A good score in the graduate management admission test (GMAT) is seen as the first step to getting into a top business school. In recent years, an industry has grown up around helping MBA hopefuls to prepare for the GMAT, including websites that provide sample questions.

But last June, after an FBI investigation, the Graduate Management Admission Council, the organisation that administers the GMAT, took legal action to close down the website Scoretop.com, which it claimed was supplying “live” questions. The $2.35 million (£1.35 million) judgment against the website operator ignited a cheating scandal that reverberated throughout the MBA world. More than 6,000 applicants who had used the site or similar sites feared they might be banned from business schools.

GMAT is a computer-based test taken throughout the year at centres all over the world, so questions faced by a candidate on a given day may recur for another candidate on another day.

“We are constantly monitoring sites for possible violations of our intellectual property,” says Dave Wilson, chief executive and president of the admission council. “We became aware of the Scoretop site in 2004. We began working with the FBI to document the evidence we needed to take action. Ultimately, while the FBI continued its investigation, we decided to shut down the site via a civil lawsuit, which was filed in June.

Examiners call in FBI to crackdown on cheats

Thousands of students are caught up in a probe into websites that reveal GMAT questions

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“There will always be a few who seek an unfair advantage and the internet facilitates this type of activity. Many students feel great pressure to get into the right business school and are tempted. However, the overwhelming majority of test takers prepare for the exam fairly.” Last month, the admission council reported that it had cancelled the scores of 84 GMAT test takers. Of those, 12 will be prevented from retaking the test for at least three years because they posted live GMAT questions on the website, and another 72 had their scores cancelled because they wrote a message on Scoretop confirming that they saw items from the website in their GMAT exam.

The admission council hopes its action will draw a line under the scandal. But it has also pledged to investigate any further cases. Wilson confirms that business schools where the 84 students involved in the cheating scandal are enrolled are considering penalties, including expulsion. “Each school will make its own decisions,” he adds.

Elsewhere in the business school world, there are concerns that schools should not rely too much on GMAT to screen applicants, but should apply their own quality thresholds.

“The often fine line between robust preparation and cheating is one of the most pressing issues facing business schools,” says Anthony Evans, an assistant professor at ESCP-EAP European School of Management.

“The need to process a large number of applicants and quantify the results leads many schools to use tests such as GMAT. At ESCP these scores are secondary to personal interviews, Whether cheating can ever be eliminated remains to be seen, but naming and shaming MBA cheats could help. The admission council’s response is, however, likely to leave MBA hopefuls fretting about what is allowed.

When does diligent GMAT preparation cross the line to become cheating? “If a website offers real GMAT items, stay away,” Wilson cautions. “Students agree not to access or share test content when they register for the test and later when they sign the nondisclosure agreement.”

Traps to avoid

The Graduate Management Admissions Council has issued a statement on the scandal along with a list of frequently asked questions that can be viewed at www.gmac.com/gmac/ TheGMAT/Tools/ FAQsScoretop.htm.

Dave Wilson, its chief executive, points out that the council offers extensive preparation materials (many free) on mba.com.

To avoid falling foul of the admissions council, Wilson offers the following guidance:

Do not buy, request or share materials that claim to be “real” or “live” GMAT questions.
Be wary if you see discussion threads in which test content is shared and real or “live” questions are confirmed as accessible on the site or through any participants of the site.
Do not share any test content with anyone else after you have taken the test.
Do not download GMATPrep software from anywhere but mba.com, where it is free.
Do not request or distribute pirated software or books such as the GMAT Paper Tests or the Official GMAT Guides.