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28 Oct 2025, 10:15
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Hi everyone,
I recently scored a 715 on the GMAT (V86, Q90, DI80). This journey started back in December 2024 with a 665, and while that wasn't a bad score, I knew I could do better. The gap between my Quant performance (Q86 then, Q90 now) and my Verbal (V81) was eating at me. Plus, my time management across all sections was a mess.
Let me walk you through what changed between December and now – spoiler alert: it wasn't about studying harder, it was about studying smarter.
The Self-Study Reality Check
In 2024, I did what most people probably do when they first start GMAT prep – I went the self-study route. YouTube videos, Official Guide questions, free resources online.
No systematic approach. Just me consuming content and hoping things would stick.
When I took my first official attempt in December 2024, I scored 665 (V81, Q86, DI82). Not terrible, but here's what bothered me:
1. My Quant was strong but did not get a perfect score.
2. My Verbal was dragging my overall score down
3. In Data Insights, even though I scored DI82, I was constantly struggling with time management.
I'd finish sections with barely any time to spare, sometimes leaving questions at the end.
The real wake-up call was realizing that my issues weren't about not knowing the content – they were about not having a systematic approach to tackle questions efficiently. I was wasting time, second-guessing myself, and making behavioral mistakes that I couldn't seem to fix on my own.
That's when I decided to get help. In mid May, I enrolled in e-GMAT. The moment I enrolled, I was pleasantly surprised. I received an email about a coach connect session - not a sales pitch, but a genuine session about goal setting and understanding how the platform works. This was a 1-hour session where students had the liberty to ask doubts to the expert and to my surprise, I also got some good insights to restart my prep and how I needed to reevaluate the way I was going about tackling Quant and it was not “quantity but Quality” that I had to now focus on.
My Big Verbal Win (V81 to V86)
My biggest challenge was Verbal was comprehension. I'd read passages multiple times, get confused about the main point, and then waste precious minutes trying to figure out what the author was actually saying. Time management was terrible – I'd spend 7-8 minutes on just reading the RC passage and then have to rush through the subsequent questions
e-GMAT's approach to Verbal completely changed how I tackled this section. They have a three-stage learning methodology that builds your skills systematically:
Stage 1: Learning the Concepts
This is where I started from scratch, even though I thought I already "knew" CR and RC. The course broke down each question type into specific files – each focusing on a particular concept or strategy. For example, in CR, there were separate modules for assumptions, strengthen/weaken questions, inference questions, and so on.
What made this different from YouTube videos was the depth. Each file didn't just explain what to do – it explained WHY that approach works, what traps the GMAT sets, and how to think through questions systematically.
After completing each file, I'd get a grade (A, B, or C) based on how well I understood the concepts. I could literally see – okay, I got an A in assumption questions, but only a B in boldface, need to review that.
For RC specifically, I learned the concept of "active reading" – understanding not just what the passage says, but why the author is saying it, what their purpose is, and how each paragraph connects to the main idea. This was completely different from my previous approach of trying to memorize every detail.
Stage 2: Cementing Through Practice Quizzes
Once I finished the concept files, I moved to cementing quizzes. These are timed quizzes with 10 questions each, divided by difficulty level (medium and hard) at a sub-sectional level.
The cementing quizzes did two critical things:
First, they helped me identify where my understanding was solid versus where I still had gaps. I might have gotten an A on the concept file, but then score only 60% on the medium cementing quiz – which meant I understood the theory but couldn't execute under timed conditions.
Second, they built my ability progressively. I'd start with "relaxed time" quizzes (more time per question to practice the approach without pressure), then move to "standard time" once I was comfortable. The target recommended was clear: 80% accuracy on medium questions, 70% on hard questions.
What really helped was the PRISM feedback system after each quiz. It would analyze my performance and ask probing questions: "Did you rush through this question?" "Did you re-read the passage unnecessarily?" "Did you identify the question type correctly before answering?" This helped me spot patterns in my mistakes that I'd never noticed before.
Stage 3: Test Readiness
After cementing individually CR and RC, I moved to Verbal sectional tests. This is where everything you've been practicing comes together – solving 23 questions across CR, RC, under timed conditions.
The sectional tests helped me build mental stamina for longer testing periods and taught me how to maintain consistency across an entire section. It's one thing to solve 10 CR questions in a cementing quiz; it's another to maintain that performance when it's question a mixed quiz (CR+RC).
