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Apr 2601:30 AM EDT
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Learn how Keshav, a Chartered Accountant, scored an impressive 705 on GMAT in just 30 days with GMATWhiz's expert guidance. In this video, he shares preparation tips and strategies that worked for him, including the mock, time management, and more.
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Apr 2512:30 AM EDT
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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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09 Jul 2025, 02:06
Kudos
Bookmarks
Amigos!
As I start my MBA soon, I felt that I must share my experience with this wonderful and helpful community that I have been (mostly a silent) part of. If my experience can help or inspire even one person, I’d be truly glad.
BIO
Indian IT Female
Grew up in a Tier 2 city
Engineering from a Tier 3 college (that’s some demotion!)
2 years as a software developer with an Indian IT factory
Then, 2 years in FinTech, including some rich international experience
Standard co-curriculars in college: some sports, some cultural, and organizing fests
Some profile enrichment alongside GMAT preparation and apps prep: Startup advisory, social clubs
DECISION FOR GMAT ROUTE
After 3 x 90-something percentiles at CAT, I decided to look at the GMAT way.
OLDER GMAT, FIRST ATTEMPT 680 (Q44 V38 IR7 AWA6)
Prep mindset and material used
Having taken CAT, I was confident about my Quant. Hence, my preparation was focused on the Verbal section, particularly SC and CR. I consumed the very helpful official material early but found myself still deficient in fundamentals. I realized that I needed a proper course for my prep. I saw some free videos on GMAT Club and YouTube. Although such free videos by legends such as Ron were very helpful, I felt the need of a full course. After a few trials of the popular courses, I zeroed on Experts Global. I mainly utilized their SC and CR content with a few mocks. I used GMAT Club for viewing the discussions on certain questions. Towards the end of my prep, I got back to doing the official material again. In hindsight, repeating the official questions and the mocks gave me an inflated idea of my level. While I scored 710-740 in the repeated official mocks during the last days of my preparation, I felt that I remembered quite a few questions and my mock scores were exaggerated.
Test day
I opted for AWA-Quant-Verbal order, assuming that the Quant section would give me the needed comfort before attempting Verbal, my weaker section. Unfortunately, I struggled on the Quant section and had to guess on the last few questions. I tried not letting my Quant performance affect my Verbal score and I think I was fairly successful in doing that. However, the final scoreline was a 680 with just Q44 when Quant was supposed to be my stronger suite!
RUSHED ATTEMPT, OLDER GMAT (big dip, score cancelled)
Old GMAT was going to be unavailable soon and the GMAT was changing to Focus edition. I had not properly prepared for IR and thus, the DI section of Focus was going to be another challenge for me. Hence, I needed to re-attempt GMAT quickly (and that I could still catch R2/R3 deadlines was another bait in lurk). Therefore, I took a re-attempt, just ~20 days later. Frankly, I could not study well during those 20 days because I had to rejoin office (after a short break for my first GMAT attempt) and was all-occupied at work for most of those days.
Test day
I was neither fully prepared nor duly confident and it reflected in my performance. I scrapped through the test and performed poorly, much worse than my first attempt. Cancelling the score was an easy choice.
SHORT BREAK FROM GMAT PREP
Now that 2024 admissions were out of question, I had some time in hand. I decided to spend some time away from GMAT and introspect.
RESULT OF INTROSPECTION
I needed to take Quant as seriously as I took Verbal.
I needed to beat this new animal called Data Insights.
I needed to maintain and improve my Verbal prep.
Regarding SC being removed
I had worked a lot on SC, such that my speed as well as accuracy was highest on SC. Hard work done on SC prep was no longer relevant to GMAT. While many test takers were happy about SC going, it was a loss for me.
GMAT (FE) THIRD ATTEMPT 695 (Q85, V86, DI82)
The struggle
My biggest nemesis on the GMAT FE was speed (rather, the lack of it!). With SC gone, time available per RC and CR questions decreased for me. DI was time consuming and the first time I attempted this section in a mock, I could attempt only ~half the section. The requirement was clear: I needed to better my aptitude as well as my speed!
