Hi everyone,

I prepared for GMAT for almost 6 months and scored 645 (V86, Q83, DI79). Gave it again after some more prep but ended up scoring 645 again.

I was scoring around 675-695 in mocks, so maybe exam day nerves affected my score.

After that I took a 6 month break and now thinking of starting prep again. My target is 695+.

I'm confused whether I should stick with GMAT since I've already spent so much time preparing for it or switch to GRE.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Is it realistic to improve from 645 to 695+ or would GRE be a better option? Also how do you deal with exam day pressure when your mock scores are much higher?

Would really appreciate some advice. Thanks!

Hi guys i took my GMAT yesterday, in DI i saw 4 non math related DS questions - i never really came across them during practice in gmat club so i just guessed them....
any practice material related to these?

I scored a 685 on the GMAT Focus recently.
I am an Indian male (23 Y) working in IT for a top MNC, working with clients across the world in a cross functional team across different timezones. I graduated from a Tier-1 Engineering college with a 3.9 GPA.
I’m currently working on some side projects for class 11 and 12 students and I have started volunteering in NGOs and I do CrossFit on the weekends.
I have a lot of extracurricular experience from my college life as well, I was heading a fest team for a Double ISO certified fest and I was the president of a Product Management club

I am planning on selectively applying only to a few of the top European MBA Programs, preferably INSEAD, LBS and HEC Paris.

I have decided to apply once I have around 4 years of work exp, could someone please give me some honest feedback of where I stand? Whether I would have to boost my GMAT score as well because I don’t know if a 685 would be sufficient considering I come from an oversaturated pool of applicants.

The same wrong answer can feel like progress or like failure. Which one it feels like depends on why you're practicing.

If your objective in a practice session is to learn, a wrong answer serves that objective: it shows you something you didn't understand. If your objective is to find out whether you're good enough, the same wrong answer fails it: it tells you you're not there yet.

Many students mix the two. They sit down to learn, but they also use every question to check how far they are from their target. So a session full of useful mistakes leaves them feeling they've failed.

One of my students was doing exactly this. Each wrong answer made her doubt whether she would ever reach her target, and she lost hours, sometimes days, to that doubt. I suggested she separate the two objectives: check where she stood after three weeks, and until then, treat every wrong answer as something to learn from.

Separating them helps for two reasons. You already know you're not at your target yet, which is why you're practicing, so checking after every question only repeats that answer. And once checking has a date, the question of whether you're good enough gets answered then, so you can set it aside until that day.

To separate the two:

1. Schedule an evaluation every 2–3 weeks to check where you stand.

2. Between evaluations, end each session by writing down what you learned, not how many questions you got right.

Est ce que quelqu'un à un avis sur la prepa du site reussirlegmat.com?

Forgot many formulas or knew what they wanted but not how. Time was imo a big surprise/issue in VR and DI. Always guessed at the end to avoid getting penalty points for not having something answered. I am taking the GMAT at the end of December and would appreciate any guidance I could get on how to study from now on, having all the books with me. My target GMAT would be like a 675/680, but idk if that's realistic or not. Thanks in advance!

I'm preparing for my third GMAT attempt and it's booked for 25 days from now.

My first was 535 and second 615. But for some reason, I just can't get myself to study. I actually feel dumb. Like I just can't break the barrier anymore.

any advice on how to motivate myself?

I've taken days/weeks off and it's just not working. I need 645 for college application but it just feels so hard rn

My sectional breakdown last time q79, v83, di80

Hi everyone,

I would like to share my experience with the GMAT.
I’m 34, with 8+ years of work experience, including 4 years of international experience, and I already have a Master’s degree in engineering. I’ve moved into running my own businesses over the past 4-5 years, so getting back to studying for the GMAT after all these years wasn’t easy.

I went all in and prepared for 4-5 months. My one and only GMAT attempt got me a 565. I was disappointed, but I also realised that maybe I wasn’t a trained test-taker who could ace the GMAT. I had to balance family, multiple businesses, and all the curveballs that life throws at you from time to time.

Since my target school accepts the Executive Assessment (EA) as well, I switched tracks and took the EA just 10 days after the GMAT. I ended up scoring 162, and I’m satisfied because I feel all the work I put in paid off.

