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Abhikvisha
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Location: India
Schools: ISB '27
GMAT Focus 1: 625 Q81 V82 DI81
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My GMAT Preparation Journey and Request for Guidance 04 Dec 2024, 12:06
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Background

  • First Attempt: Took my first GMAT on 2nd December 2024, scoring 535.
  • Preparation Start: Began preparing in April 2024, in bits and pieces, using multiple resources like E-GMAT, Experts’ Global, and GMAT Club.


Preparation Resources Used

  1. E-GMAT
    • Completed the verbal section, focusing on CR and RC.
    • Built a foundation in CR and RC, which were previously random for me.
    • Could not complete the Test Readiness section as my scores didn’t meet the benchmark.
  2. Experts’ Global
    • Started using it in October, recommended by a senior.
    • Found the short videos extremely helpful.
    • Gave three mocks and scored 595-615, with 495 in the first mock due to missed questions.
  3. GMAT Club
    • Continued daily practice with CR Butler and RC/CR exercises from Experts’ Global.
    • Gave three mocks and scored in the 595-615 range.
  4. Official Mocks
    • Attempted Mocks 3 and 4, scoring 615 a week and a month before the exam.


Challenges Faced on Exam Day (Test Sequence VA, DI, break, QA)

  • Verbal Section:
    • Found questions moderate but couldn’t manage time effectively, leaving four questions at the end with only one correct.
  • Quant Section:

    • Felt questions were easier than mocks but
    • Made errors in five questions, possibly due to silly mistakes.
  • DI Section:
    • Felt questions were easier than mocks. Completed the section a bit early.
    • Made errors in five questions, possibly due to silly mistakes.


Current Situation
  • Working a full-time job, which made preparation inconsistent.
  • Have 5 years of experience and need a 655+ score to strengthen my profile.
  • Planning to retake the GMAT after 10th January 2025.


Request for Guidance
I need your advice on:
  1. Study Plans – How to allocate time effectively with my job.
  2. Strategies – Approaches to improve time management, accuracy, and focus in both verbal and quant.
  3. Resources – Any additional resources or techniques to strengthen weak areas like DI and verbal.
Thank you for your time and support. I’ve attached my ESR report for reference.


Bunuel, IanStewart, chetan2u, KarishmaB, AndrewN, IanStewart, [color=#ff6600]PyjamaScientist [/color]










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My GMAT Preparation Journey and Request for Guidance 04 Dec 2024, 19:04
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Abhikvisha
Request for Guidance
I need your advice on:
  1. Study Plans – How to allocate time effectively with my job.
  2. Strategies – Approaches to improve time management, accuracy, and focus in both verbal and quant.

Regarding your first two requests, I have some great articles for you to check out:

How to Study for the GMAT While Working in a Demanding Job

Timing Strategies For a Higher GMAT Quant Score

GMAT Verbal Timing Strategy

Feel free to reach out with any questions.
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My GMAT Preparation Journey and Request for Guidance 04 Dec 2024, 21:59
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Abhikvisha
Verbal Section:
  • Found questions moderate but couldn’t manage time effectively, leaving four questions at the end with only one correct.
Hi Abhikvisha,

Did this happen during your official practice tests as well, and what were your (verbal) scores on those tests?
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Abhikvisha
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My GMAT Preparation Journey and Request for Guidance 05 Dec 2024, 12:56
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AjiteshArun
Abhikvisha
Verbal Section:
  • Found questions moderate but couldn’t manage time effectively, leaving four questions at the end with only one correct.
Hi Abhikvisha,

Did this happen during your official practice tests as well, and what were your (verbal) scores on those tests?

Yes in my official mocks also i was short of time. In those two i got V79 and V81. got 12 correct in first and 13-14 correct in second
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AjiteshArun
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GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
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GRE 1: Q170 V169
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My GMAT Preparation Journey and Request for Guidance 06 Dec 2024, 00:06
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Abhikvisha
Yes in my official mocks also i was short of time. In those two i got V79 and V81. got 12 correct in first and 13-14 correct in second
Got it. Apart from any other prep you're doing, can you put a time management strategy in place? We generally don't want to guess through or leave the last few questions.
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Abhikvisha
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Location: India
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GMAT Focus 1: 625 Q81 V82 DI81
GPA: 8.12
Schools: ISB '27
GMAT Focus 1: 625 Q81 V82 DI81
Posts: 24
Kudos: 27
My GMAT Preparation Journey and Request for Guidance 08 Dec 2024, 09:24
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AjiteshArun
Abhikvisha
Yes in my official mocks also i was short of time. In those two i got V79 and V81. got 12 correct in first and 13-14 correct in second
Got it. Apart from any other prep you're doing, can you put a time management strategy in place? We generally don't want to guess through or leave the last few questions.
Don't know actually how to implement the time management strategy. i have read that these many questions to be completed by this much time in any section to complete that section, but while doing so if i am stuck in one or two and simply mark and move then those two will also get wrong. what to do with this?
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AjiteshArun
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Location: India
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
GMAT 1: 780 Q50 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V169
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
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GRE 1: Q170 V169
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My GMAT Preparation Journey and Request for Guidance 08 Dec 2024, 21:26
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Abhikvisha
Don't know actually how to implement the time management strategy. i have read that these many questions to be completed by this much time in any section to complete that section, but while doing so if i am stuck in one or two and simply mark and move then those two will also get wrong. what to do with this?
Yes, mistakes aren't good for your score, so what you pointed out is definitely a problem. But getting a bunch of questions wrong in a row at the end is usually a bigger problem.

You should also think about how deep you want to go in any one specific question. For example, let's say that we go over 2 min on a CR question, maybe 3-5 minutes. At that point, we still don't know whether we're going to mark the right answer, so maybe the extra time spent on that question could have helped us on some other (easier) question.
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Abhikvisha
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Kudos: 27
My GMAT Preparation Journey and Request for Guidance 08 Dec 2024, 21:53
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AjiteshArun
Abhikvisha
Don't know actually how to implement the time management strategy. i have read that these many questions to be completed by this much time in any section to complete that section, but while doing so if i am stuck in one or two and simply mark and move then those two will also get wrong. what to do with this?
Yes, mistakes aren't good for your score, so what you pointed out is definitely a problem. But getting a bunch of questions wrong in a row at the end is usually a bigger problem.

You should also think about how deep you want to go in any one specific question. For example, let's say that we go over 2 min on a CR question, maybe 3-5 minutes. At that point, we still don't know whether we're going to mark the right answer, so maybe the extra time spent on that question could have helped us on some other (easier) question.


I try to keep a limit of 3-4 mins per question at max. And probably get stuck on the tricky ones more often than not.

Also do you think practice more number of questions in a timed manner will improve my ability.

I am doing 12-13 CR and 12-13 RC questions daily within 45 mins and am able to correct 60-70 percent at max. My average is 55-60% only.
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My GMAT Preparation Journey and Request for Guidance 08 Dec 2024, 22:02
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Abhikvisha
I try to keep a limit of 3-4 mins per question at max. And probably get stuck on the tricky ones more often than not.

Also do you think practice more number of questions in a timed manner will improve my ability.

I am doing 12-13 CR and 12-13 RC questions daily within 45 mins and am able to correct 60-70 percent at max. My average is 55-60% only.
Hi Abhikvisha,

It depends on where you're going wrong, and why. But generally speaking, amount of practice, untimed practice, and timed practice are all important. So taking more sectional tests could absolutely help you improve your verbal score. Just make sure that you analyse those tests well too (including the official explanations, if available). That's where a lot of the learning happens.
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Abhikvisha
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My GMAT Preparation Journey and Request for Guidance 08 Dec 2024, 22:31
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AjiteshArun
Abhikvisha
I try to keep a limit of 3-4 mins per question at max. And probably get stuck on the tricky ones more often than not.

Also do you think practice more number of questions in a timed manner will improve my ability.

I am doing 12-13 CR and 12-13 RC questions daily within 45 mins and am able to correct 60-70 percent at max. My average is 55-60% only.
Hi Abhikvisha,

It depends on where you're going wrong, and why. But generally speaking, amount of practice, untimed practice, and timed practice are all important. So taking more sectional tests could absolutely help you improve your verbal score. Just make sure that you analyse those tests well too (including the official explanations, if available). That's where a lot of the learning happens.
Okay will try to improve as much as possible by analysing.
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