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" Description: Top scores are possible when you enroll in a powerful GMAT course, taught live online + 6 months access to TTP OnDemand video courses included! Class starts Tues/Thur Sept. 29, 2026 - Dec. 3, 2026, 11:00am-1:00pm EST
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25 Sep 2026, 13:24
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I decided I wanted to go to business school early last year. Once I made that decision, I started researching the GMAT, different study strategies, prep providers, and what kind of score I should be targeting.
For some reason, during that initial research, I decided that 675 was my dream score. It became the number I had in my head from the beginning.
I came across Target Test Prep while looking for study materials. The reviews were excellent, and a couple of friends had also recommended it to me, so I decided to give it a try.
Starting TTP — but not really taking it seriously
I started using TTP around the middle of last year, but at first I was extremely casual about it. I would study whenever I had some free time, sometimes consistently and sometimes not at all.
By February of this year, I had completed only around 10% of the course.
That was when I decided that if I really wanted to go to business school, I needed to take the GMAT seriously. I set my first official exam for June and started studying much more intensely. The problem was that I was essentially racing against the clock.
I got to my first official exam having barely "finished" the material three days before the test. I walked into the test center hoping all the studying would somehow come together.
It didn't.
Official Attempt #1: 555.
I was extremely disappointed.
At the same time, I tried to rationalize it. I had taken only one official mock before the real exam, so I told myself:
"Okay. Treat this as another mock. Now you know what the real exam feels like."
One month later: Attempt #2
I scheduled another attempt for about a month later. This time, I decided that I had already learned the material and what I needed was exam practice. So I dedicated those weeks almost entirely to taking mocks.
I took four official mocks, with scores ranging roughly from 595 to 655.
Going into my second attempt, I basically told myself:
"Okay, this is probably my range."
Then came the second official exam.
595.
I still remember how I felt when I saw that score. It was horrendous.
The 555 had hurt, but this one was different. After the first attempt, I could point to obvious things I had done wrong. After the second attempt, I genuinely felt like I had done everything I could.
For the first time, I started thinking:
"Maybe this is just too hard for me."
Then I got an email from Scott
Not long after that attempt, I received an email from Scott at TTP. He was simply reaching out to see how things were going.
I explained everything to him — how I had studied, my mock scores, my two official attempts, and how frustrated I was.
And that conversation completely changed the way I looked at my preparation.
Scott helped me realize something that seems obvious to me now:
I had never actually gone through the TTP course the way it was designed to be used.
When going through the chapters, I would complete the Easy, Medium, and Hard chapter tests until I reached the required accuracy.
For example, if there were five tests available and I hit the accuracy target on the first one, I would think:
"Great. I know this topic."
And then I would skip the remaining four.
I had done this throughout the course.
Even worse, I had never even used TTP's Practice Phase.
I thought I had "finished" TTP.
In reality, I had skipped a huge part of the process.
Changing my approach
This is where I have to give Scott a ton of credit.
He didn't just tell me to "study more" or "practice my weak areas."
He took the time to understand exactly what I had done, identify where my preparation had gone wrong, and build an ultra-detailed personalized plan for me.
The plan included going back and covering the material and tests I had skipped, while also properly completing the Practice Phase that I hadn't even touched before my first two attempts.
So I decided to give myself two more months.
And this time, instead of trying to reinvent the process, I followed the plan.
The final attempt
Two months after scoring 595, I walked into the test center again.
I felt confident because I knew I was much better prepared than before.
But I was also incredibly nervous.
In my mind, this was going to be my last attempt. I had already spent so much time and energy on the GMAT, and I didn't want this process to continue indefinitely.
I finished the exam and eventually got to that final screen.
I clicked submit.
695.
97th percentile.
I genuinely couldn't believe what I was looking at.
I had to rub my eyes a couple of times and look at the screen again to make sure I wasn't imagining it.
After starting this journey with 675 as my dream score, after the 555, after the 595, after wondering whether the GMAT was simply too difficult for me...
I had scored 20 points ABOVE my original dream score.
The journey was finally over.
555 → 595 → 695
Looking back, my biggest lesson is that there is a huge difference between going through study material and following a study program the way it was designed.
For my first two attempts, I thought I had done everything possible. The reality was that I had been taking shortcuts without even realizing they were shortcuts.
TTP gave me the material I needed from the beginning, but it wasn't until Scott helped me understand how to actually use the program that everything came together.
So if you're currently stuck at a score and wondering whether you've hit your ceiling, I can definitely relate.
A 555 made 675 feel very far away.
A 595 after another month of studying made it feel even further away.
And two months later, that same journey ended with a 695.
