[ADDED ESR] GMAT FOCUS 745 (Q 90 | V 88 | DI 83)

GMAT FOCUS 745 (Q 90 | V 88 | DI 83)

DETAILS:
I had contemplated taking the GMAT since 2019, and even acquired the OG guide and sat for a couple of in-person classes back then. Felt like I was too dumb for it. Gave up.
I then worked on myself for a couple years, and went through the pandemic underestimating myself and not making much of an effort in this direction. During this time I kept seeing TTP being praised on Reddit and also saw how active Scott was in answering questions, and hence started thinking about TTP as the way to go.
I finally took the plunge, bought the course in July, but due to priorities at work, was able to start in earnest in mid-September. Spent around 300 hours in the next couple of months working through the material. Ended up with GMAT Focus 745 (Q90 / V88 / D83). Very happy with the results.

Before test day:
2 to 4 hours after work on weekdays. 6 to 8 hours on weekend days. Each chapter, practice test, and review done as per TTP. Loved the dashboard showing me how many missions left to go, how much % completed, and how much time I spent that week. Data is the best motivator.

Mocks are best taken when you take the time to review everything that went wrong in them. I took 5 mocks in 6 days and I wouldn't advise you to do it because of the sheer rollercoaster mock scores can be. I scored as follows:
705
715
695
675
715

I scored close to full once in Verbal, and once in Quant, but DI was my enemy till the last day. It took me a while to get through DI questions, even if my accuracy was good. But I ended up speedrunning through questions at the end because time was dear. I have a theory about this that I'll share at the end.

I spent about 2 to 3 hours reviewing what went wrong in the mock, and then practiced the "Weakest questions" test in TTP for each mock.

Then came the day before the exam. I practiced DS questions from my OG guide of 2019 just to get a flavor of some different questions and I sucked at DS anyway. Did one more weakest topics test in TTP. Closed it at 11 pm. Woke up at 7.30 the next day for the test at 12.

Test Day:
The journey to the test centre is one of apprehension, anxiety, and a sense of excitement for what's to come. I fought away the nausea by closing my eyes, taking deep breaths, and thinking of the happiness that a test well taken would bring me. I decided to stay on airplane mode for atleast an hour after the test, whatever the outcome, so that I could give myself the time and space to process what just happened.

Once I reached the test centre, even though I was there quite early (11.20 am for a 12 pm exam), they were happy to get me started ASAP. I ate half a protein bar, drank some water, and went in.

The staff was courteous, prompt, and happy to assist. The centre had a couple of noisy candidates who whispered as they read, but it was okay.

Quant:
Smooth sailing except for 2 questions which sucked in a lot of time, but by the end I had 7 minutes left. I went back to review multiple questions and thankfully mended one from incorrect to correct ensuring a 90.

Verbal:
Felt like an intellectual challenge. Especially in a couple of RC passages where things got real. There was a sense of smoothness but also trepidation that what may appear to be true may actually end up being painfully false. I finished with 2 minutes in hand and went back to review 2 questions at the end. Unfortunately the one I got wrong was one I had bookmarked and reviewed but did not choose to change.

Break:
10 minutes of telling yourself you gotta keep up the energy and not get drained and not get trapped. It was fun. Finished my protein bar.

DI:
It was fine until the middle where I got stuck on 2 questions of an MSR question for a total of 10+ minutes. I knew I had dug my own grave. By the end I was left with 7 questions and 7 minutes. I speedran through it, but turns out I got a majority of them wrong. If only I had the time. I spent 12 minutes getting 2 questions right, I could have bookmarked them and returned after getting the later questions right. Instead, I chose this. Don't do this if you can avoid it.

Conclusion:
Nevertheless I clicked forward with finality and discovered that I had nailed Quant with 90, Verbal with 88, and DI with an unsurprising 83.
745.
That's what's up.

-----
I genuinely think that the reason this reality exists for me is TTP. Thanks Scott and team.

Word of Caution:
TTP prepares you very well for one part of DI called "Data Sufficiency" as those questions are well integrated with the Quant section itself, however, there are 4 other parts to it. These 4 parts are covered at the very end of the course. These 4 parts are huge time suckers and require you to pay attention and practice a lot. Given that I worked on my prep for only 2 months, this meant that I spent only 2 weeks on DI, and that led to me eventually not practicing well enough to manage time properly in the DI section on Test day. So don't think that just because it's 4 chapters, it can be done in minimal time. Invest as much time in DI as you do in Quant and Verbal. I don't think it is TTP's fault for doing this, it's just that I personally didn't give it the time it needed.
And here's the theory I promised earlier for my poor time management in DI - Good GMAT practice rules encourage you to do your early questions in a section untimed. Over time as you gain accuracy, you can make up for additional time with practice. I did not have enough time to practice with DI. As a result, while I was able to find a way to push up my accuracy, I hadn't yet made it to the part of my journey where I got better on time.
So, if you don't want to struggle to be on time for DI like I did, please give time to DI practice. It will change your life, I promise.

In summary:

Pay attention to DI. Put in the time, the outcome is worth it. Eat a protein bar or two.
Also, TTP works. Not a shill.

Alright, have a good one folks. Happy to answer any questions.

EDIT: on popular request by Paumilpatel Sim_SG3 chetan2u testbug123 and any other friends who may have asked for it - have added my ESR to the attachments.


PVTHAKKAR.