If you’re someone with decent work experience and your target school accepts both the GMAT and EA, I’d recommend considering the EA as an alternative. The exams have considerable overlap in the skills they test, although there are differences in question types and format. You can look up the exact differences.

Personally, I found the EA less mentally fatiguing, at least in terms of the overall volume of the exam.
My preparation and the resources I used
I had the Official Guide (OG) books and bought a 6-month Magoosh subscription for the concept videos. I finished all the Magoosh videos within 2 weeks and scored 535 on my first mock.

I would attribute most of my learning after that to the video lectures from these sources:

GMAT Club: Aditya Kumar’s videos
Manhattan Prep: Whitney Garner’s videos
GMAT Ninja: Charles and the other instructors
These were the resources that phenomenally helped me master the concepts.

During this phase, I also bought the monthly GMAT Club Forum Quiz subscription ($29 per month). I used GMAT Club almost exclusively for the last 3 months of my preparation.

I’ve grinded enough questions on GMAT Club to know that a huge number of OG-style questions and concepts are covered in its forum quiz. If I were starting again, I’d seriously consider getting the Forum Quiz early rather than spending extra money on multiple question banks. The question bank is massive and covers questions from many popular sources.

I also bought the 6 official practice exams from mba.com and took them over the last 2 months of my preparation, spacing them out evenly.

Switching to the EA

After scoring 565 on the GMAT, I immediately switched tracks to the EA. I didn’t have to redo my preparation from scratch. Most of my GMAT preparation carried over.

For Sentence Correction, I used the trial offered by TTP. Since I had only 10 days between my GMAT and EA, I couldn’t cover its intensive Verbal section in full. However, I used what was available in the trial, and it helped me solidify a lot of grammar rules.

I later switched to GMAT Ninja’s YouTube series on Sentence Correction, with videos from a few years ago, and those worked best for me.

I felt TTP would be great for people early in their careers who are still in a student mindset and want an orderly, structured path from level zero. TTP is great at establishing a solid foundation, provided you have the time to cover every nook and corner and make your preparation bulletproof.

What I would have done differently

If I knew then what I know now, here’s what I’d change:

1. I would have started with the GMAT Club video series.
I’d have watched all their YouTube video series covering Quant, Verbal, and Data Insights. It’s a true treasure trove! For some concepts, I even used videos from the Physics Wallah YouTube channel.

2. I would still have bought Magoosh.
I would still recommend Magoosh as a budget-friendly option. It gives you a structure for learning and helps you figure out which concepts you need to work on.

3. I would have bought the GMAT Club Forum Quiz subscription from month 2.
I would have started grinding questions regularly from the second month, using the streaks method by Marty Murray. Google it, and you’ll find what I’m talking about.

Final thoughts

Anyway, I’m no expert. I’m just like one of you in this quest, and I’m sharing what worked for me.

I know a 565 GMAT Focus score isn’t something to brag about, but I’m happy that I managed to get a 162 on the EA 10 days later, using the preparation I’d already done.

If you have decent work experience and are considering the EA, I hope my experience helps you make a more informed decision. Just make sure your target school accepts it and check how it evaluates the two tests.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to reach out, and I’ll answer them to the best of my knowledge.
Good luck with your preparation, everyone!

Hello everyone,

I’m looking for some genuine advice on what to do next because I’m feeling quite devastated after my GMAT attempt yesterday.

I’ve been preparing for the GMAT for the last 3 months. My scores in the official mocks were around 595 (Q82, V81, DI75), with my best performance.

However, I took the actual exam yesterday and scored 555 (Q78, V77, DI77). The score was significantly lower than my mock performances, and I’m struggling to figure out what went wrong and what I should do next.

My target is 645, as I’m aiming for a one-year MBA programme at the IIMs.

Right now, I’m confused between two options:

1. Give up on this goal for now and explore other options.
2. Give the GMAT one more attempt next month, with a more structured preparation strategy.

I have a deadline coming up in November, so if I decide to retake the exam, I have limited time. I’m also willing to invest in a good private tutor if that would genuinely help me improve.

I’d really appreciate advice on a few things:

• Is it realistic to improve from 555 to 645 in about a month, considering my mock scores?
• Should I work with a private tutor? If yes, how do I identify a good GMAT tutor who can help diagnose my weaknesses rather than just teach concepts?
• How would you structure preparation for the next 3–4 weeks?
• For anyone who has experienced a similar score drop, what did you change before your next attempt?

