Hi All, (sorry for the long post) GMAT - 420-570-590-700 ; Admitted at Harvard Business School for class of 2014. I wanted to share my two cents about my experience with GMAT and MBA application process. Before I start the saga, I wanted to thank all the leadership of Gmat Club, Alumni of this legendary forum, and active users for sharing all the information and support. Though I was never an active poster in the forum, I believe I made use of all resources GMATCLUB has to offer to my fullest of abilities. I sincerely like to express my gratitude to all. I read a quote by Einstein and I believe it applies to me rightly – It read, “It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer”. I believe there are much better post here on the forum that will tell you the intricacies about how you can boost your score with conceptual knowledge, so I will not bore you with resources I used, exams I wrote etc etc… It’s all the same but I will talk about things I did, which kept me going through the thick and thins in the process. I would not necessarily recommend that you try this at home but I am sure some can relate and hopefully will believe that there IS light at the end of the tunnel. Long long ago, Year 2006: I got fascinated by the thought of getting an MBA from a Top Business School. Learnt about an animal called GMAT and how big a pain in the a** it was. I put my first binder of GMAT material together. I soon forgot about it and started using that to be my scratch paper for other routine work. Status quo - Still graduating from school and had no job Year 2007: Ha! Got a job in a Business Jet Manufacturing company and guess what! I was still collecting material for GMAT from all resources I can get my hands on. I din even know what GMAT structure looked like but I kept collecting material that would say Gmat on it. Year 2008: Got Married! GMAT was going no where so I decided on joining an online class that would get me into a discipline to study. I learnt that MGMAT was the best out there. I registered for the online class. I was asked to give a mock test to asses where I was, SO I followed the instructions and scored a CRUSHER! – 420 on the exam of MGMAT. I was told that MGMAT was +or – 30 point off the real exam and my hopes of getting a 700 where butchered. Thinking I wasted my money in even registering for the class, I continued… I finished the class and gave GMAT prep multiple time, only to fool myself and see 700+ scores on my practice exams … Parallely, From this forum, I learnt about how much non-profit work was important for the MBA schools and I joined a Non-profit management association in my company in a committee officer role and actively pursued opportunities every where else - IMPORTANT STUFF. Year 2009: Early Jan. I gave my first official attempt on GMAT. Left 3 questions on verbal unanswered and scored a Q48 V21 AWA 6.0(Thanks to Chinese burned) - 570 and I was like really! I did a post exam review with MGMAT . I took a break for 2 months and figured I would give a good shot later that year. I would have never come back to do GMAT again if I would not have repeated the class of MGMAT for $300. I wasn’t learning anything new but I needed to do something to keep up my continuity so I created a group of people, who I can study with offline. I gathered 6 people from the class and took up the role to host a meeting almost daily or weekly to talk about GMAT. I realized that a leadership role got me to do things I would never do – Organizing my study pattern, chewing a question until we know what are the lessons learnt, Be ahead of the group to bring insights, solve more questions , do more research etc etc… GMAT was no more an exam but an evening past time. Even if I did not study, I talked GMAT and MBA schools to keep up my motivation. Lesson learnt – You teach, you share information only to become the master of that subject. I am not native English speaker but I could see myself getting better at SCs. I did this for an year, I was doing good at SCs, ignored quant, CR and RC were left to GOD! I read book and CR and RCs but I don believe I had any structure when it came to practice CR and RCs. Year 2010: Feb 2010, I gave my official GMAT again. I thought I did pretty well. I even had a RED BULL between the break.. Felt no lack of energy or time… I agreed to send my score to schools like Harvard and I was so ready to see my score. It blew my mind when I say a V29,Q43 AWA 5.5 – a 590. Tsunamis went through my brain and I lost hope in hardwork, prayers, and cursed GMAT for what it was. I came home..My friend (who scored 690) told me that may be I am not built for GMAT. My parents suggested to move on. I was close to believing that people who get 700+ on first attempt are super human and I was probably some kind of an outcast. I churned this fact for a month and told myself I would not give up. I have come so far, I know 85% of the stuff, If I give up now…I would waste all the effort, I would let myself down, I will prove everybody, who did not believe in me, right. I told myself that the last stretch is the most difficult and I will not give up when I am so close to the finish line. One by one, people from my group disappeared and I was left with 1 guy – Abishek Boinpally, whom I met regularly to share my GMAT virtual enthusiasm with. Only good thing happened this year was I got promoted at work. Year 2011: The leap for me was beyond imagination, I needed a jump from 590 to 700, A 110 points, which was an indicator I should quit GMAT. Beginning of 2011, I knew RC and CR were my weakness in GMAT. I evaluated my exam simulations, I reviewed all error logs, I created voice memos to revise formulae and cheat sheets, I created a template that I will follow in the exam for my scratch work, and the day before the exam, I followed the advice to relax, meditate, and play in the rain . I went to the exam with Redbull and a sandwich (Realizing that RedBull just doesn’t help by itself). I thought I bombed my quant, I felt great about Verbal. I did not select any schools to send my scores too and I din read any screens and stopped clicking the NEXT button only when I reached the Score page. I looked at the score and kept thinking that it is all over and couldn’t imagine how life will be without GMAT – I saw V38 Q47 – 700. Seems a lot to go through for the same GMAT that some individuals crack in the first attempt with 760s Hats off to all of you who did it! My qualitative analysis of GMAT is that you need to learn the content and then learn to write the test, things such as timing, techniques to increase comprehension, shortcuts, how to use scratch paper etc… I apologize, never thought this would become a real epic and I will put people to sleep. I wanted it to be a one page long piece. I would continue the admission into Harvard in the next post if there is any interest. Thanks for staying with me if you are still reading! Best, Abhishek

