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Struggling with GMAT Verbal as a non-native speaker? Harsh improved his score from 595 to 695 in just 45 days—and scored a 99 %ile in Verbal (V88)! Learn how smart strategy, clarity, and guided prep helped him gain 100 points.
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At one point, she believed GMAT wasn’t for her. After scoring 595, self-doubt crept in and she questioned her potential. But instead of quitting, she made the right strategic changes. The result? A remarkable comeback to 695. Check out how Saakshi did it.
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Whether you are just beginning your MBA journey or fine-tuning your path to a 700+ score, GMAT Day is designed to give you a competitive edge.
21 Jan 2024, 12:21
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Hi. As you correctly noted, it’s not gonna be one of those 700+ debriefs. It is just my years-long journey from <340 to 670. I’m not that gifted type of a guy. I’m just a hard worker, so I’m ok with this result, and I’m not gonna retake the test.
I’m writing this debrief because I just couldn’t leave this group without giving thanks to a lot of people who helped me in one way or another and because I have something to say, and because I believe I can give some valuable advice even with this score.
In addition, I will be glad if you answer some of my questions at the end and give your valuable advice.
If you wanna go directly to a summary of some tips I find valuable, you can scroll right there.
First of all, I wanna thank bb and his team for this wonderful community and events happening here, and free tests of course. This is the place I spent most of my time preparing for GMAT.
Also, I wanna thank GMATNinja for his great approach to a lot of explanations on this forum. There were a lot of cases when most people knew that options were out of scope, but I didn’t get it. This is where GMATNinja helped by explaining every answer choice, even when it seemed obvious to others.
I wanna thank KarishmaB for her explanations to CR. They were solid.
I wanna thank AjiteshArun, MartyTargetTestPrep, and EMPOWERgmatRichC for their help when I had questions.
Bunuel? I think no words are needed. Just thank you too!
Last but not least, thanks to all the other members who contributed to this community.
Btw, I got fee waivers for my first three attempts, so thanks to GMAC too.
My background: 25 years old, male, technical B and Ms degrees in the same middle-ranked tough university in Ukraine, a few years of IT WE.
I didn’t study English in high school because I was young and inexperienced (or foolish if you want). So, my level of English after high school was like:
- My name *****. Tomorrow I was school. Yesterday I will cinema.
I had started learning English just a year or so before I started preparing for the GMAT.
My English level went up to around B1-B2. I took the verbal part in real set environment and scored 0 percentile. I didn't see this on GMAT, and you? It was worse than just guessing as was shown here on gmatclub on algorithm testing.
On quant, I used pauses and google translator because I knew that my English for math was bad and I didn’t understand what factor is, or power of number, etc, so I just wanted to test my quant skills in isolation from English. That is why I wrote <340 at the beginning. Because in real set, that score would be way lower.
I took some more prep tests and scored in the high 500s. Then, I exhausted free prep tests, and my subsequent scores were inflated (I got high 600s and low 700s). But I felt prepared, so I took the real test.
CR: PowerScore Bible
RC: The Economist + a couple of books about journeys.
I was expecting to get 650+ or oven 700. However, I got 580(V32 Q38). I was shocked mostly because of my quant score, which during practice tests was rarely lower than 48. However, I didn’t cancel the score for it was at least a score.
Decision: to practice more for Quant and improve Verbal just a few points.
+ GMATclub app with math games full access.
CR: practice Gmat Prep questions
RC: The Economist + articles from digest called aldaily.
This time, I scored 590(V23 Q49). Now, I was shocked by my Verbal score as I never got anything lower than 27 during the latest practice tests.
Decision: to practice more for Verbal and maintain Quant.
CR: practice Gmat Prep questions + OG
RC: The Economist + articles from digest called aldaily.
This time, I scored 580(27 Q43). Now, I was not shocked but disappointed. I was expecting to get a superscore like 680 (V32 Q49), but I got what I got. Cancelled the score.
Decision: to cancel the score and try to apply with the two previous ones.
