I started my GMAT preparation in August 2025, with the intention of a couple months preparation for an October test. I had signed up for the TTP course, but underestimated the size of the overall course. This led to me rushing a 635, and scored a 635 on my first go, knowing I could have done much better. The biggest factor for me was test day anxiety; I found it hard to let go of questions that in preparation I would have let go, costing me of valuable time elsewhere. My lack of confidence meant I would spend time rechecking questions that I knew were easier.
I took the time afterwards to not only clean up the areas that I struggled in from the test, but learn of ways to cope with test day anxiety so that it would not impact my performance as much. Eventually, I took the test again in December, giving me a few more months of preparation, and I was able to score a 705. It was a tough process, but there were a lot of things I learned, and a lot of benefits both from my experiences and from using TTP.
Allocate your time well- I made the mistake earlier on of trying to answer every question, assuming I would have the time to answer everything. This meant I spent a long time answering easy questions and neglected questions later on that would have definitely helped me. TTP's course is very wide covering for all kinds of areas of development, and planning ahead in line with your exam can help you massively in targeting your weak areas rather than taking on areas you are already strong in.
Actively engaging makes a huge difference- One thing I loved about TTP was the wide range of questions, which helped me massively up my verbal in particular and strengthened any areas of quant or DI that I thought was lacking. As I've found from before, I find answering questions I have taken before can be more of a memory game, while new questions can truly test whether you are adept in that topic. With the
error log and detailed answer breakdowns, it meant I could understand my wrongs and practice routines to quickly break down questions and eliminate the wrong answers with confidence
Learn strategies for test day- You could prepare for a long time, but with no test strategy, the test can be very daunting, especially when weeks or months of work comes down to a 3 hour exam. TTP's strategy guide helped me loads in dealing with pre-exam nerves and how to approach questions during the exam, as I felt in my first exam I went in with no clear direction on my strategy in dealing with questions I didn't know the answer to. Practice exams when you're ready are great for time management, but there's no replacement for understanding the concept through preparation to prevent any spanners in the works
Use all the resources available- Doing more than just questions helped keep my mind fresh and helped me in discovering new ways to look at questions. I struggled a lot with reading comprehension at first, but using flashcards helped me remember traps and different markers to streamline the process. If questions get boring, exploring new things will only do you well in finding new concepts and new approaches that may align with your style of learning, as I found with using the flashcards as a complement to the questions.
The process takes time, but it can be very rewarding at the end. As other posts mention, it doesn't last forever, so keep at it. Happy to connect if you have any questions!