Many Congrats Abhishek !! Hats off to your patience & 'Never give-up' attitude I am fighting the GMAT too and your post is really encouraging

Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 00:17

It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 00:17

Toolkit

Share GMAT Experience

GMAT Club Daily Prep

Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.

Go to My Error Log Learn more

Request Expert Reply

Confirm Cancel

Nov 18
GMAT Quiz #50 - Live GMAT Practice Covering Quant, Verbal, RC, & Data Insights
11:00 AM PST
-
12:00 PM PST
Join us in a live GMAT practice session and solve 30 challenging GMAT questions with other test takers in timed conditions, covering GMAT Quant, Data Sufficiency, Data Insights, Reading Comprehension, and Critical Reasoning questions.
Nov 22
GMAT RC Masterclass
11:00 AM IST
-
01:00 PM IST
Do RC/MSR passages scare you? e-GMAT is conducting a masterclass to help you learn – Learn effective reading strategies Tackle difficult RC & MSR with confidence Excel in timed test environment
Nov 23
Conquer Algebra on the GMAT Focus Edition
11:00 AM IST
-
01:00 PM IST
Attend this free GMAT Algebra Webinar and learn how to master the most challenging Inequalities and Absolute Value problems with ease.
Nov 25
Try OnDemand GMAT Masterclass
10:00 AM EST
-
11:00 AM EST
Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors.

Back to Forum

Create Topic

420-570-590-700-Harvard Business School

1 2 3 4

CamiloCarellan

Joined: 25 Jul 2011

Last visit: 17 Apr 2013

Posts: 10

Kudos: 0

11 May 2012, 13:02

Kudos

Bookmarks

Truly and inspirational story. Congrats! Could you please share with us a little bit of your application to HBS? Also, did you apply to any other school?

kuttingchai

Joined: 28 Jul 2011

Last visit: 17 Oct 2016

Posts: 126

Own Kudos:

449

Given Kudos: 16

Schools: Yale '16 Booth '16 ISB '14 LBS '16

Posts: 126

Kudos: 449

12 May 2012, 07:09

Kudos

Bookmarks

Congrats thats impressive, like to hear your experience with Harvard Business School admissions

wonderplanet

Joined: 14 Dec 2011

Last visit: 22 Jun 2012

Posts: 7

Given Kudos: 38

Posts: 7

Kudos: 0

14 May 2012, 08:17

Kudos

Bookmarks

Many Congrats Abhishek !! Hats off to your patience & 'Never give-up' attitude :clap:

I am fighting the GMAT too :2gunfire:

and your post is really encouraging :thumbup:

massi2884

Joined: 03 Apr 2012

Last visit: 28 Feb 2018

Posts: 5

Own Kudos:

304

Posts: 5

Kudos: 304

14 May 2012, 08:55

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi Abhishek,

thanks for sharing the experience. One question: why the class of 2014? I thought applications were now valid for 2013. Could you please explain?

Thanks.

GODSPEED

Joined: 24 Sep 2008

Last visit: 06 Aug 2012

Posts: 126

Own Kudos:

1,215

Given Kudos: 7

Schools:MIT / INSEAD / IIM - ABC

GPA: 3.6

Posts: 126

Kudos: 1,215

15 May 2012, 01:51

Kudos

Bookmarks

massi2884

Hi Abhishek,

thanks for sharing the experience. One question: why the class of 2014? I thought applications were now valid for 2013. Could you please explain?

