accept a score from the older GMAT?
Yes, as long as the score is still valid. ISB’s FAQ sets the same rules for every GMAT score and does not single out older ones, and ISB’s Class of 2027 profile includes students who applied with them.
A GMAT score is valid for five years from the test date. Because the older GMAT ended in early 2024, GMAC will send older-test scores to schools only until January 2029.
ISB also has a rule about where you took the test, and it applies to older scores too. Section 3 explains it.
If you are taking the GRE instead, our GRE score for ISB guide gives the same information for that test.
Is there a GMAT cutoff for ISB?
ISB has no minimum score. ISB’s FAQ page says there is “no specific minimum score required for the GMAT/GRE.” The same FAQ answer still quotes an older range of 530 to 780, so go by the Class of 2027 figures in section 1, which are the latest.
Still, the lowest score in the class that joined in April 2026 was 575, which shows that a low score can be made up for. It tells you little about where most admits score.
The applicant with a 775 who was rejected shows the other side, because a high score alone was not enough.
Why the range and the median matter
Without a cutoff, Zaveri’s advice is to look at the range, because it shows you who actually got in. The median then shows you where the middle of the class sits. The further below the median your score is, the more the rest of your application has to make up for it.
To see where your score sits, pick your score band below.
Where does your GMAT score sit?
Pick your score on the current GMAT. These bands use the scores of ISB’s Class of 2027. If your score ends in 0, compare it with the older-GMAT figures in section 1.
Your score is at or above the middle of ISB’s Class of 2027. It is unlikely to hold you back, so spend your time on the rest of your application.
Your score is below the class median of 675, but it is within the class range of 575 to 795. The rest of your application needs to make up for the lower score.
What to do with a score below the median →When a retake is worth it →
Your score is lower than every score in the class that joined in April 2026. ISB has no minimum, but the rest of your application would need to be very strong.
These bands show where your score sits. They do not predict an admit.
Is the cutoff different for Hyderabad and Mohali?
No. ISB has two campuses, in Hyderabad and Mohali, and the bar is the same for both. Zaveri explained that a computer program assigns students to the two campuses.
He said ISB tries to keep the two classes alike. Each campus is meant to get the same mix of men and women, the same mix of engineers and non-engineers, and the same average GMAT and GRE scores.
The people who interview you do not know which campus you will join. When companies come to ISB to recruit at placement time, they do not know which campus a student is from either, and they are not allowed to ask.
Which GMAT scores does ISB accept?
Before you go further, make sure ISB will accept your score. ISB has three rules for this.
Take the test at a test center. You can take the GMAT at a test center or online from home. But since the April 2025 intake, ISB accepts only test-center scores.
Make sure the score is still valid. A GMAT score is valid for five years from the test date. It must still be valid on the deadline of the round you apply in.
Take the test by your round’s deadline. Your test date must be on or before the deadline. When you apply, you upload the test confirmation email and enter your scores. Your official scores reach ISB later, from GMAC.
Which score does ISB see?
If you have taken the GMAT more than once, you can choose which score to send to ISB.
GMAC now also gives you a Superscore. The Superscore combines your best Quant, Verbal, and Data Insights section scores from all your attempts, including online attempts.
However, ISB has not clarified whether it will use the Superscore.
To be safe, take every attempt at a test center. That way, every score that reaches ISB is one that ISB accepts.
Is there an ISB call predictor?
Once your score meets ISB’s rules, the next question is usually about the interview. Many applicants want to know whether their score will get them an interview call, so they search for an ISB call predictor.
A call predictor is an online calculator. You enter your score, work experience, and background, and it guesses your chances of an interview call. ISB does not publish one, and no outside calculator knows how ISB decides.
Why a calculator cannot predict your call
A calculator only sees the numbers you type in. It cannot read your essays or judge your achievements. Those parts are probably why a 575 got in and a 775 did not.
Your score still matters. ISB’s applicants come from very different colleges, and a test score is one of the few things that lets ISB compare them on the same scale. But it is only one of five parts that ISB looks at, as explained below.
How ISB decides who gets an interview
Zaveri explained that ISB looks at five parts of every application and gives each part a score. The total of those five scores decides whether you get an interview. The five parts are:
Academics
Work experience
Achievements, including extracurriculars and social impact
Essays
Your GMAT or GRE score
Zaveri also said, as a rough estimate, that your test score makes up 30 to 40% of your application at most. So strong work experience and strong achievements can make up for a weaker score.
In my experience, most of the ISB admits I remember did not have very high scores. Many of them came to us worried about a score below ISB’s average. What actually needed work was their story, so we spent most of our time on their essays and interview preparation.
When are ISB’s interviews and decisions?
If you apply in Round 2 or Round 3 for the class joining in April 2027 (ISB calls it the Class of 2028), here is when ISB holds interviews and announces decisions.
| Round | Deadline | Interviews | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 2 | December 6, 2026 | Late Dec 2026 to early Feb 2027 | Mid-Feb 2027 |
| Round 3 | January 17, 2027 | February 2027 | Mid-Mar 2027 |
Source: ISB PGP application deadlines, Class of 2028.
What to do instead of a predictor
Instead of guessing your chances, check how you do on each of the five parts ISB scores. Mark which parts are strong and which are weak. Our guide to the ideal ISB profile has a quick check that helps you do this.
If you want a second opinion, Crackverbal’s free profile evaluation starts with a three-minute quiz, followed by a 30-minute conversation with our admissions team. It shows you where your profile is strong and where it needs work.
Answer a few questions, and our admissions team will tell you where your profile stands for ISB.
What if your GMAT score is below ISB’s median?
