610 to 680 to 730 to 690! My GOD!

Hello All,

I’m writing this post because I need some serious guidance regarding GMAT prep.

The Story:
I started prepping for the GMAT in 2021 as soon as I graduated. I was preparing for the CAT and didn’t really put much effort into the GMAT. Basicallly without any prep particularly for the GMAT, I scored a 610. I didn’t really care much about the score as I wasn’t planning on applying to B school at that point anyways.

Fast forward 2 years. After a couple years of work experience, in 2023 I thought I should start my serious GMAT prep as I wanted to apply to B school after 3 years of working. I joined a test prep and prepared for 3 months for a disappointing 600! (10 points less than what I got without studying!)

After some counselling from the test prep faculty, I booked another slot within 2 weeks and scored a 680.

Unhappy with the score, I took a couple months break and joined another test prep. Probably me best decision. I was learning things in a completely different way and for the first time was feeling confident. I seriously prepared for 2 months to score a 730 (Q50,V39).

Now, I was aiming for a 760+ score as I was targeting M7. After analysing the ESR of the 730 score, the test prep faculty suggested I give it another shot as all I was lacking was time management. So I booked another slot a month later and got a disappointing 690.

Before the last attempt, I was completely focusing on LSAT material for CR and RC as I was told if I practice the LSAT material, the GMAT should feel easier. However, this did not reflect on my score.

Now I need your advice on a few things. I have attached both the latest ESRs (730 and 690).

1. Where am I lacking? Which specific area or concept?
2. What type of CR questions fall under “Analysis/Critique”? (Weaken, paradox, boldface?)
3. How do I properly analyse both my ESRs to understand where I am lacking and what to focus on?
4. What exact material must I use to improve in my weak areas? Is LSAT good or should I switch to something else?

Questions about the ESRs
1. In the 690 ESR, I am not able to justify the quant and verbal scores. In verbal, I made 1 mistake in the first quarter, 2 in the second quarter, 1 in the third quarter and 4 in the last quarter for a total of 8 mistakes corresponding to a V35. However, in my 730 ESR, I committed 1,1,4,3 mistakes in the respective quarters for a total of 9 mistakes corresponding to a V39!? How?

Quant is confusing me even more. In the 730 ESR I made 0,2,2,1 mistakes in total for a total of 5 mistakes and a Q50. In the 690 ESR I made 1,0,0,4 mistakes for a total of 5 mistakes but only a Q48? How is it my quant score came down so much even though I had only 1 mistake across the first 3 quarters?


I would love to hear from you experts about what you think. I really need some guidance in analysing my ESRs and identifying where I’m lacking and how to improve in those areas.

Thank you for reading this post!