I applied to a few top MBAs (I do not regret I tried) and was rejected but was recommended by some of these BSs to apply for Ms in Management at their university.
I did so and got admitted with some scholarship, which was just a fraction of total cost.
As Covid stared, I decided to withdraw my application and didn’t go.
So, I concentrated on my weakest side, according to my ESRs – RC. I wanted to not spend a lot of time, coz I didn’t have it, so I started reading what was interesting, useful, and simultaneously, challenging for me.
So, from 2020 to 2023 I did the following:
CR: 2 CR from LSAT
Reading:
Some of the books I remember reading in order of their usefulness for improving RC (for me):
The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow
Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY by Professor Jeremy Patrich MA
Propaganda (1928) by Edward Bernays
12 Rules for Life by Jordan B Peterson
Meditations in an Emergency by Frank O'Hara
Journals: mostly The Guardian, and everything interesting I encountered on the internet.
While we were constantly bombarded by Russian missiles and rockets, I decided to start preparing for my 4th, and I hoped last, attempt at the GMAT, this time the Online version.
I had more money this time, so I bought a lot of CATs. 4 or 5 CATs from Manhattan, some from Global Experts and 3-4 and 5-6 from the GMAT Prep.
I did around 15 paid CATs in total during this period, 1 CAT a week.
Some of my results were as follows:
Manhattan 680 Q40 V42
Global Experts 660 Q41 V39
Global 600 Q43 V31
GE 690 Q47 V37
GMEP3 710 Q48 V38
Manhattan 610 Q38 V35
GMEP4 610 Q44 V31
Manhattan 640 Q42 V36
GE+CLUB 650 Q40 V39
GMEP5 660 Q44 V36
Manhattan 700 Q46 V40
GMEP6 680 Q45 V38
I also won access to gmatclub tests for a few months after our team won some competition, and I took several Qaunt tests.
Feeling ready for the actual exam, I booked an online appointment at the end of 2023.
Because of misslies attacks and subsequently broken electrical infrastructure, I had to buy a power station so that even if there were no light and internet, I could take the test online. Fortunately, there were no outages during the exam.
So I decided to give it another, last try. And because GMAT Classic was about to be replaced by Focus version, which I didn’t like, I wanted to retake the test as quickly as possible without much additional prep.
CR: 1-2 questions a day
RC: nothing except for reading a paper book: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
So, I gave it the last try. I started with verbal. The first questions were strange. I wasn’t sure whether I got them right. At the middle of Verbal section, I started seeing Evaluate the Argument type of CR questions and even bold face ones at the third quarter, so I thought I didn’t do very bad, and that gave me some confidence. SC was a piece of cake; at least it seemed so. And RC was average but with tough questions.
Quant was strange. Questions were short but felt pretty difficult. I made a lot of smart guesses at DS. They were typical of what I saw after solving thousands of questions, so I felt the right answers even though I couldn’t prove them 100%. I was a bit worried that I didn’t see any probability/ combinatorics questions, or coordinate geometry ones. But at the end, they actually appeared just in that order. I probably got them wrong because I was short on time.
At the end of the exam, a score of 670 (V35 Q47 IR4) appeared. I have a beam from ear to ear. I was completely satisfied with this result, and I knew that this was the end of this long GMAT preparation story and I could have some brain rest for up to 5 next years.
Additionally, use practice questions wisely. I would recommend not even touching the GMAT Prep or GMAT Prep Focus sections at gmatclub if you are going to buy tests in the future. I made that mistake and saw some questions in the tests I bought. So, if you don’t want inflated scores, stick to OG + LSAT + free question from the default packs.
Don’t forget to use CATs to feel time pressure and accommodate and to find weak areas for improvement.
In addition, there are some articles from E-Gmat about the logic of negation, which is essential for GMAT CR. There were the best explanations for what is the opposite of ‘All’, “Some”, ‘None’, etc. I even used that knowledge in real life.
For practice, OG + free GMAT Prep + LSAT questions are more than enough.
