Any pointers for improving from 645 to 700?

Question

Hi, so I gave my first GMAT this September and got a 645 (V 84, Q 86, DI 76).

It's clear that DI needs work; however, the issue is I feel like I've exhausted all my selected resources. This included OG DI online questions and Manhattan Prep DI material. Although it is true that I used to get only around 60% of them correct, I'm unsure if I should re-attempt those questions or look for new ones from the GMAT club.

And it might sound basic, but how does one improves in DI; any general pointers.
Lastly, a question would be- do I push for late 80s in QA or VA? (but I feel that wont give the best ROI)

stressedkiddo · Answer

Hey, I'm struggling with the same problem and the same score. As of now, practicising DI sets on GMAT Club I'm hoping that'll be enough for some time.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

If, for example, you've done all the DI questions from the Official-Guide 2025-2026 and the DI Review 2025-2026, consider checking out the Official Practice Questions for DI on the MBA exam prep page.

Including working with a study buddy may also be helpful. If you can find someone who is really strong on DI and needs help with areas you're strong on, it could be a win-win. There's a study buddy thread on gmatclub you can check out.

5 DI tips

bb · Answer

Yes, DI seems to be limping and probably the most productive area to improve but any point on V, Q, or DI is equally helpful and important, so you don't want to say it is good enough and completely stop focusing on Q or V - those are strong already for you so I would perhaps spend 30-40% of time on Q/V and the other 60-70% of the time on DI. for DI, see this post: https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-impro ... 46305.html

yc168 · Answer

Given your excellent Quant and Verbal sectional scores, it does not seem your comparatively lower DI score comes from weak Quant or Verbal fundamentals. It could be your strategy, mindset, time management, or a combination of these factors.

You can try GMAT Ninja's DI Youtube videos and see if the strategies he offers work better for you:
 Data Insights with GMAT Ninja

Also, check out this great article on how to improve on DI:
 How to Improve Your Data Insights Score from D75 to D82

And this post on general GMAT time management strategy:
 Time Management Strategies on GMAT Focus

AakkashVerbal · Answer

It looks like your strong verbal and quantitative scores should translate to a high DI score. This problem most likely arises from not being mentally comfortable with DI questions, a pattern I've noticed in a few of my students.

A simple fix here would be something I've been a huge proponent of with verbal, that the volume of practice matters a lot less than spending time with complex questions, trying to look for alternate solutions, and just building comfort with the DI topics to a point where you can calmly apply your already strong Verbal and Quant skills to a problem.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi aarnodorian,

So, the good news is that you are in a pretty nice spot!

That said, you do need to continue to find your holes and fix those to help improve your score. Thus, engaging in topical practice is a great way to do so. Let's use quant as an example.

For example, let’s say you want to practice Number Properties. You can do so by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc.

After each problem set, it's crucial to delve into the questions you answered incorrectly.

For instance, if you stumbled on a remainder question, take a moment to reflect. Was it a careless error? Did you fail to apply the remainder formula correctly? Was there a concept in the question that eluded you? This analysis is key to your learning process.

By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to fix your weaknesses efficiently and, in turn, improve your GMAT quant skills. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant, verbal, and DI topics.

Feel free to reach out with any questions.

Good luck!

yc168 · Answer

Regarding whether to re-attempt questions done before or to look for new ones, IMHO it depends on why you are getting only 60% accuracy despite your solid Quant and Verbal scores.

If it's mainly because of timing strategy or problem-solving mentality issues, practicing more DI sectionals may help. Alternatively, you can also use Forum Quiz to construct mixed DI problem sets that simulate a DI section.

If it's because you still have some knowledge/skill gaps in some of the Quant topics more frequently tested in DI, or, say, CR deductive reasoning skills in DS/TPA, then I think the solution will be going back to Quant and Verbal topics to fix these holes.

The Main OG and OG DI Review offer close to 600 DI questions, and there are another 100+ in the Official Practice Question pack. Although the number is much smaller than available Quant or Verbal questions, it is still a decent size, representative question pool. I would think it's more important to figure out where your weakness really lies, instead of keeping on drilling more questions. Remember - quality over quantity.

RonPurewal · Answer

How was your timing on this Data Insights section? Were you able to finish the section and take at least a decent stab at each problem, or did you run out of time and have to throw some random guesses?

If the latter, it'd be well worth your time to revisit your already-familiar official D.I. materials, but this time with an emphasis on  efficiency .
Which bits of the original information set are actually worth reading/examining in detail at the outset? Which parts are worth briefly scanning—to ascertain what type of information is in those parts and how that information is organized, but not actually to pore over the datapoints themselves? Which information, if any, is best skipped entirely unless/until you actually get a question that asks about it?

.

As you consider these aspects of your approach, please keep in mind that  giving you TOO MUCH INFORMATION is THE uniquely defining characteristic of Data Insights —essentially the only common thread that runs through the otherwise wildly diverse range of problems in DI.

The contrast here with the older parts of the test rlly can't be overestimated. Quant problems, in particular, pretty much always hand you  exactly what you need  to solve them—no more, no less. Hence the viability of strategies like backsolving, which depends utterly on this neat packaging of everything that's needed and nothing that isn't. ("Start from an answer choice and work back through the given statements  until you've used all of them ; if everything agrees / there are no contradictions at that point, you've got the correct answer" —> If Quant problems ever contained superfluous information, the boldface part of this protocol would no longer work.)
If you don't have a strong intuition for DI problems as "TOO MUCH INFO" from the outset, then drawing direct contrasts with this quality of Quant problems should help you shore up that intuition—which, in turn, will make you more picky ("picky" is a good thing here!) about which information you actually bother to scan at the start of a DI problem group.

.

If efficiency isn't really an issue for you on DI, then I'd recommend deep-diving into any error logs you might have kept as you did DI practice problems, looking for  concrete patterns  in the errors and/or oversights that caused you to get problems wrong.
When you identify such a pattern, don't stop there (in other words, don't just "log the errors"). Equally important, try to identify CLUES or SIGNS that will tip you off to pay more attention to this-or-that specific aspect of the problem going forward.

Any pointers for improving from 645 to 700?

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