I just Beat The GMAT!

My GMAT journey, unlike most others, was a fairly lengthy one. It finally concluded on the 3rd of July, 2023. I ended up scoring a 760 (Q49, V44). The resources I found most useful while studying were Target Test Prep. But to give some context of my GMAT journey, I should start from the beginning.

I initially started my GMAT prep towards the end of 2019. I got a 610 in my first mock that I took cold. I tried a number of resources and did pretty much all the OG questions and ended up with a 680 in May 2020. I cancelled the score as I was not happy with the outcome and I quickly booked another test two weeks later. I ended up scoring a 700 (Q47, V40). Although I was not too happy with this score as well, I ended up accepting it. I wanted to give the GMAT one last shot so I booked another test one month later. This time I ended up with a 720 (Q48, V41). I was satisfied as it was the bar I set myself so I accepted the score and started to focus on my career.

Fast forward to Feb-2023 and the time has finally come for me to start applying for B-Schools. I wanted to wait until I had 5 years of work experience to start applying. I was targeting schools such as Columbia, Wharton, Stern and Booth. I spoke to a number of counselors and they all assured me that although a 720 is a more than decent score, these schools are highly competitive so it might serve me better to try taking the GMAT again to see if I could boost my score by 20 to 30 points.

I couldn't believe it but I had ample time before the Round-1 deadline so I decided to give it a shot. I took an official mock cold and I scored a 730 (V44, Q47). Although I had taken the official mocks in 2020, I could not remember any of the questions so this mock assured me that I have not completely lost my verbal skills but my quant skills were definitely subpar at best. Fully aware that I needed at least a 49 to ensure a decent split, I started researching about the ideal GMAT prep course. I am someone who likes to follow a study plan and I am better off studying on my own. From all the reviews that I had read on GMAT Club, I was convinced Target Test Prep was the course for me. So I took the one week trial and I ended up loving the structure of the course.

I purchased the Flexi plan and kicked into prep mode. What really differentiated TTP from the other courses/ prep material that I used in 2020 was the fact that TTP really dove deep into the concepts and taught you all the different ways a question can be solved. It was up to you to decide which method suited you best. Be it solving it algebraically or testing the option. The topics that I really struggled with before I was exposed to TTP were Time, Speed & Distance and Work & Rates. TTP really simplified the two topics for me and by the time I was done with the course, those topics became the ones I was most comfortable with. Another topic that I was really struggling with was Geometry. TTP's formula list as well as the exhaustive list of geometry question bank really helped with regards to this topic.

I am someone who learns best by constant practice and this is where TTP really came through for me. The custom test option enabled me to tackle topics I was not comfortable with and the sheer number of questions ensured that I was comfortable with every single topic by the time the question bank was exhausted. Even the verbal section, which is my strong suit, had some really challenging and fun questions with very well-detailed explanations. One aspect of the TTP Verbal course that I found super useful was how the course goes down to the very fundamentals in the SC module. This changed my whole outlook on SC and I went from someone who used the rules to eliminate options to someone who tried to really understand why one option is superior to the rest. This can be a particularly useful technique when you are tackling the meaning-based SC questions, the questions I found most challenging in the verbal section.

Overall, I highly recommend TTP for anyone taking up the GMAT as it is a course that can be tailored to suit anyone's needs. I would like to thank Scott and the whole TTP team for creating such an useful product for GMAT aspirants worldwide!! I just had to give a shout out to TTP after I managed to achieve my target score just in time for my B-school applications and I could not be any more thankful that TTP played a big part in that.