Final Attempt - 660 ; Learn from my mistakes

So I wrote my second and final attempt today and scored a 660. Highly dissapointed but no choice except to accept this score and move on. Scored a 600 on my first attempt, brief of which can be found on my previous post along with my mock scores. For the second attempt, I wrote all official mocks again and scored in the range of 720-770. I put in hard and solid effort into my prep, and while my performance may not have much to show for it, I am sharing my experience in the hope that it may help someone out there.

I started preparing in Mid November 2021 and joined an online weekend coaching platform. The classes were good and the questions and content provided was more than enough, focusing highly on 700+ level questions. The notes provided were comprehensive of all OG's and more. The institution also has an online testing portal, with quant and verbal sectional tests along with 25 full length exams. I used these resources thoroughly and was always scoring 680+.

Quant has always been my weak point, and while I did work hard on it, I relied on my verbal skills, which was my strong suit, to help me out. My first attempt was disastrous as I was unable to attempt the last 2 quant questions and went on a tilt from quant to verbal with no break in between. After my first attempt, I worked on timing and just giving as many tests as I could as there was not much more to learn but just to apply and implement those learnings at the right time. My centre for my first attempt also wasn't the best - loud construction noise, full room etc. The second time round I chose a different centre and to my luck, it was empty and as peaceful as could be. (So the pathetic score is all on me ugh).

Unfortunately, on the second attempt, while timing was not such an issue, the quant section was highly concentrated on a few topics. I was asked no geometry, probability, or sets/venn questions, and these were the topics I was highly confident in. Majority of the questions came from Work & Rate, TSD and Percentages. The work rate and TSD questions all involved only variables and not numbers and as a result the answers were also in variables. Planting values, calculating and checking each answer was highly time consuming and I had to guess and approximate on questions just to save time. Verbal was fairly easy - SC has always been my strongest suit (91-95th percentile consistently). Got short and sweet RC passages, answered with confidence but CR was tough - long and highly detailed passages. Perhaps this is where I went wrong.

Apart from my testing experience, I'd like to share a tips I learnt the hard way and can maybe help some of you out there.

Do's

1. Sleep before the exam. Cannot emphasize this enough. The GMAT isn't like school and college exams where you pull all nighters and show up loaded on red bull and coffee. It requires attention to detail and concentration. I slept for 2 hours before my first attempt and for my 7 before my second and I could feel the difference in my alertness and concentration.
2. Simulate Testing Environment - practice mocks without pausing at any time, don't use a calculator and sit through for the whole duration with the specified breaks and no more.
3. Try to study and write mocks during the day if possible, because that is when the test is. I've always been a night owl and studied and wrote my mocks always between 10pm and 6am. When I wrote my first attempt, my brain felt dead at noon. You need to train your brain to be at peak performance during the test hours, not 12 hours after it.
4. Utilize all resources. There is no dearth of questions, help and feedback when it comes to GMAT. This forum itself can prepare you completely. The GMAT club question banks and tests provide more than you can ever finish and more than you will ever need.
5. Have a structured approach. Try and plan the night before what you plan to study the next day rather than thinking now I'll do this then this. Don't just write topics, write the number of questions, the book/platform you'll use, even write the page number. Plan it and stick to it. It'll improve both the quality and quanity of your prep.
6. Be positive. We all have bad days and good days. On some, you'll have excellent accuracy levels and on some, dreadful. But keep pushing yourself through it, you're doing it to learn. Don't let a few tough questions and some stupid mistakes get you down. Pro Tip : Read success stories on this Forum [unlike mine, because I don't have one ] - instant boost of motivation.
7. Give the exam the respect it deserves - there's a reason top schools want to see it and not everyone can crack it. It's tough, but not impossible. Put in the work. Be sincere in your effort and don't lie to yourself about your abilities - be grounded and always wiling to learn something new - such as a new approach to a question etc.
8. Don't let it consume you. Yes, I said the exam is tough and needs effort but don't let the prep completely take over your life. I say this because I let it consume me : I lost 12kgs during prep over the course of 3 months - quit working out, bad sleep schedule leading to irregular meals. I became highly anti social - started using the exam as an excuse to not go anywhere, respond to messages and gave a cold shoulder to my friends. And now that I don't have to study 8-10hrs a day, I feel lost as to what to do. The reluctance to resume activites still persists. Create a healthy balance - the exam is a part of your life, just like many other things are.

These were my most important pointers off the top my of head. While they may not relate much to prep material and tests that much, these factors do come into play and can significantly affect your prep and test performance. I couldn't crack it, but I'm sure you can - I believe in every one of you. DESTROY IT!

If any of you wish to know anything more with respect to prep material, strategy, scores, or just in general feel free to message or respond to this post and I'll surely get back to you. If you'll excuse me, I have to write an SOP that wil make the adcom not straight away reject me when they see a 660.

Best of luck.