If your score is below the median, you can still get in. The rest of your application has to make up for the lower score, and Zaveri was clear that it can.
What can make up for a lower score
Zaveri put it this way: an applicant with a slightly weaker score, strong achievements, and very good work experience stands the same chance as one with a strong academic record, an okay score, and okay work experience.
By good work experience, he means the quality of your work, not the number of years. He said the quality of your work experience comes before everything else.
So use your application to tell ISB your whole story. Zaveri said it should cover your academic journey, your work, the traits you showed early in life, your achievements, and even your failures and what you learned from them.
Where your essays fit in
ISB asks for two essays. Essay 2 asks about the intellectual experiences that led you to an MBA, so it is the right place to show your academic side.
ISB also has an optional essay, but it asks about your worldview. It is not the place to explain a low score. Our ISB essay analysis explains each essay prompt in detail.
How you write also matters. A clear, specific essay shows ISB the same kind of thinking that the GMAT tests. The most common mistake I see is an essay that stays general and says nothing specific about the applicant. Make sure you do not do that.
What the interview checks
Zaveri said ISB’s interviews are not pressure interviews. The interviewer checks that what you wrote in your application holds up, and looks at your consistency, your communication, and the clarity of your thinking.
With a score below the median, you may also be asked how you will cope with the coursework. Students we have worked with have faced exactly this question in their ISB interviews, often along with hard questions about their post-MBA goals.
What helped them most was a clear answer ready in advance. Some pointed to a professional certification, others to their college record. If you expect the same question, prepare two or three examples from your own work or studies, such as analysis you do in your job, a course you did well in, or a data problem you solved. Be just as specific about why you need the MBA.
When should you consider retaking the GMAT?
The rest of your application can make up for a low score. Sometimes, though, a higher score is the simpler fix. To decide whether a retake is right for you, ask yourself three questions.
Have the mock tests you have taken since your exam scored clearly higher than your real score? If yes, you probably had a bad test day, and a retake could show your true level.
Is one section score much lower than the other two? The GMAT has three sections: Quant, Verbal, and Data Insights. If one section is far behind, working on that section alone could raise your total.
Is there time to test again? You must wait at least 16 days between attempts. You must also test on or before your round’s deadline, which is December 6, 2026, for Round 2 and January 17, 2027, for Round 3.
If you answered no to both of the first two questions, a retake will probably not change your score much. Spend that time on your application instead.
Three retakes that rarely help
Even when you have time for a retake, some retakes are not worth it.
The first is a retake for a few extra points near the median. In my experience, going from 655 to 665 rarely changes how ISB sees an application.
The second is a retake that leaves no time for your essays. I often see applicants spend six months on the GMAT, score 695, and then rush their essays in two weeks.
A good score helps your application. Your essays and your work carry the rest.
The third is a retake that pushes you into Round 3. Zaveri advises aiming for Round 2 at the latest, especially if you want a scholarship, and he pointed out that Round 3 leaves very little time before the program starts in April.
Whatever you decide, start your application now. Zaveri says that waiting for a good score before you start is a common mistake, and I agree with him.
Retake rules
GMAC lets you take the GMAT up to five times in any 12 months, with at least 16 days between attempts. Each attempt costs a fee and weeks of preparation, so plan every retake carefully.
Where to get help
If Verbal is pulling your score down, start with our guides to GMAT Reading Comprehension and GMAT Critical Reasoning. They explain each question type and how to approach it.
If your GMAT score has stopped improving after several attempts, the GRE may suit you better. Our GMAT vs GRE guide explains when switching makes sense, and our GRE score for ISB guide gives ISB’s GRE numbers.
If Quant or Data Insights is the problem, a free call with one of our experts is the quickest way to find out why.
Talk to an expert about your scores and your round. You will find out how much a retake could realistically add.
Frequently asked questions
Neither. ISB accepts both tests and has no preference. If you are not sure which test suits you, our GMAT vs GRE guide can help you choose.
No. For the PGP, ISB accepts only the GMAT or the GRE, and you must take the test at a test center.
You need at least 24 months of full-time work experience by March 31 of the year you join. The Class of 2027 had about four years on average. If you have less than two years, read our ISB PGP YL guide.
Yes, it can. ISB considers every applicant for merit scholarships, based on the application and the interview. Your score is part of your application, so it counts. Our ISB fees guide has more on scholarships.
ISB does not publish an acceptance rate, so any rate you see online is an estimate. Our guide to the ideal ISB profile shows who gets in.
For the class joining in 2027, the PGP fee is ₹40.47 lakh with shared housing, or about ₹42.7 lakh once ISB’s estimate of other costs is added. Our ISB fees guide breaks down the full amount.
The bottom line
Your GMAT score is one of the five parts ISB looks at, and by Zaveri’s estimate it makes up 30 to 40% of your application at most.
So check where your score sits against ISB’s numbers, and start your application now. Retake only if your mock scores or a weak section say you can do better, and the calendar leaves you time.
If you are still deciding whether ISB’s one-year PGP is right for you, our ISB PGP guide explains the program.
Shreekala Kurup is the Co-Founder and COO of Crackverbal, and the driving force behind its MBA and master’s admissions consulting practice. Before co-founding Crackverbal, she spent seven years at Hewlett-Packard in client-facing operations roles, bringing with her a rigor for process and strategy that still shows in how she works with applicants today. A fellow of the ISB Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurs program, she has guided thousands of professionals into top global business schools, helping them find and articulate the story that was already there. Her particular skill is turning a complicated, anxious applicant into someone who sounds exactly like himself or herself on paper, which, as anyone who has written an MBA essay will tell you, is harder than it sounds.
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