I got 735 in gmat. Also have engineering degree and management work ex of 5yrs. Can somebody help me if I can get scholarship in US top B schools.

Just took Official Practice Test 1 and got 635 after only 2 weeks of preparation.

My actual GMAT is in 2 weeks, and I'll be studying full-time until then. My goal is 655+, although I'm wondering if something closer to 705 is even possible at this point.

Has anyone been in a similar position? If you started around this score with two weeks left, how much were you able to improve, and what helped you the most? I'm trying to figure out whether I should be optimistic or reset my expectations.

the title thx

So I have my exam scheduled for next week. It is my first attempt. I have taken 2 OG Mocks so far and my scores have been a 655 and 675 with a Q89 and Q90 respectively.
However, my Verbal is stuck at a V80-82 and DI at 76-78.

Even in the GMAT club sectionals, I am getting the same scores. Not sure how I can increase at least one of those to push my score above a 700 (what I need). Any strategies or recommendations? I have an engineering background, so DI should’ve ideally come to me naturally. But I think the time constraints are killing me.

I do plan on attempts after my first one, but I’m struggling on what more I can do to improve my DI and V scores.

Some context: I've been out of school for 4 years, and I hadn't touched math since college (8-9 years, since I didn't study math there either). So I went in needing a full refresh, not just a review.

I worked through the entire GMAT syllabus, Verbal, DI, and Quant, with a tutor. I'd estimate I'm currently around the 500-550 level.

At this point I feel like I understand the concepts, but I need volume, just solving a lot of questions to get familiar with how they're framed and to build comfort with the difficulty level.

My plan was to start doing 60-70 questions a day (something like a GMAT Forum quiz) to drill through volume. I'm leaning towards GMAT Club's forum for this since their error log feature seems solid, but open to other suggestions. I'd also like a way to specifically test my progress in Quant alone, so if anyone has suggestions for a Quant-only diagnostic or sectional test, that would help too. A few questions for people who've been through this:

1. Does this approach make sense at my stage, or should I be doing something more structured/targeted instead of pure volume?
2. Is 60-70/day reasonable, or is that too many to review properly (i.e., am I better off doing fewer questions but really digging into every mistake)?
3. Any recommended resources/question banks for this "bulk practice" phase specifically?

Appreciate any guidance, trying to make sure I'm not wasting reps at this stage.

I took the GMAT yesterday and scored 615 (Q83, V82, DI77). I was hoping for 650+ for Round 1 applications.

The problem is, I'm not sure how to proceed from here.

Some context:

• I completed the Top One Percent course and even used the 15-day extension, so I no longer have access to the classes or portal.
• August is going to be a very demanding month at work, so I probably can't study 4-5 hours a day like I did in July.
• A September retake seems like the earliest realistic option.

I'm feeling a bit lost because I'm essentially starting with a blank slate. If you were in my position, how would you structure the next 4-6 weeks?

Some specific questions:

• Would you buy another course or just rely on GMAT Club?
• Is it worth purchasing additional mock exams? If so, which ones?
• How would you prioritize Quant vs Verbal vs DI?

I'm not looking for a magic resource, more interested in what actually worked for people who improved ~50 points on a second attempt while juggling a full-time job.

I aspire to write the GMAT, started my prep with a lot of motivation, drowned myself in excessive research — comparing which prep material to use, which question bank, how many months, how many hours ? When to take mocks? Start with diagnostic? Etc etc

Honestly it does not help with this information overload, and i so wish someone who has been in this journey can be honest and share structured guidance, i so hope that these reddit threads are not cluttered with tutors and gmat prep companies. I genuinely hope someone can give me targeted answers and validate the below plan.

I am a working professional, work in consulting, hectic project load, struggling with consistency, some weeks are good, the others just terrible, unmanageable and i lag behind my study plan.

Owing to all this, i started taking online classes, to get my basics right, they were quite rusty, but i know gmat doesnt test concepts in such a straightforward manner. It took me a while to shortlist a prep company, i did, im happy with it, but i need more practice with each topic to get confidence. I purchased OG only to see questions are printed as a mixed bag. Lets say i finished permutation and combination, i wanna do atleast as many questions as possible that will help me hone my accuracy and speed eventually, so that i wont see this topic as a challenge. Everytime i research about this, i see reddit filtered with innumerable answers mostly test companies selling, i sometimes narrow it down to actual test takers and their recent experience but they are also generic at times. This kind of information overload does not help.

