GMAT Debrief - 710 --> 700 --> 710 --> 655 -->755

GMAT Debrief - 710 --> 700 --> 710 --> 655 --> no show -->755(6th attempt)

The GMAT journey has been a very humbling experience for me. What started of as a 3 month plan ended up spanning for 1 year and 3 months spread across 4 years.

I started my GMAT journey after being inspired by a friend, who got a 760 in his first attempt, to take it.

I just assumed that the GMAT would be easy to crack and took a shot at it.

First attempt - May 28th 2021 (Online) - 710 (Q49 V35 IR7)

After 4 months of self prep with the Manhattan self study course and GMAT Club material, I gave my first attempt online (Since, it was the Covid era). I scored a 710, and was pretty happy about it. The online test went seamlessly with no hiccups. However, I felt I could do better if I put in more practice and refined Sentence Correction strategy. I still felt I was guessing rather than answering SC questions, and so I had to put in more effort here to bolster it.

Second attempt - Jun 25th 2021 (Online) - 700 (Q50 V34 IR8)

I remember using Veritas Prep to bolster my sentence correction strategy. It helped a lot, and I was now, scoring slightly better in my mocks. So I urgently, gave another attempt. This time however, the attempt was riddled with technical issues, both with my internet and my laptop. It took a toll on my focus, and I ended up scoring 700. I felt heartbroken at that point and decided to quit GMAT prep.

Third attempt - Nov 10th 2021 (Test Center) - 710 (Q49 V38 IR8)

After a break from GMAT prep, I changed my mind and decided that I need to give another attempt as I still felt that I could do better in this exam. But this time, I aimed to leave no stone unturned. I went all in with my prep. I used the Veritas prep material for Sentence correction strategy, and GMAT Club tests for Quant. I realized that my Quant had lot of chinks in the armour. I was barely scoring Q49s in the mocks and if were to go towards that 99 percentile score, my Quant score had to improve. The GMAT club tests helped greatly to improve my speed and accuracy. One thing I am plagued with when attempting Quant questions is that I make Silly mistakes under the pressure of time. Improving my speed sort of helped me reduce my silly mistakes.

The Covid peak was in the rear view now and test centres were opening up for appointments. So, I decided to take this exam in person. I was scoring in the 730-770 range in my mocks. So I felt I was ready. I had the appointment early in the morning around 8 AM as that was the only slot available. I tried to sleep early the previous day, but was finding it difficult to sleep. And just when I fell sleep, there was a huge sound right outside my window, which to this day, cant explain for. My grandmother and I were the only ones in the bungalow of a house we have. I just couldn't sleep well post that noise. I got ready and left my home at 6 AM the next day to make it in time to the test centre, (wanted to be there earlier than the scheduled time). I gave my attempt, and felt I was doing generally well in the exam, I wanted to give my best and was executing every section as per plan. Alas ! at the end of the exam the score on the screen reads out - 710 - once again. I was very saddened. I felt I did everything right, and yet I scored a 710 again. I started to feel, that maybe this is my level, and I am just dreaming that I can do better. It was a very hard knock on my self esteem and confidence.

After my 3rd attempt debacle, I decided to move on in life. I was working all the time in tech consulting as I was giving these attempts. I continued to focus on my work. In parallel, I ventured out into business. Along with a friend I opened up a restaurant and later, a fitness center.

4th Attempt - Mar 27th 2024 (Test centre)(GMAT FE) - 655 (Q86 V84 DI77)

I was doing well at work, my businesses had settled in well. I was pretty much happy with how things were panning out. But I still had this itch in me that this exam called GMAT had got the better of me. On one hand I felt humbled that I am a 90 percentile kid and not destined for more, and on the other hand, my instinct told me to keep trying. I had smelt success on the mocks already, it was just about doing well on the exam day.

So I decided to prepare again. But this time, the format had changed, most of my learning from the previous attempts had been forgotten or were not that relevant anymore. It was a fresh start for me.

This time, I decided to subscribe to TTP. I started going through the material, and I must say the material is good. For this attempt, I used the OG and TTP. I even requested TTP for a free extension for a week as I my subscription had expired but my test was still a week away, they happily granted me access for another week.

Given the early morning experience I had last time, this time I booked the test late evening. I drove to the center in time, and got myself ready. I hadn't taken off anytime from work during my prep, so I felt a bit tired with all the juggling and mentally I was a bit strained. There were health issues as well that I was addressing, so basically fighting three battles at once - Work,GMAT and health - all crucially important.

I gave my attempt, and everything was going as per plan. But then came the blunder. I did not look at the timer, and failed to mark the last question in DI. I am not sure exactly how much this blunder cost me though. An expert on GMAT can help answer here.

I dont know whats more annoying, not getting the score you want or getting the same score 4 times (90 percentile)

5th attempt - April 26th (No show)

I just did not want to give up. At this point, I was not thinking right. I was rushing another attempt too soon. There were multiple things going on in my life, and I should have taken it slow. The company I work at was planning to send me to the client location in Europe for a couple of months, So I was getting my visa ready for it. I completely forgot about the fact that I need my passport for ID on the test day. My passport, meanwhile was stuck at the Visa processing center (In case of Schengen Visa being applied from India, this is how it is).

I was completely gutted. Heartbreak after heartbreak, and no one to blame but myself.

6th attempt - Dec 29th 2024 - (Online)(GMAT FE) - 755 (Q89 V87 DI86)

The solace I got finally, was the opportunity to travel to Europe. It was an awesome experience and had an amazing time in Netherlands. 2 months later, I landed back in India more relaxed and with a changed perspective. I had decided that I would fix my long pending health issues. My health too had improved for the better during my time in Netherlands. Shoutout to the Dutch as well ! Very nice people.

Now back to my test taking experience - Once my health improved, I decided to give one last attempt to GMAT and move on forever.

But this time, I decided to not make the mistakes I had done before. All my previous 4 attempts were self paced and all on my own. I felt this was hurting me. I was missing a peer group and someone to point out my recurring mistakes and gaps in understanding which I was not able to figure out.

I enrolled at Rohan's Academy(Bangalore), making use of the expertise a private GMAT/GRE tutor - Rohan Soni

I enrolled for 15 1:1 sessions with him.

And this helped incredibly !!!!!!

This change and my improvement in health were the gamechanger according to me

I liked his approach a lot. He was more focussed on concepts and logic than tips and tricks to solve a question. This is a common trap that we test takers fall into. There is a shortcut/trick to solve every question in the shortest time. But it is not feasible to learn tips and tricks for each and every question type.

Instead, what he told me to do is understand a small number of concepts very well and learn to apply it well. He told me speed will come with practice. But understanding these core concepts and application is very important.

He gave me material layered in 3 levels -

Concept builder (Easy/Medium) - Questions which are easy and help you build your concepts

questions (Hard) - His strategy is that these questions are difficult. If you are able to solve these questions with 90% accuracy and in 45 min, you can be confident that you will score a 655. That was his assurance.

questions (V.Hard) - These questions are very diffcult. If you are able to solve these in 45-50 min with 90% accuracy, then you are ready to start taking mocks.

At first, I found the Very Hard questions difficult to tackle, both in terms of accuracy and time. But over time, with practice and knowledge, I was hitting the mark.

I started taking mocks and was scoring consistently in the 685 - 735 range (took a total of 5 mocks - 2 OG and 3 third party free mocks).

Then came the test day -

I had high fever and body ache to start of with. Not a good way to start the day I must say. I had decided to take it online, since I was not able to find convenient appointment slots and wanted to finish off the exam before the year end.

On the day of the exam, I kept telling myself - "This Test does NOT matter in the bigger context of life. Since you have already paid for it, you might as well take it" - This kind of thinking made me feel very calm on the exam day. Infact, I was more calmer on that day than on any of the days I had taken the mocks. I had 0 expectations for the attempt.

I could literally feel the improvement in my answering abilities during the test, because of how calm I was. This attempt I took it in the order - Verbal - Quant - DI, with a break between Quant and DI. It was Rohan who suggested that I take Verbal first, since I am prone to silly mistakes early in the test and Quant is where I am susceptible to making these mistakes. Theres a lesser chance of making a silly mistake in Verbal. Also, Verbal was my strength compared to Quant and DI. The strategy worked. I took verbal first and it helped me settle in and then transitioned into Quant with my brain functioning smoothly.

Coming to sections -

I felt Verbal was harder than the OG mocks

Quant was equivalent to the OG mocks

DI was equivalent to the OG mocks

There are a lot of learnings I will take into life from GMAT prep. This Exam thoroughly tested me mentally. I had to rewire how my brain thinks in order to ace this exam.

Feel free to ask any questions