The prep
I needed a lot of practice. I decided to save the latest official material (newly available after Focus edition launch) for later. I had used Experts Global in my 680 attempt and found it useful. Their course and mocks were updated for FE so I decided to go with EG, again. The Quant part of the course was earlier unutilized by me so I solved all the videos and exercises. The Verbal part of their course had already been utilized by me so I just revised that and looked at loads of high-difficulty questions on GMAT Club. The most rigorous part of the prep was Data Insights. EG’s DI and virtually all of the official DI question bank gave due intensity to my DI prep. A crucial part of my prep was loads of mocks. I took some 12 out of the 15 EG mocks followed by all 6 official mocks. In my first attempt, I had suffered from inflated scores in repeated mocks; hence, I ensured that I do not repeat any mocks. Throughout, for questions I needed greater insight on, discussions on GMAT Club were very helpful.
Test day
I had scored in the range of 695-715 in my last 3 EG mocks and last 2 official mocks. I felt confident. I opted for Quant-Verbal-DI order. I felt nerves during Quant but felt settled after the first few questions. I got 1-2 geometry questions but they were probably not hardcore geometry questions but the ones that are still within GMAT syllabus. Verbal was probably the smoothest of the 3 sections that day. DI, my weakest section, really tested me. I received 2 MSR sets and I cajoled myself that I must be doing well! Thanks to all the timed practice and many mocks, I could complete the test timely.
The score
I felt that I had done well and expected to be on the higher end of the 695-715 range I was scoring in latest mocks. When I saw 695, I was just a bit disappointed but, honestly, the disappointment lasted for only a second. Before taking the test, I would have taken 695, hands down.
I felt relieved and euphoric! GMAT was won!!!!
WORK ON MBA APPLICATIONS
Decision on taking professional help
After a short break post GMAT, I decided to begin my work on applications. I had heard that the real fight starts after the GMAT and my first decision point was whether to take professional help. Honestly, I was a bit skeptical about opting for a consultant but I did not want to miss out on anything important. I was clear that I would like to go for a mainstream consulting firm and owing to my good experience with Experts’ Global in GMAT prep, I decided to go with them.
Profile enrichment
I had a few months before the deadlines and while a profile revamp was not possible, a profile enrichment was on cards. My mentors at EG guided me on what activities I could take up for enriching my profile in the limited time I had. Alongside storyboarding and brainstorming, we had periodic meetings on profile enrichment. I took up a tech-consulting role in a startup and voluntary but leadership roles in 2 social clubs. I honestly worked on these to gain some rich experience and points for my resume and applications. Although my application work is over, I have continued these involvements till date.
Apps work
The most interesting part of the application was taking a recap of my life/career so far, considering opportunities through an MBA, planning my further goals, and linking them all together in a story. Working on the essays was a wonderful, thought provoking experience that I duly enjoyed.
Interview prep
The set of interview prep videos by EG and their interview prep questionnaire gave me a solid grounding. I think the MBA interview prep is all about knowing yourself, your experiences, your industry, and your goals. I was advised to not just prepare answers to interview questions but to have genuine conviction in my story, goals and experiences; this advice really helped.
Results
I had applied to 11 schools, segregated as 5 dream, 5 practical and 1 safe. A bit against the advise of my consultant, the schools were scattered across US, Europe, India, and East Asia. Out of the 11 schools, I received interview calls from 7 and I converted 5 of these. I think the result was fair. To be rejected by the likes of INSEAD was a part of applying and such rejection assured me that I was not missing out on any possibility. At the same time, getting a full scholarship for a bit lower ranked US school gave me more options. I also converted ISB and NUS. I will be joining Tepper on a partial scholarship.
SUMMARY OF WHAT WORKED FOR ME
GMAT preparation
Official material (particularly, the DI questions were very helpful)
Official mocks
Experts Global course (particularly, Level 1 - the conceptual phase and Level 3 – the difficult phase)
EG mocks (particularly, the DI sections were very helpful)
High difficulty questions from GMAT Club (gold!)
Discussions on GMAT Club (particularly, the posts by experts)
Practice in long sittings
Error log and personal notes
Applications
Having enough time before deadlines
Hiring an experienced admission consulting company
Profile enrichment
Gaining due clarity in my goals and how they link with MBA
Conviction in my application and my story, during the interview phrase
Applying to a high number of schools – trying many options and being comfortable with rejections
I say this again, if my experience can help or inspire even one person, I’d be truly glad.
Thank you.
Post Scriptum:
I have resigned from work and have some time in hand, while doing activities I couldn't do over the last 1.5 years. I will be spending some time in helping the community. Please feel free to ask any questions. I will try to help using whatever knowledge I have gained while recently completing the process.