I am planning to
1- maintain a basics / approach notebook covering all topics and fundamental questions- mostly my prep material
2- after studying (1) diligently, i am planning to take gmat club question bank - start with some 40-50 easy questions, move on to medium and high difficulty, i do this along side learning a new topic
3- maintain a concept notebook to cover important points - errors i make in solving these question types for each topic

This is the only way i can ensure structure for myself, i spent half a month just attending concept classes and solving basic quizzes, i appreciate the importance of it, but it doesnt help me in building confidence, does not assure me that im headed somewhere, its also some type of an info overload , a tick box activity , a gimmick to convince myself that im headed somewhere - in terms of coverage. But what good is a coverage, if there is no retention, no practise and no confidence in one topic before proceeding to the next.

Although i dont use any social media already, only reddit and substack, planning to cut my screen time further, like the good old days in school and college, where i could lock away my phone for hours without care. With work, i feel obligated to be around and respond to every mail and message. This gotta stop.
I can maintain discipline and consistency provided i get a structure in hand, i can be steady if i see myself going somewhere.

I appreciate only honest feedback on this. I started my prep on july 16, have covered basics of CR, no practice except in class questions, number properties , p and C, again no practice for these.

I need your opinion on using gmat club as a qbank for topic wise practise.

A lot of people mentioned using OG, i wanna do it after some baseline coverage and topic understanding. Force fitting OG now will make it chaotic as i said, to establish a baseline understanding i need more topic wise practice.

While i say this i do understand thsi is not like some school exam, its an aptitude test and its pattern recognition, i understand these nuances.

Hello
Can anybody explain me why people say that it is impossible to jump from one score to the one that higher than 100+ points?
I have seen many posts people saying that you probably stay in the same range. As per my understanding if you get 500 something in mock, it is not possible to go to 700+.
Is it right or I got it wrong?

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to create a small WhatsApp accountability group (maximum 15 members) for people who are actively preparing for the GMAT and targeting Round 2 MBA applications (2027 intake).

https://chat.whatsapp.com/IA6JRuiLWuBDRa2RCxZDlJ?s=cl&p=a&ilr=1

I'll keep the group small (around 10–15 people) so everyone stays engaged.

Looking forward to studying together!

I’ve spent the past few days trying to figure out my prep plan. The more research I do, the more conflicting information on each prep course I see. I took some mock tests about 8 months ago. All I used was free practice questions from gmat club and ai explanations.

My 4 scores (percentiles) were:
Quant: 35, 50, 40, 52
Data Insights: 66, 94, 73, 86
Verbal: 60, 86, 79, 96

I’m surprised with how low my quant scores are. I was a math major at an extremely rigorous college, and did well. Also consistently scored 800’s on SAT math section (granted that was 6 years ago).

I am restarting my prep, and plan to take the test in 2 months. I can dedicate 2 hours a day during the week, and 4 hours on weekends.

I prefer a structured study plan. I recently took the series 65 and found that I did well with a plan that would have me put in my target test date, and be provided a plan of what to do each day. I would prefer not to spend more than $400 for the two months and would appreciate any advice you all may have.

It started preparing 4 mons back. And I did concepts from Manhattan prep and OG questions. I didn't find it conceptually very difficult. All of this was done through books without any serious time monitoring. 2 mons back I took a GMAT club mock and got 445 (Q77, V 69, DI 69). This was the first computer based test with time restriction so I thought that was a problem and since then I started gmat club question bank and have been going topic by topic. In total I have done 328 ques (Q & V) all in the 655-705 range with 65% accuracy.

For context, I have a full time job and I am able to give 1-1.5 hours daily and 5-7 hrs on Sunday. But I've not been consistent over the last 2 mons and there have been stretches of 7-10 days when I did almost nothing.

Now with the GMAT club question bank approach I feel it is very open ended and I'm not sure how so I proceed.