By the time I finished this three-stage process, my Verbal had transformed from V81 to V86. But more importantly, my time management improved dramatically. I went from constantly running out of time to finishing Verbal with 2-3 minutes to spare, allowing me to review flagged questions.
Data Insights: Using Skill Data to Work Smarter (DI80)
Okay, so full transparency – my final DI score was actually DI80, down from DI82 in my first attempt. But here's the thing: this wasn't because my ability decreased. In fact, I was consistently scoring DI83-DI85 in my practice mocks. Test day just didn't go as planned for DI (more on that later).
What I want to share is how e-GMAT's approach helped me prepare smarter for DI, even though the final score didn't reflect all that progress.
When I started with e-GMAT, I took diagnostic cementing quizzes across all DI sub-sections – Data Sufficiency, Graphics & Table Analysis (GITA), Multi-Source Reasoning (MSR), and Two-Part Analysis (TPA).
This is where the e-GMAT’s skill data feature became invaluable. After completing the cementing quizzes, the platform showed me exactly where my gaps were:
Instead of spending equal time on all four sub-sections, I could focus my limited prep time on focused areas for example MSR CR type questions – my clear weak spot. This saved me probably 15-20 hours of study time that I would have otherwise wasted on areas where I was already strong.
The skill data also revealed something interesting about my GITA performance – I was making calculation mistakes under time pressure, not conceptual errors. Once I identified this pattern, I started being more deliberate about double-checking calculations on GITA questions, which improved my accuracy without taking significantly more time.
In my practice mocks, this targeted approach was working beautifully. I was consistently hitting DI83-DI85. But sometimes test day just doesn't cooperate – which is what happened to me. The DI section threw some curveball questions that disrupted my rhythm, and I ended up with DI80 instead of the DI83+ I was expecting. But I don't regret the preparation approach at all – it gave me the tools to tackle DI efficiently, and I know if I were to take the test again, I'd score higher.
Quant: From Behavioral Errors to Q90 Perfection
Here's an interesting thing about my Quant journey – I went from Q86 to Q90, but it wasn't about learning new math concepts. It was 100% about fixing behavioral issues.
In my December attempt, I'd gotten Q86. I knew the math inside out – algebra, number properties, all of it. But I'd make stupid mistakes. I'd rush through questions because I thought "oh, I know this," and then misread what the question was asking for. Or I'd make calculation errors because I was trying to solve quickly and build a time buffer.
My biggest behavioral issue? I'd solve a problem correctly, get the right answer, but then mark the wrong option by mistake. Or I'd skip a step in my calculations to save time and end up with the wrong answer. These weren't knowledge gaps – they were execution problems.
Since I'd scored Q90 consistently in my official mocks previously, I knew the ability was there. I just needed to maintain it while fixing these behavioral patterns.
e-GMAT's analytics for Quant were a game-changer here. After each sectional test or practice quiz, the platform would show me:
1. Time distribution – which question types I was spending too long on
2. Accuracy by difficulty level – was I missing medium questions because I was rushing, or hard questions because I fell for a trap?
3. Specific topic weaknesses at a granular level
Once I identified these patterns, I made conscious changes to my approach:
1. For algebra: I started writing out every step instead of trying to do calculations mentally
2. For tricky wording: I started highlighting keywords in the question stem – "must," "could," "except," "greatest," "least" – before solving
I also used the Quant sectional tests strategically. Instead of taking full mocks every week (which would have been exhausting while working full-time), I took one Quant sectional every 5-7 days. This kept my Quant sharp without burning me out.
The result? On test day, I executed flawlessly in Quant. I finished with 3-4 minutes to spare, went back to a question I'd bookmarked, reviewed my work, and confirmed my answer was correct. Q90 – 100th percentile. The behavioral fixes had paid off.
The Second Attempt - 685
In the first week of October, I took my second official GMAT attempt. Going into the test, I was confident. My last few mock tests were showing 700+, I'd done the work. I'd fixed my Verbal gaps, maintained my Quant, and improved my DI strategy.
Test day started well. Quant went exactly as planned – I executed my strategy, managed my time perfectly, and walked out knowing I'd nailed it. DI also felt solid, though a bit trickier than expected.
But Verbal... something just didn't translate. I don't know if it was nerves, fatigue from sitting through Quant and DI already, or just the particular mix of questions I got. But I could feel during the section that my performance wasn't matching my practice level.
