I had initially decided to self-study for the GMAT, putting in about 2–3 hours every day alongside a full-time job. After two months of rigorous preparation, I took my first attempt and scored a 625. What made the result particularly difficult to process was that my mocks before the exam were consistently 700+, so I knew that my technical preparation wasn’t the problem.
I’ve always been an overthinker, and the adaptive nature of the GMAT created a lot of anxiety for me. Even though I walked into the test centre feeling calm, the moment the test started, I found myself putting an enormous amount of pressure on getting the first few questions right. I spent almost five minutes on my very first question—a question I was technically capable of solving, but one I simply couldn’t get myself to answer. From there, the pressure kept building.
After the exam, I reviewed my score report and realized that while my conceptual understanding was satisfactory, I needed help with something much more difficult to identify on my own: my test-taking strategy and execution.
I had come across Piyush’s videos and student interviews during my preparation, and what stood out to me was that his approach seemed to go beyond simply teaching GMAT concepts. He seemed to understand the test and, more importantly, the mindset required to take it effectively. That’s what made me decide to work with him.
I was honestly surprised by how quickly Piyush was able to dissect my approach to the exam. He often pointed out mental setbacks and habits that I wasn’t even aware I had. Through mocks and detailed feedback, he helped me understand exactly where my execution was breaking down and gave me a structured way to improve.
One of my biggest challenges was the pressure I put on myself to solve every Quant question in under two minutes, especially in the first half of the section. Piyush analyzed my timing data in detail and helped me realize something I had completely overlooked: I was actually very capable of managing the second half of the Quant section within the available time. That meant I could afford to spend 3–3.5 minutes on some of the earlier questions without putting my entire section at risk.
That realization took away a huge amount of pressure from the first five questions.
Piyush also helped me understand the adaptive nature of the test in a much more practical way. He helped me see that while the GMAT is not fully linear, it is also not something where every single question needs to be treated as a make-or-break moment. I learned to trust my instincts, manage my time based on my own strengths, and—perhaps most importantly—stop second-guessing myself.
His confidence in me played a huge role in that. He was always available, completely honest about my mistakes, and never hesitated to call out the areas where I needed to improve. At the same time, he gave me the confidence to believe that I could execute the test the way I had in my mocks.
I retook the GMAT just 19 days after my first attempt and scored a 695.
Of course, the 70-point improvement was a huge relief. But what surprised me most was looking back at my section performance and seeing that I had gotten the first 10 questions of every section correct—the exact part of the exam I had been most afraid of, had struggled with the most in my first attempt, and had spent so much time worrying about.
For me, that was the clearest indication of how much my approach to the test had changed in those 19 days.
I genuinely attribute that change to the support I received from GMATWhiz and Piyush. The concepts were never really my biggest issue; learning how to approach the exam, manage my thoughts and time, and trust my own preparation was. Piyush helped me work through all of that. He became much more than a tutor during those few weeks—he was a mentor, a sounding board, and a major support system throughout the process.
If you’re someone who knows the concepts but feels that your test-taking strategy, mindset, or execution is holding you back, I would strongly recommend working with Piyush. For me, the difference wasn’t simply in learning more GMAT content. It was in learning how to actually perform on the test.

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