How many times can I take the GMAT?

Question

I want to know that - how many times can a student take the GMAT if he wishes to apply to one of the top B-Schools of the US for MBA?
Are there any limitation about taking the GMAT like there is in taking the IIT-JEE test(once in a year and twice in a lifetime and that too if you have scored above 60% marks in 12th standard)?
What's the validity of the GMAT score obtained by one in 2006? And if he wants to inprove his scores, what are the options?
In India most of the schools are English medium i.e,medium of instruction is English.I passed my 10th grade from an I.C.S.E board school and graduated high school from a C.B.S.E board school.Both were English medium schoolsI am now in an Engg.College here in India.Medium of instruction out here is English..
Do I need to take any kind of English as a foreign language tes like TOEFL etc. while applyingfor MBA from one of the top B-Schools of the US?
Please help me help myself by answering me!

Answer 1

Although you may take the GMAT as many times as you want, you may not take the GMAT more than once during any calendar month, even if you've quit the test or cancelled your scores. Whether and how many times you should take the GMAT depends on a variety of factors:

how well you think you already performed on the real GMAT relative to your realistic potential
whether your new GMAT scores will be reported to the B-schools early enough to meet application deadlines
whether the schools to which you are applying average your GMAT scores or consider only your highest GMAT scores
whether you can afford the fees for taking the GMAT again (the fee is the same each time you take the test)
After weighing these factors, if you're still undecided, bear in mind that about 90% of repeat GMAT test-takers improve their scores. Thus you should consider taking the GMAT at least twice — if you can afford the registration fee and if time permits.

Answer 2

as many as you want
be aware School can access the history of the results
So good results after 15 tests won't be necessary considered as good by certain schools

Answer 3

As many times as you can afford to take it.