Quant - ~1-4 errors; Verbal - ~1-4 errors; DI - limited timing and difficult MSR - 5-10 errors.
Untimed, can solve everything. 100% conceptual clarity. Engineering background (99.2 percentile in JEE MAIN).

I have completed the TOP course material (all videos and select PDFs) and sectional tests + FL tests from GMATclub. Please help. I am exhausted at this point and any suggestions would be helpful. Should I switch to GRE? Get a private tutor? PLEASE HELP ME. PLEASE HELP WITH ANY STRATEGIES TO BRING DOWN WRONG QUESTIONS COUNT FROM 5-10 to 2-5 in DI. PLEASE. I feel like crying everyday because of this.

I understand that people have their own strengths but personally, as conceited as it may sound, I've never given the actual exam so I believe I'll ace it. My exam is in less than a month and I haven't done anything beyond page 40 of the OG Guide but I've been practising questions haphazardly since college because I've always enjoyed GMAT questions even recreationally.

Is there a logical reason besides safety and not taking risks over your future for me to buck up and take these next few weeks super seriously? I genuinely struggle to understand how even the smartest people on reddit are saying they finished prep in 3 months and other people are going mad like how. I KNOW I'm not that smart but at the same time 3 months to me seems like an insane amount of time. And I say this with a full time job.

I'm not a prodigy of any kind and actually rather stupid, quite often, but I have this notion that partly the exam comes kinda comparatively easy to me but also it feels like knowing the rules and tricks is all I can do because how in the world do I otherwise prepare for every possible question beyond getting a habit of answering them?

Hey guys, I took my 1st gmat mock 2 weeks back scored a 535, before this I was building foundation by watching videos and practicing a bit , but now I’ve fallen into a rut , I’m not able to move my score up or able to study , I mean I do solve 20 questions everyday from each section, I’ve been solving the og and I’m able to solve it but coming to the mock, I end up panicking and end up getting the questions wrong. I don’t want to stretch out my preparation because I know I will lose the pace. I want to score a 685, so can anyone help me with how to move my score up and how long should I stretch out the prep to be able to score a 685.

Just took my first gmat focus today. 555 (79 Quant, 80 Verbal, 74 DI). I also have 50% additional time.

My goal is 650 and I have just about 65 days between today and my next test.

What are the realistic expectations of study hours per day? And # practice tests or quizzes per week? I need to break 650 and am willing to do anything at this point.

I am enrolled in a gmat group class which assigns daily homework and provides structure which I definitely need.

Starting to experience burnout (full time job / part time job)

2 uninterrupted hours a day
6 days a week

Any tips on how to move past this?

"Can you hear the music, Robert?" - Niels Bohr

Struggling with Verbal? This post might help you identify what’s actually going wrong.

Let's talk about music. Sometimes, music just plays in the background. You hear the sounds, but nothing really stays with you.

Then there are moments when you’re completely immersed in a song. You understand the lyrics, anticipate the beats, and feel connected to the rhythm without consciously trying. Everything feels cohesive.

That difference is very similar to the difference between reading and comprehending on the GMAT.

Comprehension vs Reading

All of us read. Not all of us comprehend.

Reading is passive. Your eyes move across the words, but your brain never fully engages with the ideas. You finish the passage, but nothing really sticks.

Comprehension is active. You understand the exact meaning of each sentence and mentally connect the ideas into a clear story. You can visualise the argument, predict where the author is going, and remember the structure naturally.

When that happens, Verbal starts feeling far less complicated.

You can actually observe this same effect in music. When you’re immersed in a song, the beats stop feeling random because your brain understands the underlying pattern. The experience feels smooth and connected.

RC and CR work the same way. Most students struggle not because the questions are impossibly difficult, but because they never fully connect with the passage or argument in the first place.

As a result:

• We forget details quickly
• We reread excessively
• We lose track of the author’s logic
• Every answer choice starts sounding equally reasonable

Why is this Crucial?

Once comprehension improves, your relationship with Verbal changes completely.

You stop relying on vague instincts and start understanding the logic behind the passage. RC passages feel more organised, CR arguments become easier to manipulate, and difficult questions stop feeling chaotic.

One of the biggest reasons students fail to improve is that the brain constantly tries to conserve energy. Real comprehension is mentally demanding, so the mind defaults to superficial reading unless you actively force deeper engagement.

That’s why simply “doing more questions” often doesn’t solve the problem.

How to Fix It

Practice active comprehension daily for 30–40 minutes.

While reading:

• Connect ideas actively
• Ask yourself why each sentence exists
• Predict where the author is going next
• Visualise whatever you read
• Notice when your mind drifts into passive reading - pull it back

This process feels slower initially, but over time, it dramatically improves retention, clarity, and accuracy.

Developing deep comprehension was the single biggest reason my Verbal performance improved rapidly.

Aakkash Singh
V90 Tutor | Building CentPrep.com | Affordable & High Quality GMAT Verbal Learning

Just took my first official GMAT Focus mock with zero preparation and scored 515.