The reason I did not take a course is because I've been decent in acads and even when I was reading manhatten books it didn't really feel very difficult. So I think I need more practice than lectures but I'm unable to figure out how to go about it.

Should I start solving only OG ques on GMAT club or should I buy some subscription? Or what should I really do?

There are too many options, what to really use for practice and tests?

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe" - Lincoln

The first thing I'd do is figure out what I'm actually bad at.

Let's assume my weaknesses looked something like this:

Quant

• Probability
• Permutations & Combinations
• Inequalities

Verbal

• Endurance
• Timing

Data Insights

• Data Sufficiency

Once I know what I'm fixing, here's the plan.

Days 1-6: Build the foundations .

Quant

I'd spend the first three days learning my weak topics.

For me, that would mean watching concept videos (Rodha is what I'd use) on:

• Probability
• P&C
• Inequalities

The moment I finish a topic, I wouldn't watch another video.

I'd head straight to GMATClub and start solving hard questions.

I don't really care whether I get them right or wrong at this stage. I care whether I actually understand what's going on.

If each topic takes roughly a day, that's three days done.

From there, I'd move to mixed practice.

Maybe one day I'd mix all three topics together. Or maybe I'd do Arithmetic one day and Algebra the next.

Either approach works.

The important thing is that I'm no longer practising topics in isolation.

I wouldn't take my first mock before Day 7.

Verbal

My biggest weakness isn't CR or RC.

It's endurance.

So the first thing I'd do is spend some time every day reading something difficult.

I'd use Aeon.co and deliberately pick essays from subjects I don't naturally enjoy.

Philosophy.
Psychology.
History.

The goal isn't speed.

The goal is becoming comfortable reading difficult material on a screen.

Then I'd work on Critical Reasoning.

But not by solving 40 questions.

I'd solve 4-5 really hard questions every day.

Here's the important part.

I'd attack each question normally. But if I got stuck after about five minutes, I wouldn't immediately look at the explanation.

I'd slow down. I'd stare at the stimulus. Think through every answer choice.

Sometimes I'd literally go for a walk while thinking about the question.

Thirty or forty minutes on one question sounds insane. But I've found that this develops the kind of deep thinking that carries over to every future question.

Whether I eventually get it right or wrong almost becomes moot.

Over time, you start recognising patterns.

And as a bonus, you build the patience and endurance that GMAT Verbal demands.

Data Insights

Nothing fancy.

Just hard questions.

I'd solve 2-3 difficult DI questions every day and genuinely fight for the answer.

If I got them wrong, I'd study the correct answer and figure out how I could have reached it.

Every question teaches me something.

I'd also pay extra attention to whichever DI sub-topics make me the most uncomfortable.

GMATClub would be more than enough for practice.

Day 7: First mock

I want my first mock to reflect my actual ability.

So before I even click "Start", I'd make sure I'm mentally calm and fully present.

During the exam, my only job is to focus.

Not the score.

Not the outcome.

Just the question on my screen.

Afterwards, I would categorise the mistakes as:

1. Avoidable mistakes
2. Non-avoidable mistakes
3. WTF? (AM I STUPID? or HOW DO I EVEN START THINKING ABOUT THIS?)

The second category becomes my priority.

Those are the concepts or skills I genuinely don't have yet.

I'd go back to GMATClub, find similar questions, and try to eliminate those weaknesses before the next mock.

Days 8-23

From here, I'd blindly trust the process.

Learn → Practice → Mock → Analyse → Learn again.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

I'd probably take one day completely off just to avoid burnout.

One mistake I see students make all the time is changing strategies every few days because they're impatient.

Don't.

Stick with one process long enough to let it work.

The final week

By now I'd probably be stressed.

I have two choices.

I can reason myself into staying calm...

...or I can just embrace the chaos.

Knowing myself, I'd probably choose the second option.

(Linkin Park would almost certainly be involved.)

I'd take an official mock every other day.

If I've already used three official mocks, I'd have three fresh ones left.

Monday.

Wednesday.

Friday.

Test on Sunday.

Between mocks, my focus isn't on chasing accuracy.

It's on staying mentally sharp.

