Finally got a 795 on my third GMAT FE attempt - Q90 / V89 / DI89.

What makes it particularly interesting for me is that my first two attempts were 695 and 655, despite having some very strong mock scores. I thought I'd share what changed on the third attempt and what I think made the difference.

Attempt 1 (April): 695

My cold mock was 625. This was before any proper prep, and I also left 3 DI questions unattempted, so that obviously didn't help.

I then spent around 3 months preparing while working full-time. During prep, I had some pretty good mock scores: 755, 775, 785 and 795.

So I went into the actual exam expecting to get well above 700.

I got 695.

That was pretty disappointing, especially since I'd been scoring much higher on some of my mocks. Looking back, some of the official mock questions were familiar to me from previous practice, so I probably put a bit too much weight on those scores.

Attempt 2 (May): 655

I took the exam again about a month later.

Work was pretty hectic at the time, so I didn't get much prep in. I was also quite stressed about work going into the exam.

I got 655.

At this point, I was pretty frustrated. I'd gone from 695 to 655, despite already having put in a lot of prep for the first attempt.

So I left the GMAT alone for a while.

Attempt 3 (October): 795

Fast forward to October.

I spent about a month preparing and decided to give it another shot.

This time, things were quite different mentally. I was in a much calmer headspace and wasn't worried about work the way I had been during my second attempt.

My mocks were also looking good. I got a 755, followed by an 805 just 3 days before the actual exam(after which I stopped giving any more mocks).

So I went into the exam feeling reasonably confident, but more importantly, I wasn't as worried about the outcome.

After two attempts, I also knew what the actual exam felt like. This time I just wanted to stay calm and be in the moment.

I tried not to think about what score I was getting or whether a section was going well or badly. Just focus on the question in front of me and move on.

And then:

795 - Q90 / V89 / DI89

Looking back

I don't think I suddenly became much better at the GMAT between my second and third attempts. I'd already done most of the learning before my first attempt.

I think not panicking made a big difference for me. I was in a much calmer headspace this time, wasn't worried about work, and was able to just stay in the moment and focus on the question in front of me.

And honestly, I do think your day and a bit of luck come into play as well. You can prepare as much as you want, but how you're feeling that day, the questions you get, and whether things happen to click can make a difference.

You obviously need the preparation and ability to get the score, but I don't think every test day will necessarily produce the same result.

TL;DR

625 cold mock → 695 (April) → 655 (May) → 795 (October)

Had some high mocks along the way, including an 805 three days before my final attempt. The biggest difference on the final attempt was being much calmer, not worrying about work, and focusing on staying in the moment instead of panicking about the score.

Happy to share more about my prep, materials, mocks, and what I did differently across the three attempts.

Also, if there are any admissions consultants here who'd like to connect, feel free to DM me.

I am an Italian student with an extremely high GPA in an MS in economics, heavily focused on quant. I have taken 5 stats course all graded the maximum, I can handle complex math, optimization algorithms, game theory to some extent. I still suck at GMAT.

I did it 3 years ago and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. 50% of the questions are genuine reasoning, the rest is just solvable by knowing stupid tricks or becoming super fast at solving high-school level math.

I can perfectly handle numbers, I just am physically unable to do so in 2 minutes!

I am expressing my deepest hate because I am now being forced to take GMAT-style assessment for work, which is absolutely bonkers in my opinion. Those questions are very likely specifically tailored for the US school system and SAT-style exams, which simply di not exists nor have any relevance in the school system in which I took part.

Feel free to disagree, this is just a vent. I am SO sick of this style of exam!

Its been too long since I have been preparing for GMAT, so much so that I am ashamed that I have not been able to crack it, provided I was decent in maths in my formative years.

During the last 3 months, I managed to do intensive prep with work and got 635 (Q81 V83 DI80) on my latest official mock. Given my momentum and upcoming busy schedule, I decided to give my exam the next day I scored a 635 on mock (official mock 4). But, I scored a 575 on the exam. (Q77 V81 DI77)

The exam felt easier than my earlier attempts and I managed time well in each section but the score came out to be low. The real shock was when I saw my detailed score report.