When the score came up on the screen: 685
My immediate reaction was confusion. I'd scored 20 points higher than my last attempt, gotten a perfect Q90, and improved my DI from DI82 to DI83. And my overall score of 685, while solid, wasn't the 700+ my mocks had been predicting.
I'll be honest – I was disappointed. Not devastated, but definitely frustrated. I'd put in months of focused work, and the score didn't reflect what I knew I was capable of.
Final Push to 715
After the 685, I took about two weeks off to reset mentally. Then I analyzed what went wrong with my Verbal on test day.
Looking back at my performance, I realized I'd let the pressure get to me. After nailing Quant, I'd put too much mental pressure on myself to "not mess up Verbal." This pressure made me second-guess my answers, spend too long on questions I should have answered confidently, and rush through others to make up time.
For my final attempt, I focused on two things:
1. Mental game: I practiced mindfulness techniques before practice tests – taking deep breaths, reminding myself that I knew the material, and staying present with each question rather than worrying about the overall score
2. Execution under pressure: I took 3 more full-length mocks but treated them as "dress rehearsals" for managing nerves, not just for practicing content
When I took my final GMAT attempt, something was different. I felt calm. I executed my Quant strategy (Q90 again), managed DI with confidence even though it ended up at DI80, and most importantly – I trusted my Verbal preparation and didn't let nerves derail me.
When I saw 715 (V86, Q90, DI80) on the screen, I actually laughed. All those months of work, the 685 disappointment, the mental game practice – it all came together.
Final Thoughts
Achieving a 715 feels surreal, but what I'm most proud of is how this journey taught me strategic thinking and the importance of data-driven preparation.
The jump from 665 → 685 → 715 wasn't about learning more content. It was about using analytics to identify precise gaps, creating custom quizzes for hyper-targeted practice, systematically reviewing my error log, and having mentorship guide my prep based on specific performance data.
To anyone on this journey: find resources like e-GMAT that give you granular data on your performance, use that data to guide targeted practice, and have someone help you interpret patterns you can't see yourself. The GMAT will challenge you, but the right tools and support make all the difference.
Feel free to ask any questions about my experience!
I recently scored a 715 on the GMAT (V86, Q90, DI80). This journey started back in December 2024 with a 665, and while that wasn't a bad score, I knew I could do better. The gap between my Quant performance (Q86 then, Q90 now) and my Verbal (V81) was eating at me. Plus, my time management across all sections was a mess.
Let me walk you through what changed between December and now – spoiler alert: it wasn't about studying harder, it was about studying smarter.
The Self-Study Reality Check
In 2024, I did what most people probably do when they first start GMAT prep – I went the self-study route. YouTube videos, Official Guide questions, free resources online.
No systematic approach. Just me consuming content and hoping things would stick.
When I took my first official attempt in December 2024, I scored 665 (V81, Q86, DI82). Not terrible, but here's what bothered me:
1. My Quant was strong but did not get a perfect score.
2. My Verbal was dragging my overall score down
3. In Data Insights, even though I scored DI82, I was constantly struggling with time management.
I'd finish sections with barely any time to spare, sometimes leaving questions at the end.
The real wake-up call was realizing that my issues weren't about not knowing the content – they were about not having a systematic approach to tackle questions efficiently. I was wasting time, second-guessing myself, and making behavioral mistakes that I couldn't seem to fix on my own.
That's when I decided to get help. In mid May, I enrolled in e-GMAT. The moment I enrolled, I was pleasantly surprised. I received an email about a coach connect session - not a sales pitch, but a genuine session about goal setting and understanding how the platform works. This was a 1-hour session where students had the liberty to ask doubts to the expert and to my surprise, I also got some good insights to restart my prep and how I needed to reevaluate the way I was going about tackling Quant and it was not “quantity but Quality” that I had to now focus on.
My Big Verbal Win (V81 to V86)
My biggest challenge was Verbal was comprehension. I'd read passages multiple times, get confused about the main point, and then waste precious minutes trying to figure out what the author was actually saying. Time management was terrible – I'd spend 7-8 minutes on just reading the RC passage and then have to rush through the subsequent questions
e-GMAT's approach to Verbal completely changed how I tackled this section. They have a three-stage learning methodology that builds your skills systematically:
Stage 1: Learning the Concepts
This is where I started from scratch, even though I thought I already "knew" CR and RC. The course broke down each question type into specific files – each focusing on a particular concept or strategy. For example, in CR, there were separate modules for assumptions, strengthen/weaken questions, inference questions, and so on.
