Scored 635 on First GMAT Attempt Looking for Guidance!

Question

Hi everyone,

Hope you're all doing well, wherever you are in your journey.

I took my first GMAT Focus Edition attempt earlier this week and scored a 635 (Q86 / V84 / D74) (PFA score report). 
I'm targeting a retake in the first week of May and would really appreciate your thoughts on how I can improve from here.

Quick Background on My Prep:

Quant:   
 
   Generally strong in quant, but focused extra practice on weak areas (Inequalities, Probability/Stats, Absolute Value, Work-Rate).   
   TTP Medium/Hard practice tests: ~70% accuracy on first tries.   
   Also practiced topic-wise from GMAT Club problem sets.

Verbal:   
 
   RC: Tried eGMAT but didn’t connect with the method. Instead used Top 1% question sets + reviewed explanations to identify patterns in mistakes.   
   CR: Same approach – focused on quality over quantity.

DI:   
 
   My weakest section. Struggled to find prep material that matched the actual exam level.   
   Practiced using TTP sets and GMAT Club questions, but feel it didn’t bridge the gap.   
   Found official/mocked DI questions significantly harder.

Mocks:   
 
   Scored ~685–705 in GMAT Official Mocks (I & II retaken, III & IV first attempts).   
   I realized I may have taken longer breaks between sections during mocks, which inflated my scores. Planning to simulate test-day conditions more strictly in future mocks.

I'm committed to improving and would love any tips, strategies, or resources you think could help me close the 40-60 point gap and perform more consistently—especially in DI and Verbal.

Thanks so much in advance, and good luck to everyone else on the same path!

Best,
P

agas2504 · Answer

hey! from your mock score feels like exam pressure got to you. I would focus on two things imo, 1) practice official DI questions only 2) While practising mocks and DI in particular since your scores in the other two seem okay and similar to mine - focus on learning to skip questions when you are doing mocks, if you dont know just blindly skip and move to a easier question.

This is what i would do, more official questions and practising exam taking strat especially skipping tough DI questions. Some of them are just batshit and designed to trip you

I **** up in verbal i think i could have easily done better, but your scores are similar to mine except DI. do not consider re-takes as a legit score other than practising exam strategy. Buy the rest and focus on timing DI. Verbal i would focus on heart of the passage strategy, every passage whether RC or CR find the heart always - this is what i learned from GMAT Ninja prep and it worked for me

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi pa_gilchrist,

I'm happy to help. To start, can you send me a screenshot of your TTP analytics page?

NextstopISB · Answer

Good advice Scott, for improving

Gmat750aspirant · Answer

Thanks for sharing your insights—it's great that you're reflecting so deeply on your mock performance. Simulating test-day conditions more strictly sounds like a solid move; it can definitely reveal where the real stamina and pacing challenges lie. For closing that 40–60 point gap, I’d recommend focusing on timed sectional practice, especially for DI and Verbal, and analyzing not just wrong answers but also lucky guesses. Tools like GMAT Club’s question bank or Manhattan’s advanced practice sets might help sharpen your accuracy under pressure. Keep up the grind—you’ve got this!

bhargavhhhhhhhh · Answer

Very good score, all the best with your 40-60 points Improvement

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

You are looking for advice on how to improve your GMAT score?

ManifestDreamMBA · Answer

All the best with the score improvement!

NextstopISB · Answer

All the best with your GMAT exam score improvement

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

Including any specific issues/question types you find challenging could be helpful. For CR assumption questions, for example, the negation technique may help a bit. If you feel it takes you a bit of time to warm up, consider doing a few questions before taking a mock/exam (i.e. not letting the first questions you see on the day be those of the actual test).

Ayeka · Answer

Try practicing DI questions from OG’s or you can make quizzes of 20 questions and practise. It might help you bridge the gap

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