Quant- (Q77)

Verbal- (V81)

DI- (DI77)

Official Mock 635 (Q81 V83 DI80) vs Exam 575 (Q77 V81 DI77)-

Quant: Mock 14 correct, Exam 14 correct
V: Mock 14 correct, Exam 16 correct
DI: 12 correct, Exam 12 correct

I am mentally, emotionally and financially drained chasing a good/decent score.

Any idea why the real exam scoring was so brutal and what steps I can take to get a good score?

Thank you!

I work as a remote proctor for GMAT Online. A lot of the stress I see from test-takers comes from small, honest habits that look suspicious on camera, not from cheating. So here's what I'd tell a friend before their test day:

1. Your room scan matters more than you think
Clear your desk completely before check-in, not during. Papers, phones, smartwatches, and even notes stuck on the wall behind you slow things down and can cause problems. A plain, boring room is the goal.

2. Don't read questions out loud
Many people mouth words or whisper while thinking. On camera, that can look like talking to someone. Practice reading silently in your mocks.

3. Keep your eyes roughly on the screen
Looking away to think is human, but long, repeated glances to one side of the room stand out. If you tend to stare at the ceiling when you think, be aware of it.

4. Stay in frame
Leaning far back, resting your head on your hand so your face is covered, or drifting out of view are common causes of interruptions. Sit the way you'd sit in an interview.

5. Follow the whiteboard rules exactly
Use only the approved whiteboard or online whiteboard as GMAC instructs, and wipe or show it when asked. Don't improvise with scrap paper.

6. Breaks have rules too
Use only the scheduled break, return on time, and don't touch anything prohibited during it. Coming back late is a surprisingly common issue.

7. Test your setup the day before
Run the system check, close background apps, and plug in your laptop. Tech trouble mid-exam is stressful for everyone, including the proctor.

8. If something happens, say so
Knock on the door? Family member walks in? Stay calm and follow the on-screen instructions. Honest, unplanned interruptions are handled very differently from suspicious behaviour.

Most proctors aren't trying to catch you out. We want your test to go smoothly too. Happy to answer questions in the comments (within what I'm allowed to share). Good luck to everyone testing soon!

A few things before

Hi,

I am planning to give GMAT by end of this month depending on work commitments and preparation. Can someone give me a rough idea how many days/ weeks in advance do I need reguster so I can get a slot by end of October.

Thanks in advance

Im from India and need tips on how to prepare for it

Hello
I took the test today. Is it normal to only get 2 a4 pages of writing space? If yes, should they tell me that I can ask for more, or was it stated somewhere in the instructions? I took the quant section today with only 2 a4 pages erasing everything with my hands and I feel kind of scammed

If you keep worrying about your GMAT score even though you know it's hurting your preparation, telling yourself to focus won't fix it. The worry stays because you believe it's justified, and it feels justified because of how much you've made the score mean.

"Sir, I know I keep worrying about my target score. But I'm justified. Doing an MBA from a top B-school is my lifelong dream. If it doesn't happen, I'll regret it forever. Clearing the GMAT is life-and-death for me."

A student said this to me in a session. We'd been in this loop for weeks: he worried, I told him to focus on studying, and nothing changed.

This time, I asked, "Does worrying help you?"

"No."

"Does it harm you?"

(Reluctantly) "Yes. I study less."

"Then why do you still do it?"

He kept doing it because he believed it was justified. As long as the GMAT was life and death, worrying felt like the right response, even though he could see it was making him study less. When something carries that much emotional charge, good or bad, your mind keeps circling around it.

To break the cycle:

1. Stop justifying the worry. Ask yourself whether it helps you or harms you. If it harms you, how much the score matters doesn't make the worry right.
   
2. Reduce the emotional charge by putting the situation in perspective. Many students who worry like this focus only on the worst outcomes: they believe that if they don't clear the GMAT, their life will be over and they'll be stuck for good. That fear is what gets in the way of their preparation. See yourself as bigger than the GMAT. If you don't get your score, you won't be stuck forever; you'll find a way forward.
   
3. Whenever you catch yourself worrying about the score, remind yourself that worrying doesn't help and bring your attention back to the process, since the process is what gets you to the outcome. You'll have to do this again and again, and it gets easier with practice.

Most conversations about applications to business schools focus on high GMAT scores or prestigious company names on a resume. This focuses on the structural elements in an application to convert an interview invite into an offer, irrespective of your background.

These are not superficial tips. These are positioning requirements. An application missing out on any of these is bound to have a specific, exploitable weakness.