Thanks.

My 2 cents, I suppose by Class of 2014 means - passing out year is 2014 & entry year is 2012 (possibly in Sep'12)....

Cheers

suniel429

Joined: 30 Mar 2012

Last visit: 23 Feb 2015

Posts: 3

Given Kudos: 2

Posts: 3

Kudos: 0

15 May 2012, 12:25

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi..I gave my GMAT today and got Q48 V19 550...Really disappointed wid my performance in Verbal..I couldnt concentrate as i didnt had anything in breaks..n eat very little in the morning ..I would suggest everyone who is planning 4 giving gmat..carry some eatables with u..it would help..there is no excuze for a bad score in verbal but i used to get V24-26 in mock test...i m sure others will learn frm my mistakes n i would b planning for my gmat soon

sandyacegmat

Joined: 17 Jun 2008

Last visit: 17 Dec 2022

Posts: 9

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 11

Products:

Schools: Sloan Fellows"19 (S)

GMAT 1: 610 Q47 V27 Verified score

Posts: 9

Kudos: 3

15 May 2012, 16:02

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi Abhi,

Congratulations! I am traveling in the same boat as you were before you scored 700.

I took my GMAT today and got 570 Q 47 , V 21. This is lesser that I got in my previous attempt 600. Guess your post do tell people never give up anything when you have a final leap to finish.

Let me gear up and try to read something on verbal to help me get a break through in score.

Cheers!

rakp

Joined: 21 Feb 2008

Last visit: 13 Sep 2012

Posts: 28

Own Kudos:

160

Given Kudos: 3

Location: United States

Concentration: Marketing, Nonprofit

Posts: 28

Kudos: 160

22 May 2012, 21:08

Kudos

Bookmarks

Wow what a motivating story, yours is!! I am in the same boat where it's hard to sometimes identify with people who score 760 on their first attempt whereas you put your heart and soul into it and have a 620 to show for it. Congrats on a great score and most importantly for getting into Harvard.
Thanks for sharing your story.

vgutsc

Joined: 25 Dec 2011

Last visit: 21 Nov 2016

Posts: 16

Own Kudos:

Status:waiting...

Location: Canada

Concentration: General Management, Strategy

Schools: HBS '15 (D) Stanford '15 (D) Ross '15 (A) Kellogg '15 (D) Darden '15 (D) Tuck '15 (WA)

GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40 Verified score

GPA: 3.66

WE:Other (Accounting)

Schools: HBS '15 (D) Stanford '15 (D) Ross '15 (A) Kellogg '15 (D) Darden '15 (D) Tuck '15 (WA)

GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40 Verified score

Posts: 16

Kudos: 6

26 May 2012, 18:14

Kudos

Bookmarks

i just got my gmat score today..also 700..i am still thinking about re-writing the GMAT again...HBS is also my dream school!!

GetThisDone

Retired Moderator

Joined: 23 Oct 2011

Last visit: 11 Nov 2018

Posts: 177

Own Kudos:

2,731

Given Kudos: 23

Posts: 177

Kudos: 2,731

28 May 2012, 03:10

Kudos

Bookmarks

Congratulations Abhishek!! Very inspiring to see you how made it through ups and downs.

Could you please more details of your apps/profile and admissions. a lot of us on this thread are eager to hear more from you.

Abhishek.pitti

Joined: 08 Dec 2006

Last visit: 12 Sep 2021

Posts: 55

Own Kudos:

185

[4]

Given Kudos: 3

Location: United States

Concentration: Entrepreneurship, General Management

Schools: Harvard Business School (HBS) - Class of 2014

GPA: 3.64

WE:Engineering (Aerospace and Defense)

Schools: Harvard Business School (HBS) - Class of 2014

Posts: 55

Kudos: 185

[4]

01 Jun 2012, 05:07

Kudos

Bookmarks

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you so much for the best wishes. I am very happy I could make difference in how you feel about GMAT.

I wanted share an even better news that gave me shock waves in recent past post admission.

1) 100% financial fellowship for tuition from Harvard

2) A pre 5 months MBA internship at Blackstone, a private equity firm

so I guess it was worth getting into Harvard after all.

I am working on my post for Harvard and Beyond and will post soon.

Thank you for your patience.