For RC: English is essential. I believe, C1 is the lowest level one can have to feel good during RC. So, if one is a non-English speaker, then reading books + articles is a must, just in order to understand what is happening in the passage.
For SC: Nothing; it is dropped from the GMAT Focus.
What STEM-designated full-time MBAs in finance do you advise me to consider that give decent scholarships or even full rides? I am interested in BSs in New York and in sunny states like Florida or California. Your advice is much appreciated.
Now on my list are Fordham (NY), Warrington (FL), and Herbert (FL).
I’m writing this debrief because I just couldn’t leave this group without giving thanks to a lot of people who helped me in one way or another and because I have something to say, and because I believe I can give some valuable advice even with this score.
In addition, I will be glad if you answer some of my questions at the end and give your valuable advice.
If you wanna go directly to a summary of some tips I find valuable, you can scroll right there.
First of all, I wanna thank bb and his team for this wonderful community and events happening here, and free tests of course. This is the place I spent most of my time preparing for GMAT.
Also, I wanna thank GMATNinja for his great approach to a lot of explanations on this forum. There were a lot of cases when most people knew that options were out of scope, but I didn’t get it. This is where GMATNinja helped by explaining every answer choice, even when it seemed obvious to others.
I wanna thank KarishmaB for her explanations to CR. They were solid.
I wanna thank AjiteshArun, MartyTargetTestPrep, and EMPOWERgmatRichC for their help when I had questions.
Bunuel? I think no words are needed. Just thank you too!
Last but not least, thanks to all the other members who contributed to this community.
Btw, I got fee waivers for my first three attempts, so thanks to GMAC too.
My background: 25 years old, male, technical B and Ms degrees in the same middle-ranked tough university in Ukraine, a few years of IT WE.
Why I started preparing for GMAT.
It all started with migration purposes but evolved into something more than that. It is a long story, but when I found out what an MBA is, I really liked the idea of studying in the US for purposes other than just migration. I didn’t study English in high school because I was young and inexperienced (or foolish if you want). So, my level of English after high school was like:
- My name *****. Tomorrow I was school. Yesterday I will cinema.
I had started learning English just a year or so before I started preparing for the GMAT.
My first Prep Test Attempt.
I took the first prep test in 2017 and scored 340 (Q34 V6).My English level went up to around B1-B2. I took the verbal part in real set environment and scored 0 percentile. I didn't see this on GMAT, and you? It was worse than just guessing as was shown here on gmatclub on algorithm testing.
On quant, I used pauses and google translator because I knew that my English for math was bad and I didn’t understand what factor is, or power of number, etc, so I just wanted to test my quant skills in isolation from English. That is why I wrote <340 at the beginning. Because in real set, that score would be way lower.
I took some more prep tests and scored in the high 500s. Then, I exhausted free prep tests, and my subsequent scores were inflated (I got high 600s and low 700s). But I felt prepared, so I took the real test.
My 1st real Test Attempt (end of 2018).
What I did for Quant.
Gmatclub Math Book + a few hundred questions from OG.What I did for Verbal.
SC: Aristotle GraalCR: PowerScore Bible
RC: The Economist + a couple of books about journeys.
I was expecting to get 650+ or oven 700. However, I got 580(V32 Q38). I was shocked mostly because of my quant score, which during practice tests was rarely lower than 48. However, I didn’t cancel the score for it was at least a score.
Decision: to practice more for Quant and improve Verbal just a few points.
My 2d real Test Attempt (start of 2019).
What I did for Quant.
Gmatclub Math Book + a few thousands of questions from OG and some from the Gmat Prep directory on gmatclub.+ GMATclub app with math games full access.
What I did for Verbal.
SC: practice Gmat Prep questionsCR: practice Gmat Prep questions
RC: The Economist + articles from digest called aldaily.
This time, I scored 590(V23 Q49). Now, I was shocked by my Verbal score as I never got anything lower than 27 during the latest practice tests.
Decision: to practice more for Verbal and maintain Quant.
My 3rd real Test Attempt (end of 2019).
What I did for Quant.