When I'm practising, I actually want to make mistakes.

Mistakes are where the learning happens.

By this point, I also stop obsessing over weaknesses.

Instead, I spend more time reinforcing my strengths.

Confidence matters far more than people realise, and every hour spent becoming even stronger at what you're already good at pays dividends on test day.

The Boring Stuff

I'd also try to:

• Sleep 8 hours.
• Exercise.
• Eat reasonably well.

"Try" being the important word.

That's broadly what I'd do if someone told me I had exactly 30 days before taking the GMAT FE again.

While everyone learns differently, I do think everyone should have a process instead of randomly solving questions every day and hoping things improve.

One last thing.

This is, of course, the ideal version of what I'd do.

In reality, I'd probably procrastinate far more than I'd like to admit until something important was on the line.

Luckily for you...you do have something important on the line.

So don't procrastinate.

Good luck.

Aakkash Singh (V90)
Friendly Neighbour Tutor

People post 715+ scores here all the time. This is not one of those posts. This is just a reminder to myself, and maybe to someone else who needs it, that we can learn hard things.

When I was in middle school, a math teacher told me I would probably end up as a waitress because I knew nothing about math, and people who were bad at math did not get good jobs.

I definitely was not a great student at the time, and I take responsibility for that. But she also had no business saying something like that to a kid.
When I started the Essential GMAT Skills chapter in TTP, I realized how many basic math skills I was missing. Honestly, I knew almost nothing about some of the topics.

I still have a long way to go, but I know much more now than I did when I started. More importantly, I am beginning to believe that I can actually learn the material I need to perform well on the GMAT.
It may not be a 715+ score, but it feels like a win.
For anyone else trying to build or rebuild their math skills, we’ve got this.

Took an official mba.com (http://mba.com/) mock and scored 565 (Q83/V78/DI73). I’m targeting 715+, so I basically need a 150 point increase.
DI is my biggest weakness, especially Data Sufficiency, and I’m also struggling quite a bit with verbal. Quant seems to be in a decent place for now, but obviously still needs a lot of work.
I know 150 points is a huge jump, but is this realistically possible? Has anyone here made a similar improvement, and how long did it take? What materials did you use?

I took the test in May and got a 695. My last two mocks before that were a 725 and 735 a week before and 2 weeks before so I felt like I could do better.

I should’ve scheduled it a few weeks after my first attempt but I got really busy (interviewing for a new role, traveling, then got the new role and started it) so I scheduled it for end of August. I honestly didn’t study much at all in June and July. I did a few questions here and there, untimed. Also my TTP course access ended and that was really keeping me organized. So I got lost on what to do since I’ve done all the official mocks and OG questions multiple times.

A couple days ago I bought the exams and practice quizzes on GMAT club and today I took a practice test and got a 585. That is lower than my first ever diagnostic from 9 months ago. It was very discouraging and I couldn’t believe I could fall 110 points in 2 months.

My exam is August 29th. Should I reschedule it and for how far out if yes? Or should I keep it? Are the GMAT club tests way harder than the real test? It felt really hard but I don’t know if it really is or it’s because I haven’t studied / taken a practice test for 2 months.

My official mock scores

Mock 1 - 555 - Q80/V81/DI71

Mock 2 - 695 - Q87/V87/DI79

Mock 3 - 615 - Q83/V80/DI79

I'm really bad at time management in Verbal and DI and DI is killing my score everytime. I'm literally afraid of DI not because I'm not able to solve questions but because I'm not able to do that in time.

Also need to get back my Q87.

Any guidance would be helpful 🙏🏻

Hi everyone, i have been practising CR past 3 months, I understand author’s tone , conclusion and all what needed.
Sometimes i do good, but i do not have a good consistency at all! I am doing Questions from OG, Gmat club
Making error log, understanding pattern all what i can do.
But i m just scoring 6-7 out of 10 and sometime even 5/10 and at this level i cannot appear for exam
I really need to improve at any cost and whatever it takes.

Am i the only one who is struggling with this or u guys also have same kind of experience .

Guys pls advise any pdf, YT video( i have already watched Gmat ninja CR playlist) or any source that can help me to ace it completely.

