Hi

I haven't found much mental support online for the GMAT, and I wish I had more readings and stories to relate to. So I thought I'd start by sharing my own in the hope that others would relate.
I started preparing for the GMAT three months ago. I've been studying full time and already put in 450 hours. To be honest, I am not 100% sure that I want to do an MBA, but it's been on my mind for some years now, so I thought if I could get a good GMAT score, the door to a top MBA school would be a little more accessible if ever I decided to go down that path.
My experience studying the GMAT has been tough. I am very driven and self-motivated, studying everyday, having a tight schedule drawn out on an excel spreadsheet including study time, sport session and sleep hours (I know it's intense

). I've really been putting in my best. I started at 590, and I'm still stuck around 650 (best score is 670 so far) aiming for 700. I expected it to be hard, but I am surprised at how hard it is to hit the top 600, 700 scores. I have a masters in Neuroscience, I worked in big firms, I -modestly- don't think I'm not smart. But I haven't done any pure math or logic in over ten years, and I struggle with the quant section. Learning a new way to think, developing new brain patterns, adopting logic and quants habits are things that take time and a lot of hard work. After 450 hours, I see a huge improvement but I also hit a tough reality : for me, it's not enough.
You read a lot of success stories; friends, family members, colleagues have told me "of course you can do it, you're smart". And it's disheartening to face the fact that I don't have their easy ability to score well on the GMAT. Of course I know that I have the capacity. We all do, but for some people this means two weeks of studying, for me, probably six months, for others maybe two years.
I get so frustrated. I have highs, where I see myself improving and reaching my goal, and then I'll be disappointed by a score and feel down and lonely in this battle.
Anyways, my test is in one week, and even though I won't score 700, I'm glad I tried so hard. No regrets. Of course, I know that I have learned so much from this experience and I like to think that my brain is a lot stronger than it was four months ago, which will benefit me for the rest of my life. I guess, that, in itself is a huge reward.