Gmatclub Math Book + up to a thousand questions from OG and some from the Gmat Prep directory on gmatclub.What I did for Verbal.
SC: practice Gmat Prep questions + OGCR: practice Gmat Prep questions + OG
RC: The Economist + articles from digest called aldaily.
This time, I scored 580(27 Q43). Now, I was not shocked but disappointed. I was expecting to get a superscore like 680 (V32 Q49), but I got what I got. Cancelled the score.
Decision: to cancel the score and try to apply with the two previous ones.
I applied to a few top MBAs (I do not regret I tried) and was rejected but was recommended by some of these BSs to apply for Ms in Management at their university.
I did so and got admitted with some scholarship, which was just a fraction of total cost.
As Covid stared, I decided to withdraw my application and didn’t go.
START OF COVID
At this time, I had two jobs and didn’t prepare as hard as I did before, but I knew I would have to take the GMAT again. So, I concentrated on my weakest side, according to my ESRs – RC. I wanted to not spend a lot of time, coz I didn’t have it, so I started reading what was interesting, useful, and simultaneously, challenging for me.
So, from 2020 to 2023 I did the following:
Verbal
SC: 1-2 SC a dayCR: 2 CR from LSAT
Reading:
Some of the books I remember reading in order of their usefulness for improving RC (for me):
The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow
Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY by Professor Jeremy Patrich MA
Propaganda (1928) by Edward Bernays
12 Rules for Life by Jordan B Peterson
Meditations in an Emergency by Frank O'Hara
Journals: mostly The Guardian, and everything interesting I encountered on the internet.
February 2022 – RUSSIA DECLARES SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION IN UKRAINE
The first year went fast, so I’m gonna go directly to 2023.While we were constantly bombarded by Russian missiles and rockets, I decided to start preparing for my 4th, and I hoped last, attempt at the GMAT, this time the Online version.
I had more money this time, so I bought a lot of CATs. 4 or 5 CATs from Manhattan, some from Global Experts and 3-4 and 5-6 from the GMAT Prep.
I did around 15 paid CATs in total during this period, 1 CAT a week.
Some of my results were as follows:
Manhattan 680 Q40 V42
Global Experts 660 Q41 V39
Global 600 Q43 V31
GE 690 Q47 V37
GMEP3 710 Q48 V38
Manhattan 610 Q38 V35
GMEP4 610 Q44 V31
Manhattan 640 Q42 V36
GE+CLUB 650 Q40 V39
GMEP5 660 Q44 V36
Manhattan 700 Q46 V40
GMEP6 680 Q45 V38
I also won access to gmatclub tests for a few months after our team won some competition, and I took several Qaunt tests.
Feeling ready for the actual exam, I booked an online appointment at the end of 2023.
Because of misslies attacks and subsequently broken electrical infrastructure, I had to buy a power station so that even if there were no light and internet, I could take the test online. Fortunately, there were no outages during the exam.
My 4th real Test Attempt (end of 2023 Online).
So, I took the actual exam and scored 630 (V31 Q45). While I was again disappointed, at least I crossed the 600 line… I could, in theory, try to apply to some BS with that result, but I knew that I made some silly mistakes at Quant, and that my Verbal was definitely higher. As you cannot get ESR for Online GMAT, I didn’t know where I failed.So I decided to give it another, last try. And because GMAT Classic was about to be replaced by Focus version, which I didn’t like, I wanted to retake the test as quickly as possible without much additional prep.
My 5th real Test Attempt (January of 2024 Online).
What I did for Quant.
10 questions a day from either gmatclub tests or from the Gmat Prep section on gmatclubWhat I did for Verbal.
SC: 2 questions a dayCR: 1-2 questions a day
RC: nothing except for reading a paper book: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
So, I gave it the last try. I started with verbal. The first questions were strange. I wasn’t sure whether I got them right. At the middle of Verbal section, I started seeing Evaluate the Argument type of CR questions and even bold face ones at the third quarter, so I thought I didn’t do very bad, and that gave me some confidence. SC was a piece of cake; at least it seemed so. And RC was average but with tough questions.