What made this different from YouTube videos was the depth. Each file didn't just explain what to do – it explained WHY that approach works, what traps the GMAT sets, and how to think through questions systematically.
After completing each file, I'd get a grade (A, B, or C) based on how well I understood the concepts. I could literally see – okay, I got an A in assumption questions, but only a B in boldface, need to review that.
For RC specifically, I learned the concept of "active reading" – understanding not just what the passage says, but why the author is saying it, what their purpose is, and how each paragraph connects to the main idea. This was completely different from my previous approach of trying to memorize every detail.
Stage 2: Cementing Through Practice Quizzes
Once I finished the concept files, I moved to cementing quizzes. These are timed quizzes with 10 questions each, divided by difficulty level (medium and hard) at a sub-sectional level.
The cementing quizzes did two critical things:
First, they helped me identify where my understanding was solid versus where I still had gaps. I might have gotten an A on the concept file, but then score only 60% on the medium cementing quiz – which meant I understood the theory but couldn't execute under timed conditions.
Second, they built my ability progressively. I'd start with "relaxed time" quizzes (more time per question to practice the approach without pressure), then move to "standard time" once I was comfortable. The target recommended was clear: 80% accuracy on medium questions, 70% on hard questions.
What really helped was the PRISM feedback system after each quiz. It would analyze my performance and ask probing questions: "Did you rush through this question?" "Did you re-read the passage unnecessarily?" "Did you identify the question type correctly before answering?" This helped me spot patterns in my mistakes that I'd never noticed before.
Stage 3: Test Readiness
After cementing individually CR and RC, I moved to Verbal sectional tests. This is where everything you've been practicing comes together – solving 23 questions across CR, RC, under timed conditions.
The sectional tests helped me build mental stamina for longer testing periods and taught me how to maintain consistency across an entire section. It's one thing to solve 10 CR questions in a cementing quiz; it's another to maintain that performance when it's question a mixed quiz (CR+RC).
By the time I finished this three-stage process, my Verbal had transformed from V81 to V86. But more importantly, my time management improved dramatically. I went from constantly running out of time to finishing Verbal with 2-3 minutes to spare, allowing me to review flagged questions.
Data Insights: Using Skill Data to Work Smarter (DI80)
Okay, so full transparency – my final DI score was actually DI80, down from DI82 in my first attempt. But here's the thing: this wasn't because my ability decreased. In fact, I was consistently scoring DI83-DI85 in my practice mocks. Test day just didn't go as planned for DI (more on that later).
What I want to share is how e-GMAT's approach helped me prepare smarter for DI, even though the final score didn't reflect all that progress.
When I started with e-GMAT, I took diagnostic cementing quizzes across all DI sub-sections – Data Sufficiency, Graphics & Table Analysis (GITA), Multi-Source Reasoning (MSR), and Two-Part Analysis (TPA).
This is where the e-GMAT’s skill data feature became invaluable. After completing the cementing quizzes, the platform showed me exactly where my gaps were:
Instead of spending equal time on all four sub-sections, I could focus my limited prep time on focused areas for example MSR CR type questions – my clear weak spot. This saved me probably 15-20 hours of study time that I would have otherwise wasted on areas where I was already strong.
The skill data also revealed something interesting about my GITA performance – I was making calculation mistakes under time pressure, not conceptual errors. Once I identified this pattern, I started being more deliberate about double-checking calculations on GITA questions, which improved my accuracy without taking significantly more time.
In my practice mocks, this targeted approach was working beautifully. I was consistently hitting DI83-DI85. But sometimes test day just doesn't cooperate – which is what happened to me. The DI section threw some curveball questions that disrupted my rhythm, and I ended up with DI80 instead of the DI83+ I was expecting. But I don't regret the preparation approach at all – it gave me the tools to tackle DI efficiently, and I know if I were to take the test again, I'd score higher.
Quant: From Behavioral Errors to Q90 Perfection
Here's an interesting thing about my Quant journey – I went from Q86 to Q90, but it wasn't about learning new math concepts. It was 100% about fixing behavioral issues.
In my December attempt, I'd gotten Q86. I knew the math inside out – algebra, number properties, all of it. But I'd make stupid mistakes. I'd rush through questions because I thought "oh, I know this," and then misread what the question was asking for. Or I'd make calculation errors because I was trying to solve quickly and build a time buffer.
My biggest behavioral issue? I'd solve a problem correctly, get the right answer, but then mark the wrong option by mistake. Or I'd skip a step in my calculations to save time and end up with the wrong answer. These weren't knowledge gaps – they were execution problems.