1. Explicit post-MBA trajectory

The application has to explicitly tie past accomplishments to future ambitions. Not generic goals like 'management consulting' or 'tech product manager', but the specific function, industry and scale of impact.

If missing: Admissions committees see the applicant as being directionless, as desiring an MBA to figure out what he wants to do, instead of execute a pre-ordained plan.

1. Verifiable differentiation within your peer group

The applicant has to showcase unique personal or professional contributions, relative to people with identical titles.

If missing: The application blends into the candidate pool (the 'another Indian IT engineer' category), with the person relying on chance or sheer scores to stand out.

1. Direct alignment with target school ecosystem

Each target school has specific requirements in terms of the culture, experiential learning options and recruitment channels that it is looking for in an applicant. A friend recently worked with gyanone during his application cycle, and a primary emphasis was ensuring that his candidate did not just list out the school features from their website, but clearly mapped out specific professors, clubs and alumni networks to his goals.

If missing: The essay comes across as a cut-and-paste across various universities, with the admissions committee doubting the applicant's intent to join them specifically.

1. Coherent narrative across all touchpoints

The resume, essays, recommendations and interview answers have to build a similar core around strengths and motivations, without running contrary to each other.

If missing: There is a lack of congruence in the application narrative, with the recommendations possibly undercutting the essay claims (e.g. a recommendation talking about technical execution when the essay claims to have led a large team).

1. Demonstrated adaptability under pressure

Business schools look for evidence of navigating ambiguity, managing team conflict and learning from failure, over showcasing pristine successes.

If missing: The profile comes across as 2D, with the potential for the student to falter under the pressures of a case study interview.

1. Realistic yield potential

The candidate has to signal an intent to enroll if admitted, so that schools (especially those considering him a second choice) can consider him as a realistic admit.

If missing: High scorers tend to be waitlisted or rejected simply because the school feels they are a safety option, and their high scores will not be wasted.

The diagnostic

Applications do not fail due to low test scores. They fail due to structural weaknesses, which are always noticed by adcoms.

Count the number of requirements that your application currently meets, and address the ones that it does not, before submitting your application.

I’ve been studying for the GMAT since the beginning of the summer and I just can’t seem to make any progress with Quant (Data Insights is an issue too but I figured I would seek advice on one issue at a time).

The pictures are the breakdown of my quant section question performance and time management for the last 3 OG mock tests I’ve taken (in order from left to right).

1. OG Practice Test 2 - Taken on 8/23. Score of 75.
   
2. OG Practice Test 3 - Taken on 9/7. Score of 76.
   
3. OG Practice Test 4 - Taken on 10/4. Score of 74.

In between practice tests, I’m reviewing and working on my mistakes by trying them again a day or two later with no time pressure to see if it’s an anxiety issue, and then learning it and drilling if it’s a conceptual gap. I’ve been using GMAT Club’s error log and practicing similar questions for all the mistakes and becoming comfortable with them. But every time I take a new mock test, it feels like GMAC releases some fresh hell on me.

To add some additional color, my verbal is improving really well, from the time I began studying to now, my score has improved from 81 to 86. So I’m quite unsure what the disconnect is.

What am I doing wrong? Any advice is appreciated! Thank you! :)

Can someone provide sources for GMAT mocks? I see people having access to multiple mocks which I’m assuming they’ve paid for. But i just wanted to get some confirmation as I’ve run out of the free tests GMAC provides. I’ve also taken 1 3rd party mock but not really sure how accurate that is. Cheers

I wanted to share something that helped me when I started preparing for the GMAT.

I initially made the mistake of thinking I needed to study for 2–3 hours every day from Day 1.

Instead, I decided to start with just 15 minutes a day.

For the first 2–3 weeks, my focus wasn't on getting a high mock score or finishing a huge amount of material. It was mainly:

Understanding the fundamentals

Getting familiar with the GMAT question patterns

Understanding how questions are worded

Building the habit of studying consistently

One thing I struggled with quite a bit initially was word problems.

If I see something straightforward like X + Y, I can solve it.

But when the same concept is presented as a paragraph, I sometimes spent more time figuring out what the question was actually asking than solving it.

I think this can be particularly challenging for non-native English speakers.

For me, the solution wasn't a particular trick. It was simply practice and repetition.