I understand that a 645 is not guaranteed, and I’m not expecting any shortcuts. I just want to make an informed decision about whether another attempt is worth the time, money, and effort.

If you were in my position, would you give it one more shot?

Thanks in advance. Any honest advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,

I just gave my GMAT today. Got a score of 645 (Q84, V83, DI79).

Really disappointed with my Q and DI scores as my Q has always been around 87-88 (with a 90 once) and my average mock scores were 675.

Felt the actual exam to be tougher. 
I am not complaining. I actually want to be able to tackle these questions. 

However, the official mocks are relatively less difficult. 

How do I practise these difficult questions in a test kind of a format. What should be my strategy going forward. 

Planning to give the GMAT again in 2 months.

Thanks in advance !!

The scores y'all post here are the new format, right? GMAT FE?

Or do I have everything understood wrong?

Hey everyone,

I'm currently preparing for the GMAT and have already finished Practice Tests 1 and 2. I'm looking to take Practice Tests 3 through 6 to keep my preparation going.

Would anyone help with these tests? Thanks in advance!

Just took my third gmat attempt and scored an underwhelming 595.

Best score yet: 615, superscore 635.

official mocks: 625, 655, 675, 635, 615, 655. So I was hoping for at least 655.

Profile - Indian F, 5 yoe, AI/consumer tech PM, worked at the same place for 5 years, switching internal products, started as an intern, got 3 promos.

10th 96%, 12th 88%, Bachelors btech GPA 8.9

Intl exp: have some exp volunteering in Latin America during college.

Recs: will get recs from my company's senior execs whom I've reported to.

Question - given my profile should I apply to INSEAD in R2 with 615 gmat? since R2 also has better scholarship pool.

Or should I retake in hopes of scoring 655+ & apply in R3 to increase my chances?

Please help!!!

Hello guys! First time posting on reddit and just wanted to get some insights since I’m honestly feeling at a loss. I just took the GMAT exam and got a 615 and my target is 655-675+.

I prepped for 1.5 months on GMAT club questions and Mocks 1-4 (mainly 3 and 4). My mocks were around the 615-655 range as well but I took them when I still hadn’t figured verbal out, consistently got 77-78 there. But to my surprise I got 85 during the actual exam, quite the shocker quite frankly was the DI part. Which I don’t know why I struggled… I feel like I kept second-guessing myself and spent too much time redoing some calculations, and in doing so, ended up missing 1-2 questions. I want to retake since I feel like I could’ve done a whole lot better. But, at the same time I’m not sure if it’s still worth it🥲.

I’m planning on applying for masters in Hong Kong, R2 deadlines I believe are December 1st. I want to try to apply earlier as well for a better chance. Just not sure if it’s worth it to retake and try getting a higher score since I’m not sure as well how much it can help me with admission or scholarships.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Extra:
My sectionals if I recall correctly were Q83, V85, and DI 74.

Target schools are HKU, HKUST, and CUHK.

Word problems involving ratios, percentages, and overlapping conditions are taking around 3 minutes to solve, even when the final answer is correct. The main issue seems to be translating the wording into equations without repeatedly rereading the question.

For those who improved their Quant timing, was the biggest improvement from learning specific shortcuts, practising equation formation, or reviewing mistakes after each session?

The tags used in GMAT club RC are they difficult because even the easy RC I am not being able to achieve 90 percent accuracy. My AIM is to score 85+ in verbal and for CR I am doing well even the hard ones but for RC I am not being able to achieve accuracy.

I am working on my reading skills and comprehension but apart from that are the GMAT CLUB RC ( Official Questions) filter in easy section are medium level questions? and medium questions tagged are actually hard ones?

You may understand that criticising yourself after a wrong answer doesn't help, yet you still do it after the next one. That's expected, because self-criticism is a habit. What changes it is awareness, patience, and clarity about how you want to treat yourself.

You get a question wrong in practice, and the old reaction comes: "How could I get this wrong?" Then a second thought follows: "I know this doesn't help. Why am I still doing it?"

The reaction comes before you decide anything. Understanding that it doesn't help is necessary, but a habit you've had for years can take a long time to change.

Three things help.

