Can I ever get 645+ ? What should I do ?

Question

Hi all, I am just not able to get over 585 - 595 in my mock exams. DI is killing my score. I will put the ESR of my Mock exam. I will be really grateful for any/all inputs that will enable me to get a score of 645+.

I think it is the DI section that is killing my total score. How is it even possible to do these questions at an average pace of 2.5 per question? I take 5 minutes to read, understand and solve the MSR and Table analysis questions...

In Quant - Is it better to bail out when I hit the 2-minute average for the question number? Will it help my score not drop, rather than spending more time on questions that are troubling me please?

I think most of these questions take more than 3-4 minutes - how is it even possible to solve these in under 2 mins correctly?

I have attached screenshots of the ESR from my mock.

Thanks in advance.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

For starters, I suggest that you practice DI questions *untimed* for the time being. I’m not sure what your previous DI scores have been, but losing that many points in DI tells me that your main goal (for now) should be accuracy, not speed. When you truly understand the question types and the underlying logic, your timing will naturally improve.

Another way to improve your DI skills is through careful analysis of your practice sets. Whenever you miss a question, take a moment to determine why it happened. Was it a careless mistake, a misapplication of a formula or rule, a concept you didn’t fully understand, or a trap answer? If it was a trap, try to pinpoint *exactly* what made it tempting. This kind of error analysis is one of the fastest ways to strengthen your skills, and it works across all GMAT topics.

Since time management is especially important in the Data Insights section, it’s also worth keeping a few general strategies in mind as you practice. Start by skimming the information to get a high-level sense of what the data is showing, rather than getting lost in every detail. Let the answer choices help you whenever possible; often the choices are spaced far enough apart that estimation will get you to the correct answer without heavy calculations. Elimination is another powerful tool: if an option clearly doesn’t fit the data, eliminate it and move on. Staying organized by jotting down quick notes can also save you from rereading the same information over and over. And finally, work on developing a decisive mindset. If a question is turning into a major time sink, it’s usually better to make an educated guess and keep moving than to get stuck.

You’ve got this!

For more on ideas, check out these articles:
-  How to Prepare for GMAT Data Insights 
-  Data Insights Timing Strategy

EducationAisle · Answer

Indeed, there is a significant issue with your timing  KrishnanTN . But this is not just limited to DI.

If we look at Quant, you spent six minutes on a single question. Consequently, you fell significantly short on time towards the end of the section. While you might think that you still got 3 out of the last four questions correct, it is not an accurate assessment. Between questions 14 to 17, since you got 3 out of 4 questions wrong, you would have gotten very easy questions towards the end (and hence, you were able to get 3 out of 4 questions correct), negatively impacting your overall score.

KrishnanTN · Answer

EducationAisle  - Thanks for the feedback. Please if you can let me know what I should be doing - it will be helpful.

Can I ever get 645+ ? What should I do ?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards