I m done. Please help me!

Question

I hope I can post this here.

I have taken the gmat 3 times so far.

Scores:
395
515
425

A bit of background. In 2025 I finished my bachelor ́s degree and I immediately started prep for a master. The school that is my 1st choice wants a 565 minimum gmat score...

I went to a prep center, the whole thing lasted for 2 months. Admittedly I was not the most studious person during those months but I started studying more properly after being done with some other stuff I had to do. Frankly, I don't count the 1st score due to unforeseen circumstances on test day and I lost 2 weeks of prep because of illness. However, that is no excuse for the other two scores. My 2nd score is my greatest one, I even got a badge for Verbal (my strongest section). Overall I was better prepared but again I did not score what I wanted. Due to the small score difference and being more confident overall, I thought that there is no way that I would not score higher the 3rd time. Took the test on Monday and I got this abomination of a score.

A bit more on my prep (2nd and 3rd time).  The prep center gave us the opportunity to take tests here. The 1st time I did very few tests because I didn't have time. The 2nd time I did many, even sectional ones. The 3rd time I couldn't have access to any so I did the free one and the mba ones. Also for the 3rd time I did the whole official guide (quant and data, barely verbal which I think is why my performance worsened).

I am definitely not getting accepted where I wanted or anywhere at all. I am completely devastated, I feel utterly useless and I have no idea what to do. I don't know if I should try my luck with other unis (which are also way more expensive) or if I should postpone the master one year and get the score that I need. Part of me does not want to bother with the gmat again but the other part can't stand the fact that a test has such a toll on me, my future and I can't be good at it.

Literally ANY advice you have on my situation or the gmat specifically would be much appreciated, thanks.

ankushsambare · Answer

Not an expert, but here are my two cents:
First of all, thank you for being honest. It’s completely normal to feel confused and frustrated after going through this.

If you’re willing to give the GMAT one last shot, I think the key is to structure your preparation properly. Focus on one topic at a time, make sure your fundamentals are clear, and then gradually solve questions ranging from the 505 to 605 difficulty level.

Also, create an error log religiously. The number of questions you solve matters far less than how well you analyze your mistakes. 
In the beginning especially, spend as much time as possible reviewing your error log and understanding why you got questions wrong.

For building basics, Aditya Kumar’s YouTube videos are a really good place to start.

SurgeSpell · Answer

Although I kind of did what you suggested I guess I didn't do it properly or with structure. I also think I have a time management problem. Regardless, thank you for your reply and advice!

GreenwichMBA · Answer

If it is any consolation, the GMAT and the entire application process is a marathon, not a sprint, is full of ups and downs, and can sometimes take a very long time.

1. Do not apply this cycle
2. Some people take an entire year studying, writing, applying, visiting, interviewing, as it is like a second job
3. In order to do this you have to ask yourself if you really want it. If the answer is yes, you can get there and I have the resources to make it happen.

So no, you’re not done. You just haven’t had the right guidance.
You are lost.

Pm me

Btw I have a client who went from a 550 to a 680 and got into many top business schools simply by working on their confidence and having the right guidance. Killer applications helped too.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

What you are feeling right now is heavy, and it is real, but it is not the truth about you or your future. You are not useless. You are someone who studied for a test, did not get the score you wanted, and is now sitting in a hard moment. Those are very different things. 
 
Let me give you the honest diagnostic, because I think it will help more than reassurance. 
 
Your scores were 395, 515, 425. The 515 was your best. Then on the third attempt you dropped to 425. That kind of move is not random, and it is not because you cannot be good at the GMAT. There is almost always a specific reason, and in your case you told me what it was. On the third attempt, you barely studied Verbal. Verbal was your strongest section, the one you earned a badge for. When you stopped practicing it, it regressed. That is one of the most important things to understand about this test. Strong sections do not stay strong on their own. They need maintenance. Not heavy daily drilling, but consistent light practice so the skills stay sharp. The moment a strong section is treated as done, it slides. That is what happened between attempt two and attempt three. 
 
The second pattern worth naming is the volatility itself. A range of 395 to 515 across three attempts tells me the underlying mastery is not yet deep. When the content is truly learned, scores still vary a little, but not by 90 to 120 points. Wide swings mean you are getting some questions right because you remember a method, and getting others wrong because the same concept showed up in a slightly different form and you did not recognize it. That is a depth-of-learning issue, and it is fixable. But it does not get fixed by taking another test soon. 
 
So what should you actually do? 
 
I would not retake the GMAT in the near term. Taking it again without changing your approach is likely to produce another inconsistent score, and you have already learned that lesson. The path that gets you a real score increase is rebuilding your prep from the foundation up. That means studying one topic at a time, learning the concepts, formulas, and techniques thoroughly, and then practicing only that topic until your accuracy is consistently high before moving to the next. Quant has dozens of subtopics. Verbal and Data Insights have their own. Going through them individually, with depth, is what builds mastery that holds up on test day. Doing full-length practice tests over and over is not what builds the skill. It is what  measures  the skill. 
 
For every question you miss in practice, the review is what turns it into improvement. Ask yourself a few things:

Was it a concept I did not actually know?  
  Did I misread the question or the answer choices?  
  Did I make a careless arithmetic or notation error?  
  Did I fall for a trap answer the test was guiding me toward?   
 Each of those four buckets requires a different response. Concept gaps mean going back to the lesson. Misreads mean slowing down on the prompt. Careless errors mean cleaning up your written work. Traps mean studying how the test sets them and learning to recognize the pattern. Without that diagnostic step, you cannot tell what to fix, and you end up doing more questions without getting better. 
 
On the bigger decision. I would seriously consider postponing the master's by a year. I know that feels like a defeat right now, but it is not. A year of proper preparation, getting to 565 and beyond comfortably, and entering the program you actually want is a better outcome than rushing into a more expensive program that is not your first choice. The schools will be there next year. Your career will not be defined by whether you start this fall or next fall. It will be defined by where you eventually go and how you perform once you are there. 
 
If postponing is genuinely not an option, then look at other programs whose minimums you already meet, but go in with clear eyes about cost and fit. Do not apply to a school you do not actually want just to avoid waiting. 
 
One last thing. The GMAT is a skill. It is not a measure of intelligence, worth, or future success. People raise their scores by 100, 150, 200 points all the time, and the difference between them and where they started is  process . You are not stuck where you are unless you decide to be.

My recommendation. Step away from the test for a few weeks. Then come back with a structured, topic-by-topic plan, rebuild Quant and Data Insights from the concepts up, and keep Verbal warm with light daily work so it stays at the level it was at on your second attempt. Plan for a single, properly prepared retake on a longer timeline. That is the version of this story that ends well.

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I m done. Please help me!

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