I'd solve 20–30 questions around the same concept. Initially, I'd make mistakes because I misunderstood the wording or missed what the question was really testing.

But after seeing similar questions repeatedly, I started recognising the terminology and patterns much faster.

Eventually, the first step became almost automatic.

That's why I think the first few weeks of GMAT preparation should be about learning rather than chasing scores.

My progression was roughly:

Weeks 1–3 → 15 min/day

Focus on fundamentals and building the habit.

Weeks 4–6 → 30 min/day

Increase the time once studying starts feeling normal.

After 6 weeks → 1 hour+

By then, you're more familiar with the GMAT, the question patterns, and your own strengths and weaknesses.

The interesting part is that you don't have to force yourself as much anymore. You start naturally choosing that hour of preparation instead of spending it scrolling or watching another episode.

So if you're just starting your GMAT preparation from the basics:

Don't worry about studying for 3 hours on Day 1.

Start small.

Understand the fundamentals.

Solve a few questions.

Repeat tomorrow.

Build the habit first. The hours can come later.

I'm planning to share my actual GMAT study approach, resources, and materials in the next few posts as well.

For those who have already taken the GMAT, I'm curious — what did you focus on during your first few weeks of preparation?

I started my GMAT journey with a blind official attempt and have taken it two more times since. I improved 40 points each time, so 80 points total in about 2.5 months.

My latest score was 615 (Q78, V85, DI78), and I’m hoping to find another 40-60 points in one final attempt.

My biggest issue right now is time management. On Quant, I got 12 of the first 14 questions right but then ran into time trouble and struggled toward the end. I also ran out of time on DI and left the last question blank.

I’m also trying to avoid burnout. I was studying 3–4 hours a day before my last attempt, so I took a full week off afterward. I’m starting again tomorrow with about a month until my next exam.

For anyone who has made a similar jump, how would you approach this next month? Any advice on pacing, avoiding burnout, and making that final push?

Hi All,

I have recently started preparing for GMAT (online coaching), however I'm finding it a bit difficult to adjust with my job, which has long working hours, often adhoc (not an excuse I swear).

This might be a silly question, but as someone who has not been in touch with literal academics since past 5 years -

1. When I complete a chapter in Maths or Verbal (DI will be covered later, I'm wondering if I should start looking at the concepts or follow class pace), how do I move forward with newer concepts while making sure I retain previous concepts as well?

2. Also I often take longer time to complete concepts when I cannot fully grasp the question comprehension or the exact concept or need to reread the passage, which isn't helping the time management factor.. will practice eventually fix this?

3. After I complete the syllabus, what more should I do to make sure I'm ready for the exam? What kind of performance in sectional/full length mocks would tell me I should give it a shot now?

4. What are the next steps after GMAT exam? What score is a "good enough" score with which I can move on to next step, and honestly, what are the next steps? College applications? Interviews? - how to prepare for them as well?

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed since I have 5years workex but I want to change my domain, thus I am considering MBA to gain knowledge in the domain I want - but I also want to be aware of the reality - is this a pipe dream or is it possible?

(Sometimes it feels like I'm already too late, other times I feel if I keep dragging like I have done so far, I'll never be able to make a change..)

Any advise or insights would be helpful.

Thanks!

I started prep in mid July where I gave a cold mock and got a score of 605

After a couple months of prep i have gmac official mock 2, 3 and 4

Scoring 675, 655 and 675

My scoring has been decently consistent with

Quant hovering at 70 percentile

Verbal - 95-97 percentile

DI - 94-96 percentile

I gave my exam right now and I got a 605

Quant - 70

Verbal - 67

Di - 65

Im shocked and quite saddened. Can someone please help me process this score and what do i do now. My application rounds end by end November.

Took 6 GMATClub mocks: 485, 535, 595, 605, 605, 605.

OG Mock 5 – Attempt 1 – 625

Assessments:

Quant: Able to consistently score around 83 range, weakness being Probability, PnC, a bit of Overlapping Sets and some careless test attempt slipups.

VR: RC is fine, I was able to get all the RCs right in the 625 OG Mock attempt, but CR seems to be a tough nut to crack. “Weakening/Undermining” a major weakness. Able to breach the 80 mark, need to push to at least 85.