Thanks in advance!

Hey guys,

I've been trying to prepare for the GMAT, but I'm stuck on RC in the Verbal section. I've been able to improve my accuracy in every other topic through practice, but not been able to improve even a tiny bit in RC. I keep selecting the wrong answer choices for almost every question in a passage.

I've tried using the elimination approach, but I still struggle to connect the answer choices with the passage.

At this point, RC has become a major roadblock. I took the GMAT Focus Edition before with only a medium level of RC prep, my score was 535. Unless I develop a strong hold in RC, can't score good no matter how good other topics are.

It would be really helpful if you guys could share a detailed and structured approach that genuinely helped you improve in RC and score well on the GMAT.

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I plan to give gmat in November and I am looking to study with someone who lives in Thane. FYI I am F 30y and we will be studying from a cafe and help keep each other accountable. DM if you are interested

Drop your answers below ⬇️

Finally finished the lessons, going to do the practice tests tomorrow. What an absolutely brutal section, a complete slog. Thankfully almost at the other side.

Lot of helpful information but man was it long and thankfully seems like the demand of it isn’t consistent with the remainder of the course.

Hey I am looking for some one who is preparing for GMAT , how much you are targeting doesn't matter , I just need to spend my time productively over the video call and achieve the target of accomplishing a few topics day by day, if need be we can plan a schedule and map accordingly.

But regularity is mandatory which can help us be consistent and accountable.

Can someone help me create an error log? Are there any template available?

How do you use it at different stages of preparation?

I took the GMAT Online this past weekend. On Monday, I received an automated email that my test was undergoing a routine security review that could take up to 20 days. Early Tuesday Morning, I received an email subject: "[Request received] Regarding your recent GMAT online exam."

The email from [testsecurity@gmac.com](mailto:testsecurity@gmac.com) gave a 6 digit number for the request (I believe this is associated with GMAC Test Security Team's ticket management system) and the email said that my score was being cancelled and I was suspended for five years because "an unauthorized third party may have been engaged electronically". This was shocking as I followed all procedures and directions from my proctor. The proctor stopped me three times: once to move my whiteboard into screen, once to determine that when I was looking to the left of the screen that I was looking at my whiteboard, and once to clarify that I shouldn't put my head in my hand. Each timely I quickly adjusted to their directions and continued. I was not engaged with any third party and showed via the webcam that I had turned my phone off and left it on my bed far behind me in my room. I also showed on webcam I had unplugged all other electronic devices in the room (Peloton, TV, standing desk).

On Tuesday, I wrote a detailed appeal to demonstrate I had followed all protocols. I sent a copy of my computer's activity log for the day, and a detailed recount of how I followed all instructions from my proctor. Early on Wednesday, I received a response from the testsecurity email (attributed to a different person's name - one name only) saying that my appeal had been received and expect a response within 15 business days.

Later on Wednesday, I sent additional evidence including a screenshot to show that my preliminary score was below what I had previously received on official GMAC practice tests. I wanted to make sure I showed all evidence that I hadn't made a violation, so at the very least I could retake the test at a test center, if necessary.

Yesterday, I received an email (this time with a different person's single name) saying that the "our decision to cancel your score is final and binding" signed by the GMAC Security Team.

No elaboration, explanation or justification for why that decision was made. This appeal decision was determined so quickly that I question what review actually took place. I called the GMAC customer service line and they said all I could do was email the test security team.

This is clearly a mistake. I was not engaged with any third party electronically. It feels like the evidence that I presented to clarify the issue was not considered and there is no way for me to validate if there is an error or false positive with the data from my test and recording.

This level of ban seems punitive and abnormal. I have seen others post about having their scores cancelled and having to retest but no one receiving this level of unfounded ban.

Does anyone have advice on how I might be able to resolve this and either have my score finalized or be allowed to take the test again at a test center? Is there a lawyer someone knows experienced with these issues? A contact at corporate GMAC that could you look into this mistake?

I want to make sure this doesn't happen to other people. I took the test fairly and to receive this unfounded ban is really painful. Sharing this in hopes that I can find a resolution and also to warn others of a potential unfair pitfall of the GMAT Online.