As I start my MBA soon, I felt that I must share my experience with this wonderful and helpful community that I have been (mostly a silent) part of. If my experience can help or inspire even one person, I’d be truly glad.
BIO
Indian IT Female
Grew up in a Tier 2 city
Engineering from a Tier 3 college (that’s some demotion!)
2 years as a software developer with an Indian IT factory
Then, 2 years in FinTech, including some rich international experience
Standard co-curriculars in college: some sports, some cultural, and organizing fests
Some profile enrichment alongside GMAT preparation and apps prep: Startup advisory, social clubs
DECISION FOR GMAT ROUTE
After 3 x 90-something percentiles at CAT, I decided to look at the GMAT way.
OLDER GMAT, FIRST ATTEMPT 680 (Q44 V38 IR7 AWA6)
Prep mindset and material used
Having taken CAT, I was confident about my Quant. Hence, my preparation was focused on the Verbal section, particularly SC and CR. I consumed the very helpful official material early but found myself still deficient in fundamentals. I realized that I needed a proper course for my prep. I saw some free videos on GMAT Club and YouTube. Although such free videos by legends such as Ron were very helpful, I felt the need of a full course. After a few trials of the popular courses, I zeroed on Experts Global. I mainly utilized their SC and CR content with a few mocks. I used GMAT Club for viewing the discussions on certain questions. Towards the end of my prep, I got back to doing the official material again. In hindsight, repeating the official questions and the mocks gave me an inflated idea of my level. While I scored 710-740 in the repeated official mocks during the last days of my preparation, I felt that I remembered quite a few questions and my mock scores were exaggerated.
Test day
I opted for AWA-Quant-Verbal order, assuming that the Quant section would give me the needed comfort before attempting Verbal, my weaker section. Unfortunately, I struggled on the Quant section and had to guess on the last few questions. I tried not letting my Quant performance affect my Verbal score and I think I was fairly successful in doing that. However, the final scoreline was a 680 with just Q44 when Quant was supposed to be my stronger suite!
RUSHED ATTEMPT, OLDER GMAT (big dip, score cancelled)
Old GMAT was going to be unavailable soon and the GMAT was changing to Focus edition. I had not properly prepared for IR and thus, the DI section of Focus was going to be another challenge for me. Hence, I needed to re-attempt GMAT quickly (and that I could still catch R2/R3 deadlines was another bait in lurk). Therefore, I took a re-attempt, just ~20 days later. Frankly, I could not study well during those 20 days because I had to rejoin office (after a short break for my first GMAT attempt) and was all-occupied at work for most of those days.
Test day
I was neither fully prepared nor duly confident and it reflected in my performance. I scrapped through the test and performed poorly, much worse than my first attempt. Cancelling the score was an easy choice.
SHORT BREAK FROM GMAT PREP
Now that 2024 admissions were out of question, I had some time in hand. I decided to spend some time away from GMAT and introspect.
RESULT OF INTROSPECTION
I needed to take Quant as seriously as I took Verbal.
I needed to beat this new animal called Data Insights.
I needed to maintain and improve my Verbal prep.
Regarding SC being removed
I had worked a lot on SC, such that my speed as well as accuracy was highest on SC. Hard work done on SC prep was no longer relevant to GMAT. While many test takers were happy about SC going, it was a loss for me.
GMAT (FE) THIRD ATTEMPT 695 (Q85, V86, DI82)
The struggle
My biggest nemesis on the GMAT FE was speed (rather, the lack of it!). With SC gone, time available per RC and CR questions decreased for me. DI was time consuming and the first time I attempted this section in a mock, I could attempt only ~half the section. The requirement was clear: I needed to better my aptitude as well as my speed!
The prep
I needed a lot of practice. I decided to save the latest official material (newly available after Focus edition launch) for later. I had used Experts Global in my 680 attempt and found it useful. Their course and mocks were updated for FE so I decided to go with EG, again. The Quant part of the course was earlier unutilized by me so I solved all the videos and exercises. The Verbal part of their course had already been utilized by me so I just revised that and looked at loads of high-difficulty questions on GMAT Club. The most rigorous part of the prep was Data Insights. EG’s DI and virtually all of the official DI question bank gave due intensity to my DI prep. A crucial part of my prep was loads of mocks. I took some 12 out of the 15 EG mocks followed by all 6 official mocks. In my first attempt, I had suffered from inflated scores in repeated mocks; hence, I ensured that I do not repeat any mocks. Throughout, for questions I needed greater insight on, discussions on GMAT Club were very helpful.
