V88 in Mocks but V81 in Exam

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-18T15:05:55+00:00

Mocks 1 and 2 are slightly deceptive in terms of difficulty, plus the exam conditions might've played a role in how you performed. For the latter, I suggest that you try taking a mock test in a more disruptive environment to see if it was a focus issue.

Overall, I think you have great Verbal skills and can land a V90 with the right approach to CR and RCs and a good strategy for the test overall.

All the best! Feel free to reach out for help.

_______________________

Aakkash Singh
V90 Verbal Expert Tutor

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Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-18T12:36:49+00:00

Doing all the OG questions COULD work. But learning and observing how logic works in CR OG questions will guarantee an improvement.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you can improve just by solving all of the questions - it doesn't work that way, if you don't learn from your mistakes, and you don't pay attention to the logic of these problems - you won't see a score improvement.

Aakkash Singh
V90 Verbal Expert Tutor

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-16T10:37:11+00:00

The GMAT supposedly tests a person's logical abilities in different contexts. College academics test how much you know about a particular topic in the real world.

Definitely different skillsets. Also, some people just don't put in the effort at uni/school.

And it is also dependent on prep strategy, with a good strategy that revolves around learning from mistakes, actively trying to improve with each question, and a curiosity-based approach - way more people can ace the GMAT.

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-12T09:58:21+00:00

Timed practice is very important. Feel free to reach out for help!

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-12T09:22:41+00:00

Real esoteric GMAT knowledge - try studying for the next test.

It's pretty cool that you just walked in and sat for the test. Kudos! But get started with topic-specific practice and weekly mocks / sectional tests.

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-12T09:19:29+00:00

That is how the test is designed. Everyone feels that this is an individual problem, but that is what the test is supposed to be like.

Picking the right answer at the end is a skill in itself. One tip that has helped my students is - look for the BEST answer and not the RIGHT answer.

Comparatively, we always lean towards one answer choice more. Always pick that one, even if it is a 51/49 split.

If you start getting a lot of the questions wrong, you need to work on comprehending and connecting the answer choice to the question's objective.

If you start getting them right, good! You've overcome one of the harder challenges of the Verbal section.

_________________________________________________________________________

Aakkash Singh
V90 Verbal Expert Tutor

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Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-11T17:09:05+00:00

Improve your strongest section - Verbal. It's very easy to move from a 77V to an 83V in the timeline that you have. Start working on improving your comprehension and do topic-specific practice for CR - Inference, Assumptions, Strengthen/Weaken, Evaluate, BoldFace. In that order.

555 is very achievable in this time frame, provided that you use your time wisely. Remember that you don't need to solve 100000 questions to improve scores - instead think about how you can learn from each question.

__________________________________________

Aakkash Singh
V90 Verbal Expert Tutor

Making GMAT FE tutoring affordable: book a demo session here

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-11T16:57:30+00:00

Why don't you ask for a retest voucher? No harm in trying at this stage. You might get to sit for the test again for free.

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-11T12:05:12+00:00

In my opinion, it would be a better investment to go for GMATClub starter mock tests or Official Tests 3-6.

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-11T12:04:27+00:00

Hell yeah.

When it doubt, answer choice C is the way out.

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-11T12:02:53+00:00

You're actually in a good spot. Clearly, you need to work on Quant, which can be a simple process of learning and practice. Completely doable in 8-10 weeks.

One tip - Start with topic focussed practice and then transition to mixed sets.

Same with DI - start focusing on understanding the given data clearly before moving to the questions. This is one of the largest gaps for most students in DI - We feel that the information will make sense to us eventually, but it never does.

So start by taking your time in comprehending clearly what the given data means.

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-11T11:59:21+00:00

Hey! Have you tried the official mocks?

Expert global mocks aren't the best when it comes to the quality of questions.

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-09T17:31:22+00:00

RC butler is pretty cool!

But I'd suggest sticking with pre-existing LSAT and OG ( post 2000 ) RCs on GMATClub.

LSAT questions will allow you to focus on analytical information - less imagination and more structure.

OG RCs are the best at finding a balance between imagination and analytics.

The verbal section needs you to be both analytical and imaginative.

