I would like to share my gmat preparation experience, that is quite a long one: more than 6 months!
My goal was to reach the famous 700+ score

I took my first test on June 21st 2017 with a score of 560! I was quite desperate because I had studied before taking the test and hoped on a 600 at minimum.
I kept studying but I did not seem to improve much

I subscribed to Magoosh and did all questions on gmatclub that I could fit in my available time, and finally reached 650 on August 21st.
Decided to plan the test for January 2018 and continued to do exercises. I read all Manhattan guides, Veritas, viewed few egmat videos, and tried many other strategies such as reading The Economist and reviewing my high school maths notebooks I was checking gmatclub.com literally everyday!

During Christmas holidays I focused on GMAT and started finally getting higher scores
Sept 28th 630
Jan 8th 720
Jan 12th 710
Jan 13th 690
Jan 15th 700

Well, I finally took the exam and reached a very low score with respect to my expectation, only 660!
I was sooooo disappointed! I decided to just give up and start my applications... tried 3 schools as I was interested in Asia-based MBA: ISB, CEIBS, INSEAD ....and was admitted to all 3!

So to all who did not succeed in GMAT, here 3 tips:
1. Once you reach 650+ you are good to go. I strongly encourage to focus on your full profile as GMAT is only a small part of the application.
2. Be yourself. I did essays all on my own (just had them reviewed by my partner) and wrote quite spontaneously without focusing on what blogs and consultants say bschools looking for. I did not invent amazing achievements nor did I have an outstanding profile.
3. Apply to your dream b-school no matter what your gmat score is and just try your luck! You want to go to Harvard? Well apply for it and don't just give up because of what you read online.

Cheers and good luck!

My "profile" as below:
female
gmat 660
undegrad GPA 3.8
speak multiple languages

there is much more than "profile" though...that's the whole point of making you write essays in the application.