Best,

Abhishek

alchemist009

Joined: 22 Apr 2011

Last visit: 06 Oct 2016

Posts: 102

Own Kudos:

662

Given Kudos: 18

Concentration: Accounting

Schools:Mccombs business school, Mays business school, Rotman Business School,

GPA: 3.44

Posts: 102

Kudos: 662

02 Jun 2012, 22:10

Kudos

Bookmarks

hats off buddy. your perseverance really astonished me and reminds me one quote " some people are successful because they are fortunate enough, and some people earn success because they are determined

i am inspired

paras123

Joined: 18 Mar 2012

Last visit: 29 Jun 2014

Posts: 27

Own Kudos:

165

Given Kudos: 19

Status:the final crusade is on

Location: India

Schools: Said (M) Goizueta 1YR '14 (A)

GMAT 1: 570 Q45 V23 Verified score

GMAT 2: 590 Q44 V27 Verified score

GMAT 3: 680 Q47 V37 Verified score

Schools: Said (M) Goizueta 1YR '14 (A)

GMAT 3: 680 Q47 V37 Verified score

Posts: 27

Kudos: 165

11 Jun 2012, 07:09

Kudos

Bookmarks

hats off !!!

mate you really have infused new blood in my retake quest of GMAT ( after 2 attempts - dismal 590)
planning to take in AUG 1st week.
Hope to replicate your success.

andrew91v

Joined: 26 May 2012

Last visit: 07 Sep 2012

Posts: 34

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 1

Posts: 34

Kudos: 1

11 Jun 2012, 07:23

Kudos

Bookmarks

what kind of work experience did you have?

veneetvishal

Joined: 09 May 2012

Last visit: 08 May 2013

Posts: 1

Own Kudos:

Location: United States

Concentration: Finance, General Management

GMAT Date: 06-29-2012

GPA: 3.15

WE:General Management (Finance: Investment Banking)

Posts: 1

Kudos: 5

21 Jun 2012, 10:44

Kudos

Bookmarks

congrats..
can u share how were your scores in mock GMAT's (with test names) prior to scoring 700?

abhinav15189

Joined: 28 May 2012

Last visit: 24 Apr 2013

Posts: 2

Kudos: 0

21 Jun 2012, 15:22

Kudos

Bookmarks

Inspiring indeed.........Congrats to you and your family......Cheers!!

jrajagopal85

Joined: 18 Jul 2011

Last visit: 18 Apr 2014

Posts: 1

Kudos: 0

21 Jun 2012, 19:34

Kudos

Bookmarks

Congrats. Well done. Your post is inspirational to me.

handamanik

Joined: 13 Mar 2011

Last visit: 10 Sep 2018

Posts: 7

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 4

Schools: Stern '16 ISB '15 HKUST '16 (S)

Posts: 7

Kudos: 6

21 Jun 2012, 21:47

Kudos

Bookmarks

Awesome...Congrats dude!

amazingshruts

Joined: 18 Jun 2012

Last visit: 18 Apr 2013

Posts: 1

Given Kudos: 1

Posts: 1

Kudos: 0

22 Jun 2012, 11:12

Kudos

Bookmarks

Amazing story man........

Hats off to your patience. Please continue with your Harward story.

farooqshaik

Joined: 11 Mar 2012

Last visit: 24 Sep 2017

Posts: 1

Given Kudos: 1

Posts: 1

Kudos: 0

25 Jun 2012, 13:08

Kudos

Bookmarks

Congrats Abhishek...waiting for your Harvard story...

1 2 3 4

Moderator:

Founder

42384 posts

Prep Toolkit

Announcements

Master in Management, Finance, Business Analytics and more Master’s Programs!

Solving 705+ Level MSR Questions with Data Synthesis Skils

Tuesday, Nov 18, 2025
10:30am NY / 3:30pm London / 9pm Mumbai

Live Profile Evaluation Chat Session with ARINGO

Wednesday, November 19, 2025
09:00 am PDT | 10:30 pm IST
Location: GMAT Club Chat

Top GMAT Focus Debriefs

	Magoosh increases your score, guaranteed - 15% off ALL Magoosh GMAT plans with code GMATCLUB15 + Free GMAT Club Tests.
	Manhattan Prep: $79 Bonus Score Higher on Your GMAT Exam. Guaranteed.
	Target Test Prep - Save up to $325 $200 Discount + $79 Bonus GMAT Club Tests
	e-GMAT: 60% Off on GMAT Focus Get to 735+ from any starting point
	Experts' Global - ~~$1720~~ $960 End-to-End GMAT Prep + App Support: 150+ Videos, 2000+ Questions, 15 FLTs +
	GMATWhiz - $299 ~~$499~~ Experience the course through a free trial.
	GMAT Club Tests - Free Included with every course purchase of $149+ View all deals

420-570-590-700-Harvard Business School

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards