All about EA Scores

Scoring Overview

Unlike the traditional Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), the EA is not intended to function as the type of test where the higher you score, the better. Instead, the EA serves as a threshold indicator, meaning if you score above the threshold of the business program you hope to attend, they can be confident you are ready for the academic rigor of their program. The EA consists of 40 questions delivered across three sections: Integrated Reasoning (12 questions), Verbal Reasoning (14 questions), and Quantitative Reasoning (14 questions). After completing the EA, you will receive four scores: one total score and three sectional scores. If you complete the EA at a testing center, you will receive your scores within 24 hours. If you complete the EA at home, you will receive your scores within seven days.

Total Scores

The EA is scored on a scale ranging from 100 to 200. The total score is the combination of each of the three sectional scores plus the addition of 120. While 150 is considered an average EA score, such a designation may have more to do with statistics (the average score in a range of 100 to 200 is 150) than what business school applicants are most frequently scoring on the exam. It is always recommended that you check with the business programs you intend to apply to for the most up-to-date information on their desired scores or score ranges.

Integrated, Verbal, and Quantitative Reasoning Scores

Students receive three sectional scores, one score each for Integrated Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Quantitative Reasoning. Each section receives a score ranging from 0 (low) to 20 (high). If you received a score of 10 on Integrated Reasoning, 8 on Verbal Reasoning, and 12 on Quantitative Reasoning, you would have a combined section score of 30 and with the addition of 120, your total score would be 150.

EA Averages at Selective Business Schools

Given the relative newness of the EA, one would expect limited information about scores to be available, but this is compounded by the fact that business programs do not regularly publish the average EA scores of incoming students. The GMAC has published limited information about EA percentiles, providing only the following:

Perhaps in response to the hyper-focus on individual scores prompted by the usage of the GMAT, MBA programs have reportedly deliberately asked the GMAC not to release extensive information about EA scores. The mindset appears to be thus: if your EA score is within a reasonable range for your targeted business programs, you have a strong chance of being accepted. Beyond that, test takers do not need to spend time stressing over the exact definition of a "good" or "great" EA score.

Given that individual programs do not generally report EA scores, whether they are averages or percentiles, there is very little publicly available about "standard" or "typical" EA scores at a given business program. A few programs have published some data:

• The Wharton 2024 EMBA incoming class had a median EA score of 156.

• Since 2020, Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia has reported an average EA score of 153.

• The University of Chicago Booth School of Business reported a 2021 EA average score of 154.

• Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management reported an average EA score of 151.

New York University's Stern School of Business noted that, "While a specific [EA] average is not available for the class, historically most admitted part-time MBA students score between a 147-162 on the exam." Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley notes that while applicants are typically required to submit GMAT or GRE scores, applicants with seven or more years of work experience as of the start of the fall semester may take the EA instead. While it seems that an EA score in the low-to-mid 150s is a good benchmark for being considered a competitive applicant, as always, we recommend contacting the specific MBA programs you plan on applying to and learning about their expectations regarding EA scores.