Since I'd scored Q90 consistently in my official mocks previously, I knew the ability was there. I just needed to maintain it while fixing these behavioral patterns.
e-GMAT's analytics for Quant were a game-changer here. After each sectional test or practice quiz, the platform would show me:
1. Time distribution – which question types I was spending too long on
2. Accuracy by difficulty level – was I missing medium questions because I was rushing, or hard questions because I fell for a trap?
3. Specific topic weaknesses at a granular level
Once I identified these patterns, I made conscious changes to my approach:
1. For algebra: I started writing out every step instead of trying to do calculations mentally
2. For tricky wording: I started highlighting keywords in the question stem – "must," "could," "except," "greatest," "least" – before solving
I also used the Quant sectional tests strategically. Instead of taking full mocks every week (which would have been exhausting while working full-time), I took one Quant sectional every 5-7 days. This kept my Quant sharp without burning me out.
The result? On test day, I executed flawlessly in Quant. I finished with 3-4 minutes to spare, went back to a question I'd bookmarked, reviewed my work, and confirmed my answer was correct. Q90 – 100th percentile. The behavioral fixes had paid off.
The Second Attempt - 685
In the first week of October, I took my second official GMAT attempt. Going into the test, I was confident. My last few mock tests were showing 700+, I'd done the work. I'd fixed my Verbal gaps, maintained my Quant, and improved my DI strategy.
Test day started well. Quant went exactly as planned – I executed my strategy, managed my time perfectly, and walked out knowing I'd nailed it. DI also felt solid, though a bit trickier than expected.
But Verbal... something just didn't translate. I don't know if it was nerves, fatigue from sitting through Quant and DI already, or just the particular mix of questions I got. But I could feel during the section that my performance wasn't matching my practice level.
When the score came up on the screen: 685
My immediate reaction was confusion. I'd scored 20 points higher than my last attempt, gotten a perfect Q90, and improved my DI from DI82 to DI83. And my overall score of 685, while solid, wasn't the 700+ my mocks had been predicting.
I'll be honest – I was disappointed. Not devastated, but definitely frustrated. I'd put in months of focused work, and the score didn't reflect what I knew I was capable of.
Final Push to 715
After the 685, I took about two weeks off to reset mentally. Then I analyzed what went wrong with my Verbal on test day.
Looking back at my performance, I realized I'd let the pressure get to me. After nailing Quant, I'd put too much mental pressure on myself to "not mess up Verbal." This pressure made me second-guess my answers, spend too long on questions I should have answered confidently, and rush through others to make up time.
For my final attempt, I focused on two things:
1. Mental game: I practiced mindfulness techniques before practice tests – taking deep breaths, reminding myself that I knew the material, and staying present with each question rather than worrying about the overall score
2. Execution under pressure: I took 3 more full-length mocks but treated them as "dress rehearsals" for managing nerves, not just for practicing content
When I took my final GMAT attempt, something was different. I felt calm. I executed my Quant strategy (Q90 again), managed DI with confidence even though it ended up at DI80, and most importantly – I trusted my Verbal preparation and didn't let nerves derail me.
When I saw 715 (V86, Q90, DI80) on the screen, I actually laughed. All those months of work, the 685 disappointment, the mental game practice – it all came together.
Final Thoughts
Achieving a 715 feels surreal, but what I'm most proud of is how this journey taught me strategic thinking and the importance of data-driven preparation.
The jump from 665 → 685 → 715 wasn't about learning more content. It was about using analytics to identify precise gaps, creating custom quizzes for hyper-targeted practice, systematically reviewing my error log, and having mentorship guide my prep based on specific performance data.
To anyone on this journey: find resources like e-GMAT that give you granular data on your performance, use that data to guide targeted practice, and have someone help you interpret patterns you can't see yourself. The GMAT will challenge you, but the right tools and support make all the difference.
Feel free to ask any questions about my experience!
29 Oct 2025, 20:29
Kudos
Bookmarks
I’m finding it difficult to trust some of the recent reviews on GMAT Club for TTP and e-GMAT. Many of them appear overly detailed and promotional, which makes them seem AI-generated or possibly posted by the coaching teams themselves. Additionally, most of these reviews come from newly created profiles with only a single post. Just wanted to share this observation.
Archit3110
Major Poster
30 Oct 2025, 05:12
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Bookmarks
Congratulations for score.. all the best witg applications