Huge thanks to Scott and the TTP team for the support throughout the process — and especially for reaching out at exactly the moment when I needed someone to help me figure out what I was doing wrong.
Dream score: 675.
Final score: 695.
Sometimes the problem isn't that you can't get there.
You may just need to change how you're preparing.
For some reason, during that initial research, I decided that 675 was my dream score. It became the number I had in my head from the beginning.
I came across Target Test Prep while looking for study materials. The reviews were excellent, and a couple of friends had also recommended it to me, so I decided to give it a try.
Starting TTP — but not really taking it seriously
I started using TTP around the middle of last year, but at first I was extremely casual about it. I would study whenever I had some free time, sometimes consistently and sometimes not at all.
By February of this year, I had completed only around 10% of the course.
That was when I decided that if I really wanted to go to business school, I needed to take the GMAT seriously. I set my first official exam for June and started studying much more intensely. The problem was that I was essentially racing against the clock.
I got to my first official exam having barely "finished" the material three days before the test. I walked into the test center hoping all the studying would somehow come together.
It didn't.
Official Attempt #1: 555.
I was extremely disappointed.
At the same time, I tried to rationalize it. I had taken only one official mock before the real exam, so I told myself:
"Okay. Treat this as another mock. Now you know what the real exam feels like."
One month later: Attempt #2
I scheduled another attempt for about a month later. This time, I decided that I had already learned the material and what I needed was exam practice. So I dedicated those weeks almost entirely to taking mocks.
I took four official mocks, with scores ranging roughly from 595 to 655.
Going into my second attempt, I basically told myself:
"Okay, this is probably my range."
Then came the second official exam.
595.
I still remember how I felt when I saw that score. It was horrendous.
The 555 had hurt, but this one was different. After the first attempt, I could point to obvious things I had done wrong. After the second attempt, I genuinely felt like I had done everything I could.
For the first time, I started thinking:
"Maybe this is just too hard for me."
Then I got an email from Scott
Not long after that attempt, I received an email from Scott at TTP. He was simply reaching out to see how things were going.
I explained everything to him — how I had studied, my mock scores, my two official attempts, and how frustrated I was.
And that conversation completely changed the way I looked at my preparation.
Scott helped me realize something that seems obvious to me now:
I had never actually gone through the TTP course the way it was designed to be used.
When going through the chapters, I would complete the Easy, Medium, and Hard chapter tests until I reached the required accuracy.
For example, if there were five tests available and I hit the accuracy target on the first one, I would think:
"Great. I know this topic."
And then I would skip the remaining four.
I had done this throughout the course.
Even worse, I had never even used TTP's Practice Phase.
I thought I had "finished" TTP.
In reality, I had skipped a huge part of the process.
Changing my approach
This is where I have to give Scott a ton of credit.
He didn't just tell me to "study more" or "practice my weak areas."
He took the time to understand exactly what I had done, identify where my preparation had gone wrong, and build an ultra-detailed personalized plan for me.
The plan included going back and covering the material and tests I had skipped, while also properly completing the Practice Phase that I hadn't even touched before my first two attempts.
So I decided to give myself two more months.
And this time, instead of trying to reinvent the process, I followed the plan.
The final attempt
Two months after scoring 595, I walked into the test center again.
I felt confident because I knew I was much better prepared than before.
But I was also incredibly nervous.
In my mind, this was going to be my last attempt. I had already spent so much time and energy on the GMAT, and I didn't want this process to continue indefinitely.
I finished the exam and eventually got to that final screen.
I clicked submit.
695.
97th percentile.
I genuinely couldn't believe what I was looking at.
I had to rub my eyes a couple of times and look at the screen again to make sure I wasn't imagining it.
After starting this journey with 675 as my dream score, after the 555, after the 595, after wondering whether the GMAT was simply too difficult for me...
I had scored 20 points ABOVE my original dream score.
The journey was finally over.
555 → 595 → 695
Looking back, my biggest lesson is that there is a huge difference between going through study material and following a study program the way it was designed.
For my first two attempts, I thought I had done everything possible. The reality was that I had been taking shortcuts without even realizing they were shortcuts.
TTP gave me the material I needed from the beginning, but it wasn't until Scott helped me understand how to actually use the program that everything came together.
So if you're currently stuck at a score and wondering whether you've hit your ceiling, I can definitely relate.
A 555 made 675 feel very far away.
A 595 after another month of studying made it feel even further away.
And two months later, that same journey ended with a 695.
Huge thanks to Scott and the TTP team for the support throughout the process — and especially for reaching out at exactly the moment when I needed someone to help me figure out what I was doing wrong.
Dream score: 675.
Final score: 695.
Sometimes the problem isn't that you can't get there.
You may just need to change how you're preparing.
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