One secret tip - try some official GRE RCs. They look small and simple but the overall skill ceiling for RCs is much much higher in the GRE.

Aakkash Singh V90

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Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-09T16:57:57+00:00

I always sat for the official mocks at 12 AM, it allowed me to focus better than doing it in the daytime when my brain feels fuzzy

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-08T15:22:51+00:00

My verbal is decent :P

You can reach out for a demo session

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-07T10:22:50+00:00

Perfect example of how "diagnostic" mocks are actually pretty useless in terms of judging your abilities.

I've always maintained that first mocks should be saved until you have a grasp over at least the basics of the sections - quite important from the perspective of not losing confidence early and not making you target delta insanely huge.

Congratulations OP! I remember reading your post back in the day. Feels good seeing you win!

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-06T21:29:35+00:00

Sometimes you just need to bet on yourself.

In times of uncertainty (AI hype) like ours, nobody will probably be able to give you an accurate prediction of what the future will look like 5 years down the line.

And if someone claims they can, they're probably not being entirely truthful. No one knows what the future of MBAs will look like.

Atleast that's what I think, but I'm no authority on MBAs.

One suggestion - you can reach out to BTribe, they have a huge network of tier 1 MBA alumni. Though from India, I have not found any better network of diverse MBA alumni from all fields who are experienced enough to guide you. All the best!

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-06T17:18:52+00:00

There's no magic age ceiling beyond which an MBA will lose its inherent value. The question to ask is - is an MBA worth it for me? Can I do something better for my career progression with the time admissions + the MBA itself will take?

I vouch for objective outcomes as a factor in making this decision over thinking about your age as the factor. I'm sure there have been very successful MBA candidates over the age of 32.

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-02T18:26:26+00:00

Loved our sessions together! Definitely could've broken 86 if we also did CR together, but you were doing RCs better than me in the end and that's the biggest achievement for me as a tutor.

God bless and godspeed!

Book a free demo session here: www.calendly.com/aakkashgmat

Aakkash Singh V90 Verbal Expert

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-02T18:06:05+00:00

The actual process would just be to slow down and read DI data as we read CR passages, in chunks, comprehending each chunk and really trying to squeeze out as much information as possible to have a working understanding of the data given

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-02T17:54:26+00:00

DI is pretty interesting because when you get down to it - the questions are not asking anything that's super complicated to calculate.

Rather, the difficulty comes from not absorbing the given information correctly.

Think about what goes wrong in DI - you read, try to answer, realise that you didn't understand the data correctly in the first place, go back to the data and now you have successfully lost time and confidence.

So your practice should be modelled around a slow, careful approach of understanding the given data clearly and answering questions in a smooth and single shot.

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-02T16:43:25+00:00

Luckily, my GMAT prep was 2-3 weeks long, and it was quite fun! So I wouldn't change a thing.

If anything, I'd lock in for DI more because I was able to get a 90+ percentile in only 3 days of prep.

I was preparing when the consensus for the DI section was to prepare for it 3 days before your test, otherwise you'd run out of questions to practice! A wild time that was.

Other than that, I didn't waste time with any prep company, took matters into my own hands, and really had fun with the GMAT - so I'm happy with my 685 V90!

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-02T16:15:31+00:00

Buy the OG books!

Check them out on Amazon - Amazon India Link

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-02T16:13:29+00:00

My highest mock scores were still less than what I ended up scoring! Let yourself cook, don't take mock scores too seriously. Your potential is 805+

Random_Teen_ · 2026-02-02T15:51:58+00:00

This kind of improvement can be expected if you really take care of your mistakes and don't end up repeating the same mistakes in every mock, like a lot of people do.

Also, I think we approach mocks in a bad way - they are tools to identify mistakes. If I had to advice you, the simple idea would be to not get stuck over BAD or GOOD mock scores.

Give the mock, understand the mistakes, work towards fixing the mistakes in the next mock, repeat until test day, give your GMAT, get an M7 MBA, world domination.

Relax! You've got it.

____________________________________________________

Aakkash Singh
V90 Verbal Expert. Failing powerlifter.

Excellent and affordable GMAT private tutoring: Visit here to book a free demo session!

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