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13 Jul 2025, 03:38
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Hello GMAT Club Members!
I'm finally on the other side of this journey, and honestly, it feels surreal. After what seemed like an eternity of preparation, multiple attempts, and a transition from the classic GMAT format to the new Focus Edition, I've achieved a 695 (Q90, V84, DI80) - landing me in the 98th percentile.
My GMAT story began with the classic format, and let me tell you, it was humbling. I remember sitting through those early practice sessions, watching the clock tick away as I struggled with questions.
Working full-time while preparing for the GMAT meant I was constantly juggling deadlines, meetings, and study sessions. Some days I'd come home exhausted, open my prep books, and just stare at the pages. Other days, I'd be so energized about a breakthrough in critical reasoning that I'd study past midnight. It was this constant push and pull that made me realize I needed a more structured approach.
When GMAC announced the transition to the Focus Edition, I'll admit I was both frustrated and intrigued. Here I was, already struggling with the classic format, and now I had to adapt to something new. But looking back, this transition period taught me something valuable about adaptability. In business school and beyond, we're constantly facing new challenges and formats. The GMAT transition became my first real test of how well I could pivot strategies mid-journey.
As things did not go as planned in the classic format, I knew I needed help and that's when I turned to e-GMAT, what caught my eye was there Last Mile Push program and its success rate.
After enrolling in this program, let me walk you through how I tackled each section–
V84
Verbal was where I faced my biggest demons. I'd read a critical reasoning question, eliminate three options easily, and then get stuck between the remaining two for what felt like eternity. Sometimes I'd reread the argument five times, each time convincing myself of a different answer. It was maddening.
The breakthrough came when I learned about pre-thinking. Now, I know this sounds like just another technique, but for me, it was transformative. Instead of jumping straight to answer choices, I started having a conversation with myself after reading each question. "Okay, they want me to strengthen this argument. What would actually make this argument stronger?" This simple shift from reactive to proactive thinking changed everything.
Reading comprehension was its own challenge. I tried everything - reading questions first, skimming passages, taking detailed notes. Nothing seemed to work consistently until I realized I was treating every passage like a textbook I needed to memorize. The game-changer was learning to read functionally - understanding not just what the author was saying, but why they were saying it. What was their agenda? What point where they trying to prove?
I'd jot down the main point of each paragraph, not the details. This way, when questions came up, I wasn't re-reading entire passages but rather navigating back to the right section based on my roadmap and gradually was able to improve my accuracy to 70-75% even on the Hard questions.
Q90
You'd think that with an engineering background, quant would be my strong suit. And conceptually, it was. But the GMAT has this way of testing not just what you know, but how you think under pressure. When I started working on the cementing quizzes on the e-GMAT platform which is where I began tackling the Hard questions, I realised even though I knew the questions I was doing something wrong in the test set up. The PRISM feedback given after the quizzes helped me get to the root cause of the issues.
I'd solve a problem correctly, feel confident about my approach, and then mark the wrong answer because I misread what the question was actually asking for.
My initial strategy was to race through questions, build a time bank, and then review everything at the end. This backfired spectacularly. The pressure to solve quickly made me careless, and by the time I reached the end, I'd created more problems than I'd solved.
The shift came when I decided to trust my abilities and solve each question methodically. Instead of trying to create a time cushion, I focused on being present with each problem. Read carefully, understand exactly what's being asked, solve step by step, and move on. This approach felt slower, but it was actually more efficient because I wasn't spending time correcting rushed mistakes.
DI80
When I first encountered Data Insights questions, I felt like I was learning a new language. Multi-source reasoning particularly threw me off - there was so much information to process, and I couldn't figure out how to organize it all efficiently.
My initial strategy was avoidance. I literally planned to skip MSR questions entirely and focus on the sections I felt more comfortable with. But during my mock tests, I realized this approach was backfiring. The algorithm was penalizing me heavily for consecutive wrong answers, and I was missing out on potential points from questions I could actually solve.
The mindset shift happened when I stopped viewing MSR as this intimidating monster and started seeing it as a practical problem-solving exercise. It's like planning a vacation - you have multiple sources of information (flight costs, hotel prices, activity options) and you need to make decisions based on combining all that data. Once I approached it with this real-world perspective, it became much more manageable.
The Mock Test Rollercoaster
Mock tests were my biggest source of anxiety and growth. I'd sit down to take a mock, and my heart would start racing before I even clicked "begin test." The 2+ hour duration felt overwhelming, and I'd often find myself mentally exhausted by the halfway point.
There were days when I'd plan to take a mock, sit in front of my computer, and just... not be able to do it. I'd write to my mentor saying I needed another day to prepare mentally. This used to frustrate me because I felt like I was procrastinating, but I've learned that recognizing when you're not in the right headspace is actually a form of self-awareness.
The breakthrough came when I started treating mocks not as tests but as practice sessions. Instead of worrying about the score, I focused on executing my strategies. Did I stick to my timing checkpoints? Did I apply the pre-thinking technique consistently? Did I read each quant question carefully before solving?
The Support System That Made the Difference
I can't talk about this journey without mentioning the incredible support I received. The Last Mile Push program with e-GMAT was a game-changer, but not just because of the content. Having a mentor like Abha who could look at my performance objectively and say "you're not doing anything wrong; you just need to trust your process" was invaluable.
But beyond professional support, I had a close friend who became my unofficial GMAT therapist. I'd set up calls with her after particularly frustrating study sessions, and she'd listen patiently as I vented about being stuck between two answer choices or feeling overwhelmed by the amount of material to cover. Having someone who believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself kept me going through the tough days.
Reflections on the 695 Score
Achieving a 695 (98th percentile) feels incredible, but what I'm most proud of is the journey itself. This score represents not just months of study, but months of personal growth. I learned how to be patient with myself, how to ask for help when I needed it, and how to trust my abilities even when external circumstances felt overwhelming.
The transition from classic GMAT to Focus Edition, which initially felt like a setback, actually taught me valuable lessons about adaptability that I know will serve me well in business school and beyond.
If you're reading this and feeling overwhelmed by your own GMAT journey, know that you're not alone. This test will challenge you in ways you didn't expect, but it will also show you capabilities you didn't know you had.
My advice is to emphasize the importance of being kind to yourself throughout this process. There will be bad days, disappointing mock scores, and moments when you want to give up. That's normal. What matters is having the support system and inner resilience to keep going.
Trust your preparation, stick to your strategies, and remember that this journey is as much about personal growth as it is about achieving a target score.
All the best!
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14 Jul 2025, 05:56
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Hi, can you confirm whether you ever saw coordinate geometry on your actual tests or in any mocks? I understand it is there in official guide as a chapter, but there are hardly any questions and I have my official test tomorrow. I have never seen a single question yet in my mocks and practice sets from OG. Now i am worried whether i should study for it last minute and most importantly whether it is worth to study? I don't want to miss an easy question in case it comes from this topic.
14 Jul 2025, 06:07
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I didn't come across any question on coordinate geometry. Also, wouldn't recommend doing things last minute as the energy it will take won't justify the value that you will gain
Pr4n
