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jojoba49
Joined: 15 Aug 2024
Last visit: 18 Feb 2026
Posts: 37
Given Kudos: 4
Location: India
Schools: Sloan '26 (S) Darden '26 (WL) Stanford '26 (S) HBS '26 Haas '26 (S) Kellogg '26 (II) Ross '26 (II) Yale '26 (S) CBS '26 (S) Booth '26 (S)
GMAT Focus 1: 705 Q87 V88 DI80 
GMAT Focus 2: 735 Q90 V87 DI82
GPA: 03.5
Products:
Schools: Sloan '26 (S) Darden '26 (WL) Stanford '26 (S) HBS '26 Haas '26 (S) Kellogg '26 (II) Ross '26 (II) Yale '26 (S) CBS '26 (S) Booth '26 (S)
GMAT Focus 2: 735 Q90 V87 DI82
Posts: 37
Third Time's the Charm: GMAT 705
Hello Everyone,
After two attempts that both landed at 685, I was starting to question if I had hit my ceiling. But I'm thrilled to share that on my third attempt, I finally broke through to 705
This journey wasn't about discovering some secret formula or having a sudden breakthrough moment. It was about persistence, targeted improvement, and learning to trust the process even when results weren't showing up immediately. If you're stuck at a score plateau right now, I hope my story gives you some perspective and hope.
So here's how I went from "stuck at 685" to finally breaking through - even though Data Insights decided to keep me humble at D80!
Watch Joshua's YouTube Debrief
The Two 685s: When Consistency Becomes Frustrating
I started my GMAT prep in early 2025 with clear MBA goals and the determination to crack this test. My first attempt came after a couple of months of self-study and some scattered preparation. When I saw 685 on the screen, I was honestly relieved - it wasn't a disaster, and I thought - okay, this is good and just few points away from my 700 goal.
That's when I knew I needed structured help. I needed someone to tell me not just what to study, but how to study and what specifically was keeping me from breaking through.
Joining e-GMAT and the Last Mile Push Program
In May 2025, I decided to invest in e-GMAT's Last Mile Push program. The decision wasn't just about accessing content - I needed personalized guidance from someone who could objectively analyze my performance and create a targeted improvement plan.
Enter Abha, my mentor. Our first conversation was eye-opening. She looked at my past performance, my practice patterns, and immediately identified something I had missed: I was treating all my weaknesses equally. I was trying to improve everything at once, which meant I wasn't really improving anything.
Abha's approach was different: Let's focus on your biggest lever for improvement first - Verbal. Then we'll fine-tune Quant and DI with surgical precision based on skill data.
Verbal
Verbal became my primary focus, and this is where I saw the most dramatic improvement between my second and third attempts. But it wasn't about learning new concepts - it was about completely overhauling my process and test-taking skills.
Process Improvement Over Content
I realized I had been approaching Verbal questions reactively. I'd read the stimulus in CR, jump to answer choices, and hope something clicked. For RC, I was reading passages without a clear strategy, then spending too much time hunting for answers.
The process improvement focused on:
• Structured Pre-thinking in CR: Instead of diving into options, I learned to pause after reading the question stem and actually think about what kind of answer would work. This 10-15 second investment upfront saved me from getting trapped between two answer choices later.
• Active Reading in RC: I stopped passive reading and started engaging with the passage - understanding not just what was being said, but why. What's the author's purpose? What's the passage structure? This made question-solving significantly faster.
• Consistent Application: The hardest part wasn't learning these processes - it was applying them consistently under time pressure. This is where Scholaranium's practice became invaluable.
Test-Taking Skills That Made the Difference
Process improvement alone wasn't enough. I needed to develop actual test-taking skills - the ability to make quick decisions, manage uncertainty, and not get paralyzed by difficult questions.
Quant: Targeted Fine-Tuning with Skill Data
I felt quite confident in quant and it was just that I was making silly mistakes in it.
Data Insights: Plateaued at D80
Let me be completely transparent here - Data Insights remained my most challenging section, and despite targeted work and scoring DI85-87 on mocks, it plateaued at D80 in my final attempt.
Similar to Quant, we used skill data to identify specific DI question types that were problematic. I worked on:
• Specific MSR strategies for handling multiple information sources
• Time management in Two-Part Analysis questions
• Data sufficiency approaches that combined my verbal and quant skills
Did I see improvement? Yes. Was it as dramatic as Verbal? No.
Looking back, I realize DI required a different kind of stamina and mental agility that I hadn't fully developed.
But here's what I learned: You don't need to perfect every section to achieve your target score. My D80, combined with strong performances in Verbal and Quant, was enough to break 700. Sometimes "good enough" in one area, combined with excellence in your strengths, is the winning strategy.
The Role of Mentorship: Why it made a Difference
Having Abha as my mentor wasn't just about getting a study plan - it was about having someone who could see what I couldn't see.
She helped me:
• Prioritize improvements based on ROI - focusing first on Verbal where I had the most room to grow
• Use skill data to practice smart, not just hard
• Develop a realistic test-day strategy that played to my strengths
• Stay motivated through the frustrating middle period when improvements weren't immediately visible
Most importantly, she helped me accept that DI at D80 was okay - that I didn't need to delay my test indefinitely trying to perfect every section.
Test Day Three: When It Finally Came Together
Walking into the test center for attempt three, I felt different. Not necessarily more confident, but more prepared. I had a clear strategy, I knew my strengths, and I had accepted my limitations.
Quant went smoothly - not perfect, but I executed my strategies and didn't get stuck on any questions. Verbal felt strong - my process improvements kicked in, and I moved through questions with more confidence than ever before.
DI was... DI. I gave it my best shot, but by that point in the test, maintaining the mental sharpness it requires was challenging.
When that 705 appeared on the screen, I felt a wave of relief more than celebration. After two identical 685s, seeing a different number - and one that broke 700 - felt like validation that all the targeted work had actually meant something.
Final Thoughts
Looking back at my journey, I realize the GMAT tested me in ways I didn't expect. It wasn't just about mastering concepts - it was about persistence, strategic thinking, and accepting that improvement isn't always linear.
If you're stuck at a score plateau right now, know that it's not permanent. But breaking through requires changing something fundamental about your approach - not just doing more of what isn't working.
For me, that meant:
• Seeking structured mentorship
• Focusing on process over content
• Using skill data to guide targeted practice
• Accepting that "good enough" in weak areas combined with strength in others is a valid path to success
To everyone still on this journey - especially those facing disappointing attempts or frustrating plateaus - keep going. Your breakthrough might be closer than you think. It took me three attempts and targeted work with e-GMAT to get there, but that 705 was absolutely worth the persistence.
Doubts that still linger with me
I sometimes feel that the gmat may not be really standardised, as I had crazy variance across sections and within mocks. within mocks I used to score between 685 to 785. within the 3 sections across my attempts here are the ranges of the scores I got
Quant (85- 88)
Verbal(82-88)
DI (80-84)
For DI specially given that I feel a lot of it depends on the passages they give you and the number.
Retake
should I retake given that I am an Indian engineer male planning to apply to the M7s
Best regards,
Joshua
Hello Everyone,
After two attempts that both landed at 685, I was starting to question if I had hit my ceiling. But I'm thrilled to share that on my third attempt, I finally broke through to 705
This journey wasn't about discovering some secret formula or having a sudden breakthrough moment. It was about persistence, targeted improvement, and learning to trust the process even when results weren't showing up immediately. If you're stuck at a score plateau right now, I hope my story gives you some perspective and hope.
So here's how I went from "stuck at 685" to finally breaking through - even though Data Insights decided to keep me humble at D80!
Watch Joshua's YouTube Debrief
The Two 685s: When Consistency Becomes Frustrating
I started my GMAT prep in early 2025 with clear MBA goals and the determination to crack this test. My first attempt came after a couple of months of self-study and some scattered preparation. When I saw 685 on the screen, I was honestly relieved - it wasn't a disaster, and I thought - okay, this is good and just few points away from my 700 goal.
That's when I knew I needed structured help. I needed someone to tell me not just what to study, but how to study and what specifically was keeping me from breaking through.
Joining e-GMAT and the Last Mile Push Program
In May 2025, I decided to invest in e-GMAT's Last Mile Push program. The decision wasn't just about accessing content - I needed personalized guidance from someone who could objectively analyze my performance and create a targeted improvement plan.
Enter Abha, my mentor. Our first conversation was eye-opening. She looked at my past performance, my practice patterns, and immediately identified something I had missed: I was treating all my weaknesses equally. I was trying to improve everything at once, which meant I wasn't really improving anything.
Abha's approach was different: Let's focus on your biggest lever for improvement first - Verbal. Then we'll fine-tune Quant and DI with surgical precision based on skill data.
Verbal
Verbal became my primary focus, and this is where I saw the most dramatic improvement between my second and third attempts. But it wasn't about learning new concepts - it was about completely overhauling my process and test-taking skills.
Process Improvement Over Content
I realized I had been approaching Verbal questions reactively. I'd read the stimulus in CR, jump to answer choices, and hope something clicked. For RC, I was reading passages without a clear strategy, then spending too much time hunting for answers.
The process improvement focused on:
• Structured Pre-thinking in CR: Instead of diving into options, I learned to pause after reading the question stem and actually think about what kind of answer would work. This 10-15 second investment upfront saved me from getting trapped between two answer choices later.
• Active Reading in RC: I stopped passive reading and started engaging with the passage - understanding not just what was being said, but why. What's the author's purpose? What's the passage structure? This made question-solving significantly faster.
• Consistent Application: The hardest part wasn't learning these processes - it was applying them consistently under time pressure. This is where Scholaranium's practice became invaluable.
Test-Taking Skills That Made the Difference
Process improvement alone wasn't enough. I needed to develop actual test-taking skills - the ability to make quick decisions, manage uncertainty, and not get paralyzed by difficult questions.
Quant: Targeted Fine-Tuning with Skill Data
I felt quite confident in quant and it was just that I was making silly mistakes in it.
Data Insights: Plateaued at D80
Let me be completely transparent here - Data Insights remained my most challenging section, and despite targeted work and scoring DI85-87 on mocks, it plateaued at D80 in my final attempt.
Similar to Quant, we used skill data to identify specific DI question types that were problematic. I worked on:
• Specific MSR strategies for handling multiple information sources
• Time management in Two-Part Analysis questions
• Data sufficiency approaches that combined my verbal and quant skills
Did I see improvement? Yes. Was it as dramatic as Verbal? No.
Looking back, I realize DI required a different kind of stamina and mental agility that I hadn't fully developed.
But here's what I learned: You don't need to perfect every section to achieve your target score. My D80, combined with strong performances in Verbal and Quant, was enough to break 700. Sometimes "good enough" in one area, combined with excellence in your strengths, is the winning strategy.
The Role of Mentorship: Why it made a Difference
Having Abha as my mentor wasn't just about getting a study plan - it was about having someone who could see what I couldn't see.
She helped me:
• Prioritize improvements based on ROI - focusing first on Verbal where I had the most room to grow
• Use skill data to practice smart, not just hard
• Develop a realistic test-day strategy that played to my strengths
• Stay motivated through the frustrating middle period when improvements weren't immediately visible
Most importantly, she helped me accept that DI at D80 was okay - that I didn't need to delay my test indefinitely trying to perfect every section.
Test Day Three: When It Finally Came Together
Walking into the test center for attempt three, I felt different. Not necessarily more confident, but more prepared. I had a clear strategy, I knew my strengths, and I had accepted my limitations.
Quant went smoothly - not perfect, but I executed my strategies and didn't get stuck on any questions. Verbal felt strong - my process improvements kicked in, and I moved through questions with more confidence than ever before.
DI was... DI. I gave it my best shot, but by that point in the test, maintaining the mental sharpness it requires was challenging.
When that 705 appeared on the screen, I felt a wave of relief more than celebration. After two identical 685s, seeing a different number - and one that broke 700 - felt like validation that all the targeted work had actually meant something.
Final Thoughts
Looking back at my journey, I realize the GMAT tested me in ways I didn't expect. It wasn't just about mastering concepts - it was about persistence, strategic thinking, and accepting that improvement isn't always linear.
If you're stuck at a score plateau right now, know that it's not permanent. But breaking through requires changing something fundamental about your approach - not just doing more of what isn't working.
For me, that meant:
• Seeking structured mentorship
• Focusing on process over content
• Using skill data to guide targeted practice
• Accepting that "good enough" in weak areas combined with strength in others is a valid path to success
To everyone still on this journey - especially those facing disappointing attempts or frustrating plateaus - keep going. Your breakthrough might be closer than you think. It took me three attempts and targeted work with e-GMAT to get there, but that 705 was absolutely worth the persistence.
Doubts that still linger with me
I sometimes feel that the gmat may not be really standardised, as I had crazy variance across sections and within mocks. within mocks I used to score between 685 to 785. within the 3 sections across my attempts here are the ranges of the scores I got
Quant (85- 88)
Verbal(82-88)
DI (80-84)
For DI specially given that I feel a lot of it depends on the passages they give you and the number.
Retake
should I retake given that I am an Indian engineer male planning to apply to the M7s
Best regards,
Joshua
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05 Oct 2025, 23:57
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hey, congrats on your score! Thanks for posting the debrief.
jojoba49
06 Oct 2025, 04:30
Kudos
Bookmarks
Joshua, breaking through a two-attempt plateau at the exact same score is genuinely challenging - that 705 represents not just 20 points, but a complete shift in how you approached the test.
What strikes me most is your realization that "I was treating all weaknesses equally... which meant I wasn't really improving anything." This is such a common trap. Students often create exhaustive study plans trying to fix everything simultaneously, when strategic prioritization - focusing on your highest ROI area first - is what actually moves the needle.
Your observation about DI depending heavily on passage/number types is astute. The section does have inherent variability because it tests adaptability to unfamiliar data contexts - that's by design, not a flaw in standardization. But your D80, combined with strong Quant and Verbal, got you to 705. Which brings me to your M7 question:
The Retake Decision for Indian Male Engineers
This depends entirely on your target programs' average GMAT scores and your overall profile strength. A 705 with Q85/V85+ is competitive, but if you're aiming for HSW with a typical engineering background, you might be slightly below their median. However, if your work experience, leadership stories, and differentiation are strong, a 705 won't keep you out.
The real question: Do you genuinely believe you can score 725+ on a retake, or would you be gambling on another 685-715 range? You need to question where would the additional 25-30 points come from?
Congrats again on the breakthrough. Would love to hear your thoughts on the retake factors above.
What strikes me most is your realization that "I was treating all weaknesses equally... which meant I wasn't really improving anything." This is such a common trap. Students often create exhaustive study plans trying to fix everything simultaneously, when strategic prioritization - focusing on your highest ROI area first - is what actually moves the needle.
Your observation about DI depending heavily on passage/number types is astute. The section does have inherent variability because it tests adaptability to unfamiliar data contexts - that's by design, not a flaw in standardization. But your D80, combined with strong Quant and Verbal, got you to 705. Which brings me to your M7 question:
The Retake Decision for Indian Male Engineers
This depends entirely on your target programs' average GMAT scores and your overall profile strength. A 705 with Q85/V85+ is competitive, but if you're aiming for HSW with a typical engineering background, you might be slightly below their median. However, if your work experience, leadership stories, and differentiation are strong, a 705 won't keep you out.
The real question: Do you genuinely believe you can score 725+ on a retake, or would you be gambling on another 685-715 range? You need to question where would the additional 25-30 points come from?
Congrats again on the breakthrough. Would love to hear your thoughts on the retake factors above.
06 Oct 2025, 06:19
Kudos
Bookmarks
Firstly , huge congratulations Joshua !
Given that you hit 705 after clear improvement and not luck, you’re in a safe zone. But if you believe you can hit 730+ with one more focused attempt and it won’t drain time from applications, it might be worth considering. All the very best !
Given that you hit 705 after clear improvement and not luck, you’re in a safe zone. But if you believe you can hit 730+ with one more focused attempt and it won’t drain time from applications, it might be worth considering. All the very best !