Test day
I had scored in the range of 695-715 in my last 3 EG mocks and last 2 official mocks. I felt confident. I opted for Quant-Verbal-DI order. I felt nerves during Quant but felt settled after the first few questions. I got 1-2 geometry questions but they were probably not hardcore geometry questions but the ones that are still within GMAT syllabus. Verbal was probably the smoothest of the 3 sections that day. DI, my weakest section, really tested me. I received 2 MSR sets and I cajoled myself that I must be doing well! Thanks to all the timed practice and many mocks, I could complete the test timely.
The score
I felt that I had done well and expected to be on the higher end of the 695-715 range I was scoring in latest mocks. When I saw 695, I was just a bit disappointed but, honestly, the disappointment lasted for only a second. Before taking the test, I would have taken 695, hands down.
I felt relieved and euphoric! GMAT was won!!!!
WORK ON MBA APPLICATIONS
Decision on taking professional help
After a short break post GMAT, I decided to begin my work on applications. I had heard that the real fight starts after the GMAT and my first decision point was whether to take professional help. Honestly, I was a bit skeptical about opting for a consultant but I did not want to miss out on anything important. I was clear that I would like to go for a mainstream consulting firm and owing to my good experience with Experts’ Global in GMAT prep, I decided to go with them.
Profile enrichment
I had a few months before the deadlines and while a profile revamp was not possible, a profile enrichment was on cards. My mentors at EG guided me on what activities I could take up for enriching my profile in the limited time I had. Alongside storyboarding and brainstorming, we had periodic meetings on profile enrichment. I took up a tech-consulting role in a startup and voluntary but leadership roles in 2 social clubs. I honestly worked on these to gain some rich experience and points for my resume and applications. Although my application work is over, I have continued these involvements till date.
Apps work
The most interesting part of the application was taking a recap of my life/career so far, considering opportunities through an MBA, planning my further goals, and linking them all together in a story. Working on the essays was a wonderful, thought provoking experience that I duly enjoyed.
Interview prep
The set of interview prep videos by EG and their interview prep questionnaire gave me a solid grounding. I think the MBA interview prep is all about knowing yourself, your experiences, your industry, and your goals. I was advised to not just prepare answers to interview questions but to have genuine conviction in my story, goals and experiences; this advice really helped.
Results
I had applied to 11 schools, segregated as 5 dream, 5 practical and 1 safe. A bit against the advise of my consultant, the schools were scattered across US, Europe, India, and East Asia. Out of the 11 schools, I received interview calls from 7 and I converted 5 of these. I think the result was fair. To be rejected by the likes of INSEAD was a part of applying and such rejection assured me that I was not missing out on any possibility. At the same time, getting a full scholarship for a bit lower ranked US school gave me more options. I also converted ISB and NUS. I will be joining Tepper on a partial scholarship.
SUMMARY OF WHAT WORKED FOR ME
GMAT preparation
Official material (particularly, the DI questions were very helpful)
Official mocks
Experts Global course (particularly, Level 1 - the conceptual phase and Level 3 – the difficult phase)
EG mocks (particularly, the DI sections were very helpful)
High difficulty questions from GMAT Club (gold!)
Discussions on GMAT Club (particularly, the posts by experts)
Practice in long sittings
Error log and personal notes
Applications
Having enough time before deadlines
Hiring an experienced admission consulting company
Profile enrichment
Gaining due clarity in my goals and how they link with MBA
Conviction in my application and my story, during the interview phrase
Applying to a high number of schools – trying many options and being comfortable with rejections
I say this again, if my experience can help or inspire even one person, I’d be truly glad.
Thank you.
Post Scriptum:
I have resigned from work and have some time in hand, while doing activities I couldn't do over the last 1.5 years. I will be spending some time in helping the community. Please feel free to ask any questions. I will try to help using whatever knowledge I have gained while recently completing the process.
10 Jul 2025, 01:01
Kudos
Bookmarks
Congratulations QQum - thank you for finding the time to post the debrief. I know it is busy with preparations for the MBA.
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