Quant was strange. Questions were short but felt pretty difficult. I made a lot of smart guesses at DS. They were typical of what I saw after solving thousands of questions, so I felt the right answers even though I couldn’t prove them 100%. I was a bit worried that I didn’t see any probability/ combinatorics questions, or coordinate geometry ones. But at the end, they actually appeared just in that order. I probably got them wrong because I was short on time.
At the end of the exam, a score of 670 (V35 Q47 IR4) appeared. I have a beam from ear to ear. I was completely satisfied with this result, and I knew that this was the end of this long GMAT preparation story and I could have some brain rest for up to 5 next years.
LITTLE TIPS (My View)
The most important tip is to read as much as possible and as early as possible if you are a non-English speaker.Additionally, use practice questions wisely. I would recommend not even touching the GMAT Prep or GMAT Prep Focus sections at gmatclub if you are going to buy tests in the future. I made that mistake and saw some questions in the tests I bought. So, if you don’t want inflated scores, stick to OG + LSAT + free question from the default packs.
Don’t forget to use CATs to feel time pressure and accommodate and to find weak areas for improvement.
Verbal
For CR, the PowerScore Bible is the best. It gives excellent basic knowledge for this section, and I feel I got roughly 80% of the knowledge and tips from this very book. (I scored 90 percentile at the first test according to ESR)In addition, there are some articles from E-Gmat about the logic of negation, which is essential for GMAT CR. There were the best explanations for what is the opposite of ‘All’, “Some”, ‘None’, etc. I even used that knowledge in real life.
For practice, OG + free GMAT Prep + LSAT questions are more than enough.
For RC: English is essential. I believe, C1 is the lowest level one can have to feel good during RC. So, if one is a non-English speaker, then reading books + articles is a must, just in order to understand what is happening in the passage.
For SC: Nothing; it is dropped from the GMAT Focus.
Quant
GmatClub Math book is everything I recommend for the basics. It is just important to learn everything in that book. There is nothing that is not useful, and it gives more than enough information and theory if it is learned with good practice. The only thing I didn’t learn well was coordinate geometry. As one guy here said, “Just draw.” So, I preferred the drawing approach to using formulas for coordinate geometry.MY QUESTION
What STEM-designated full-time MBAs in finance do you advise me to consider that give decent scholarships or even full rides? I am interested in BSs in New York and in sunny states like Florida or California. Your advice is much appreciated.
Now on my list are Fordham (NY), Warrington (FL), and Herbert (FL).
21 Jan 2024, 12:26
Kudos
Bookmarks
Amazing debrief! Congratulations! This is a huge improvement! Only 0.1% really reach a 300-point improvement. I did not.
Congratulations esp studying and focusing during the war 😢
Congratulations on your fantastic achievement and thank you for this inspiring story!
And Slava Ukraini!
Let me know if you need any advice for your applications.
Posted from my mobile device
Congratulations esp studying and focusing during the war 😢
Congratulations on your fantastic achievement and thank you for this inspiring story!
And Slava Ukraini!
Let me know if you need any advice for your applications.
Posted from my mobile device
PyjamaScientist
Admitted - Which School Forum Moderator
Joined: 25 Oct 2020
Last visit: 04 Apr 2026
Posts: 1,126
Given Kudos: 633
Schools: Ross '25 (M$)
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42 (Online)
Products:
21 Jan 2024, 13:32
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Hey that's a phenomenal improvement! So happy for you. Especially with all the struggle and war in your home country. Huge respect!
My advice to you would be to also apply to some top 15 schools. I am pretty sure you will have great stories to share and any top school would appreciate your work ethic. If you decide to apply to Ross, please feel free to reach out to me. Happy to help.
Take care!
Slava Ukraini!
My advice to you would be to also apply to some top 15 schools. I am pretty sure you will have great stories to share and any top school would appreciate your work ethic. If you decide to apply to Ross, please feel free to reach out to me. Happy to help.
Take care!
Slava Ukraini!
