At MBA programs, your GMAT score is the most important element of your candidacy. At top US business schools, the average score is now between 660 and 730.

Vanderbilt University’s Owen School has increased its average GMAT score by 35 points to 688 in the past five years, the single biggest jump among the Top 50 schools.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagn has also posed some impressive gains: a 27-point increase to 661.

Michigan State’s Broad School has upped its game with a 15-point rise to 655.

Top US business schools average GMAT-

School Five-Year Change 2013 Average GMAT 2009 Average GMAT
Vanderbilt (Owen) 35 688 653
Illinois-Urbana-Champagn 27 661 634
Michigan State (Broad) 15 655 640
Wisconsin 13 676 663
Washington University (Olin) 10 696 686
Texas-Austin (McCombs) 9 690 681
Iowa (Tippie) 9 671 662
Chicago (Booth) 9 723 714
Harvard Business School 8 727 719
Rice (Jones) 8 676 668