Verbal Reasoning: 80 — 56th percentile
Quantitative Reasoning: 78 — 50th percentile
Data Insights: 68 — 14th percentile

6 years of work experience, founded two businesses in freight logistics and tyre trading and NGO experience . Haven’t touched formal academics in years so the cold start was expected. I pick data insights to be the last section and im not used to 2hr exams anymore so the fatigue really hit me and this whole test just ended up being a non serious attempt. But this mock helped me realise i need to brush up my fundamentals and get back into reading.

Target score: 700+ for MBA applications targeting fall 2027. Schools I’m looking at include ISB, INSEAD, LBS, HEC Paris, NUS, and a few US T25 schools. Exam timeline: aiming for August 2026 — roughly 3 months of prep.

Data Insights at 14th percentile is my biggest gap and first priority. Verbal is my strongest section so less urgent work needed there. Quant at 50th percentile needs systematic improvement but isn’t catastrophic.

Im a first gen graduate so i don’t really have anyone to guide me through the process. Im not really sure which resources to pick and how to go about the preparation.

Appreciate any honest advice, especially from people who started in the 500s and broke 700.

Can we please stop with the generic “How do I become a top 1% MBA applicant in 3 years?”

This is a GMAT subreddit, not a free MBA admissions consulting service. Hardly do I see people posting doubts or sharing interesting solutions to tough problems.

Every other day it’s the same template:

• Here is my profile
• Here are all my weaknesses
• Tell me exactly how to optimize my life for the next 3 years
• Brutal honesty plsssss

No prior research, no specific question, just “map out my entire MBA strategy for me.”

A GMAT score is a test score, not a magic crutch that fixes a weak profile. A 775 won’t rescue poor work experience, lack of impact, weak execution, or a generic application. Top MBA programs are not selecting for people who can just perform well on an exam. 

This is not CAT (an Indian MBA admission exam which primarily decides your admission to Indian MBA colleges such as IIMs)

And no one on Reddit can give you a magical checklist to become a “top 1% applicant.” Admissions don’t work that way.

Ask specific, researched questions:

• GMAT prep strategy where you present your variables, patterns and are looking for something like, "I struggle with inference type questions, especially the HARD CR questions." - backed by data from your error log
• Section weaknesses
• Score improvement issues

But these broad “engineer my entire profile for me” posts are low-effort and always get the same generic answers anyway

so I have
10th - 90 %
12th - 70%
Btech in CS from tier 2 or upper tier 3 college

then I have 2 years of experience in a mid size company

I have one passion project of a sleepwear brand that has sold 30 sku for now
and I have a registered digital marketing agency which have made like 90k of revenue

my Gmat score is also around 685

To save many like me, sharing a genuine review, spent around 1 lac on TOP, 1st time without using subscription was wasted since I didnt have time. Again took subscription despite many warning from friends that TOP is worst, still I was blinded by Sandeep Gupta lectures telling big big stories, I took it & wasted 1 year studying from his nonsense classes. Dropped on confidence, zero gmat prep and frustrated and finally Admission delayed. The kind of frustration felt after TOP experiance is unexplainable. Guys, if you dont want to harass yourself, please dont go with TOP.

I am switching to GRE now, if anyone has experiance/suggestions for GRE, please help.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to improve my verbal score and resources that helped?

Not taken the GMAT yet but wanna make sure I do things the right way. First up, I'm a horrible test taker, so know that up front. And that has me considering paying for a tutor or something. And I keep seeing ads and posts about the 'top' or 'best' GMAT prep courses but I'm skeptical… Like, are they worth it or did you end up self-studying anyway? Trying not to waste cash since my current job barely pays enough as is (nonprofit life is rewarding but not financially!). Is it worth splurging on something like coaching? Would love to hear honest stories, good or bad!

[FIXED NOW - Checked on 20/05/2026]

Hi Guys,

So wanted to check with you'll if anyone else is also facing this issue on the portal.

On the portal, while I am trying to solve questions for Data Insights Review 2025-26, the total question count is shown as 289 ( I haven't solved a single question so far).

Now, when I choose the mode "Filter by difficulty", the available question count suddenly drops down to 118.

Now say I choose only Easy Questions for Data Sufficiency, the available count first shows as 36, however, once I click on start session, the question count mysteriously jumps to 54.

SS attached

https://preview.redd.it/qbbn5vv6k52h1.png?width=1907&format=png&auto=webp&s=0d9586682e0552f0f093ad97ffd2a38a4a808b5b

https://preview.redd.it/vihi7y68k52h1.png?width=1888&format=png&auto=webp&s=bd49fd40a2b6c50adbc82d530b519bd2d9fd7a7e

I have just discovered about the gmat , I will have around 3 months to prepare it.
I just wanted to know which resources and sites are best to prepare.
I was thinking of buying the official books.
What’s your advice? Thank you

If anyone who doesn't need the physical OG books anymore and are willing to give it away/sell. Please let me know.

I am from Delhi, India.

Kindly brief on this one please🙏