e-GMAT took me from 650 to 730

My journey from 600 to 730 has not been an easy one but I would surely say that it has been a fulfilling one; one filled with stress, pressure and anxiety but more importantly one of hope, hard-work and resilience.

After underperforming in my first two attempts [I scored 600 (Q47, V26) and 650 (Q47, V33)], I realized that my approach in solving the verbal questions (especially SC and RC) was not right. I knew that to reach the elusive 700 mark, I would have to start from scratch and change my approach.


I started researching about various courses and came across e-GMAT on GMAT Club. I signed up for the free trial and to my surprise, I learnt so many new things in those modules itself. I signed up for the full course immediately (the best decision I took during the whole journey). e-GMAT course worked wonders for me. The course structure, scholaranium and the personalized study plan stood out to me.


Highlights of the Verbal Course:

MC- The MC module was the best way to start the verbal course. It provides excellent reading strategies that lay a solid foundation to do well in the verbal section. This course drove my improvement in RC. My accuracy improved from 50% to 80% by the time I finished the RC module.

SC- SC went from being my weakness to my strength in 20 days. The comprehensive meaning-based approach improved my accuracy from 50% to 90%. After I completed the module, I was very confident in selecting the right answer and in rejecting the four incorrect choices.

CR- CR was always my strong point in the section. The module helped me brush up some conceptual gaps and the diversity of questions gave me exposure to attempt any type of question that came on the D-Day.


After going through the verbal course, I was confident in touching the V40 mark. I moved on to the quant modules.

I was confident in my quant skills before starting the modules. The quant 2.0 course is quite comprehensive. It makes complex topics such as absolute values and inequalities easy to understand. Yet, to my dismay, quant became my weaker of the two sections. After finishing the NP and WP modules, I took the first sigma-X mock and scored 750 (Q44, V47). Q44 was a shocker for me. After completing the other modules, I took the second mock and scored 770 (Q48, V46). I was happy with my quant score but I wanted- to reach to Q49-50.


After the second mock, DJ first reached out to me through the Last Mile Program. We had a call to analyse the first two mocks. He made me realize that I was struggling to manage my time well in the quant section. I usually ended up guessing the last 4-5 questions. He gave me the first milestones with a major focus on overcoming the time management issue using the cementing quizzes. I started maintaining a quant error-log and re-did the algebra and geometry modules. I took the third mock four days before my third attempt and scored 750 (Q49, V42). I was quite happy to see the Q49. DJ shared a well-detailed plan for the last three days. I was shocked when I scored 680 (Q46, V37) in the fourth mock two days before the exam and thus, lost all my confidence. DJ tried to calm me down and motivate me but I walked into the test center full of anxiety. I managed a decent 690 (Q45, V39) but I was not happy. I knew I could do so much better. I was mentally tired of the test and decided not to take it again. After leaving the test center, I mailed DJ about the score. He motivated me to appear for a reattempt because he believed that I could cross the 720 barrier. I decided to go for it for one final time. It was a big decision and I am glad that I made it.


I shared my ESR with DJ. I received video feedback from him stating some glaring mistakes in quant. He asked me to redo the NP and WP modules and set targets for me in the cementing quizzes. My scores in the quizzes improved after re-doing the modules. After observing the improvement, he sent me a day wise plan for the final fifteen days. I maintained an error log for every question I got incorrect. I used the same to revisit the learnings from every question one day before the exam. I took the last mock a week before the exam and scored 750 (Q49, V42). In the last week, I used the scholaranium to practice questions. The scholaranium provides amazing in-depth analysis of your strengths and weaknesses. I used to revise the summaries of quant modules that I was weak in daily. This time, I did not take a lot of pressure on the exam day as I had scored a decent 690. I went in with no expectations.


15th December 2021, 3 years, 6 months and three attempts later, was the day I was finally content with my GMAT score as I achieved 730 (Q48, V42) in my exam. I went from Q45 to Q48 in 30 days. It has been a tough journey with many disappointments along the way. There were so many times I thought of giving up but DJ and the people around me did not let me give up. Not once did I feel alone in this journey. DJ, thank you for your amazing and honest mentorship. I know I would not have been able to do this without you. Also, kudos to the e-GMAT team for creating the most structured course out there.