1. Awareness. Midway through a practice set, you catch yourself thinking, "How could I get this wrong?" You don't have to stop the thought or argue with it. You just notice it: "There it is." Until you notice the reaction, there's nothing to choose.

2. Patience. The next day, you catch it again, and with it comes "I know this doesn't help, and I'm still doing it." That second thought is also self-criticism. First you criticized yourself for the mistake, and now you're criticizing yourself for still reacting that way. Patience means recognizing this and not criticizing yourself for it. Slipping back is part of changing a habit, not a sign that you're failing to change it.

3. Clarity about how you want to treat yourself. When you catch the old reaction, you need somewhere to go. Decide in advance what you want to say to yourself after a mistake, something like "Okay, what did I miss here?", so it's ready when you need it.

Over time, this can change how you meet your mistakes. A student once told me, "Earlier, whenever I made mistakes, I'd get irritated. Now, when I make mistakes, I get curious."

For your next week of practice:

- Each time you catch yourself criticizing yourself, make a small mark beside the question.

- Don't try to reduce the number of marks. The marks are there to help you notice. If you try to get fewer, a high count becomes another reason to criticise yourself, and more marks may just mean you're noticing more often.

- After each mark, say the sentence you chose.

im depressed

I have given GMAT 2 weeks back and got 665 (Q87/VA86/DI76)

I am planning to retake gmat before ISB r2 deadline

I am consistently struggling with DI , after giving additional mocks after my 1st attempt , I feel I may not improve in DI . Tables problem suck time. MSR I often skip and if i attempt it takes 10 min with no guarantee that I may be able to get all 3 correct. So my strategy was for the official attempt skip all MSR and attempt rest questions. doing that gave me 52nd percentile. seeing how things are going I feel I cant drastically change the strategy and improve my score , If I target remaining questions only excluding 6 MSR, then I think percentile increment depends on that days luck( I get correct most other question in some mock and less in some other mock). So I am confused how to approach the next attempt. If I am able to maintain high scores in verbal and Quant , DI score seems to be a gamble that may or may not increase on that days luck. How to improve DI given my condition.

Any advice from people who overcame this DI struggle.

Hi everyone,

I’m a final-year B.Tech CSE student at IILM University (Greater Noida), graduating in 2027. Since 2024 I’ve been working alongside my degree in a mix of tech, design, project management and marketing roles. All of it was done in parallel with college.

Experience so far:

• Sapentia Global | [role] | 1 month (current)
• Cost Price (lifestyle brand) | [role] | part-time, 4 months (current)
• SKB Realtech | Brand Associate | Jun-Oct 2025
• Physics Wallah | Team Lead / UI-UX Intern | Dec 2024-Mar 2025
• Google Developer Student Group | UI/UX Designer | Sep 2024-Mar 2025
• OctaNet | Project Manager Intern (managed 10,000+ student interns) | Jul-Aug 2024
• Technoindiaz | Web Developer Intern | Jun-Jul 2024

Also: co-founded a student freelancing startup (SPECTRA), built an e-commerce site and an AI portfolio builder, and was a finalist in a couple of hackathons (NSUT Top 30, IIIT Delhi Top 15).

Profile: CGPA [5/10], GMAT [score / preparing]. Long-term goal is senior corporate leadership, with an MBA (ISB) as a milestone.

What I’d like feedback on:

1. Resume: Is it credible, or does it look like “jack of all trades, master of none”? What should I cut or rewrite?
2. Work-ex: Since these are short internships and part-time roles done during college, will adcoms treat them as meaningful work experience or ignore them?
3. Route: With this profile, is GMAT worth it for Indian schools (ISB, XLRI, SPJIMR, MDI, etc.), or should I go CAT? Is something like ISB’s YLP (deferred entry for final-years) realistic?
4. Timing: Apply right after graduation, or work 2-3 years first?

Honest feedback is welcome, harsh is fine. Thanks!

Hi all, I am struggling to develop a strong error log for verbal. When I error log for a question, it ends up being very specific to that question itself. Many hard questions require unique inferences and have pitfalls that feel hyper specific to that question. I want to create an error log that helps me avoid the same mistakes and have an actionable takeaway each time. Would appreciate tips from people who scored high on verbal. I am currently using Gmat Ninja videos and following their process of breaking down the arguments and eliminating the answer choices.