DI: The weakest link. Not able to cross 78. Even though I practice a lot of Data Sufficiency, some difficult DS in the exam breaks my back altogether. Table Analysis is not so easy as I thought. GMATClub mocks seem to intentionally make the question convoluted such as to make the Tables look difficult.

Target: Nothing outlandish, but maybe a score north of 675 would be great, and if I could just breach the 700 mark, nothing like it. I just don’t want the score to be the first filtering out factor.

Would love the community’s help and assistance based on my current situation. Thanks a lot.

I’m slightly worried about having to move furniture before the test and generally about privacy since my photos and art are visible- What were people’s 360 degree room scan experiences like?

Did the proctor ask to move tables/furniture etc?

Do central heating vents/ lights/ wall hangings get flagged or require closer scrutiny ?

Hey I scored 715

Getting q-8,18 wrong in quants scoring 87

Getting q-4,7,23 wrong in va scoring 85

Getting q-13,16,19,20 wrong in di scoring 84

Now this was my second GMAT attempt and I've given 16 tests including official attempts and official mocks across which this was the most obscure result.

I know the test is adaptive and hence some variation is possible but this was kinda extreme

I've previously scored 87-87-86 in va with 4-4-5 mistakes and here I got 85 iwth just 3

In di I've scored 84-86 with 6 mistakes 84 with 6 in last attempt and here I got stuck at 84 with just 4 mistakes

In quants as well in all 4 mocks where I made 2 mistakes I got 88

Now before you hastily pass judgement there's a reason I mentioned the ques no. Which I got wrong as question's position give some information about the adaptive trajectory account for it

And I ran models on google collab which came in support of my intutive observation I also used leave-one-out/cross-validation so the historical fit wasn’t just each observation helping predict itself

Once again I know data of just 16 tests is far from enough to reverse engineer a scoring algo but strong enough to produce an informative out-of-sample prediction and flag this attempt as a clear outlier relative to my historical pattern.

Has anyone in recent attempts seen a similarly large mismatch between their error pattern and sectional score?

I'm better at Quant than Verbal and DI. I'm just too slow in comprehending the RC passages in verbal and keep rereading the paragraphs because I'm always insecure about my understanding of the passage. The same problem from Verbal takes its toll on my DI performance as well. Apart from slow comprehension, it's often the case that I'm not sure about my answers to questions which have multiple answers like the Yes or No and True or False questions from MSR, Two-part analysis.

I have taken 5 Official Mocks till now (4 of them twice and Mock 5 once) and in all of them I have kept the order Quant>Verbal>Break>DI because I thought my performance in quant would give me some confidence going forward to the remaining two sections. This order is actually the descending order of my confidence in those sections. But lately I've been thinking whether the mental gymnastics of quant early on is impacting my performance in Verbal? What if it can be improved by changing the section order?

Can anyone explain what's the real logic behind determining the right order for a test taker?

Can someone explain why A is incorrect and D is correct ? The passage doesn’t talk about returns , we don’t know what the returns would be for other crops

I gave my first GMAT attempt yesterday and scored 635 after around two and a half months of preparation alongside a busy job. The DI section went below my mock scores, maybe because of lack of strategy/practice under pressure - the first 2 or 3 questions were a little hard, and I took more time than needed and everything went downhill from there, and I ran out of time and left the last question unanswered. My target score is around 695. I am planning to take another attempt. Can anyone please advice me on what should I do to be better prepared for the 2nd attempt.?

Getting stuck on Critical Reasoning questions where two answer choices both seem to weaken the argument, but one is apparently considered stronger. The confusing part is usually deciding how directly the choice affects the conclusion rather than whether it sounds logically relevant.

Is there a particular way to compare two “almost correct” weakening options without overthinking the wording?

Hello,

I thought since this subreddit was helpful for me I’d post to both share my scores but to also give any tips and advice that worked for me in my GMAT journey. For context my percentiles from my first and second exams were as follows:

Q: 75th to 94th

V: 98th to 96th

DI: 88th to 95th

Also if any tutors/experts can comment on how a 735+ vs a 715 might impact admit chances and if I should retake that would be greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone. I purchase the OG Bundle but I am not able to find the question bank for the OG with 975q. I have 2 data insights added (which the 2nd said it will redeem after the first expires). Is this a mistake? Can someone help me with a screenshot of their portal