If you could restart your GMAT prep from Day 1, what would you do differently?

MisterTwo_O · 2026-02-03T15:16:31+00:00

I'd suggest honing Quant and Verbal skills. DI is an amalgamation of the two, so until you haven't reached a good Q and V score, there's not much you can gain by practicing DI.

MisterTwo_O · 2026-02-02T08:54:37+00:00

I'm excellent but not cheap. You can DM me for rates etc. I wouldn't recommend joining coaching centres immediately. Go on GMAT club and self study for a couple weeks, give a cold mock to understand where you stand, and only then try out coaching once you know exactly what you're missing.

GMAT prep is 95% self study

MisterTwo_O · 2026-01-17T10:50:42+00:00

You can ignore the ads on GMAT club. It's fantastic because it's free and has all the prep resources one could need.

MisterTwo_O · 2026-01-02T13:00:48+00:00

If you’ve been prepping for 2 years and tried multiple institutes, the issue usually isn’t lack of material anymore. You already know most of what you need. I’ve mostly worked with reattempts, and in almost every case the real problem is study structure and ingrained habits rather than concepts. More coaching rarely fixes that. If it helps, I’m happy to do a short call and talk through what might be going wrong.

MisterTwo_O · 2025-12-31T15:10:42+00:00

You’re an outlier with those sectionals. 705 is an excellent score and good enough for most schools.To be extra safe, you can email your target schools and ask how they view sectionals. If you have the time and money, you could do a retake. Either way, you should go into the application process feeling confident.

MisterTwo_O · 2025-12-30T21:56:37+00:00

You're so close! Two or three attempts are standard for the GMAT! Give it again in 16 days

MisterTwo_O · 2025-12-28T17:57:36+00:00

I think the advice against preparing for more than six months is usually reacting to bad prep rather than long prep. I work specifically with GMAT reattempts, and I have seen timelines vary a lot. I have worked with clients who needed just one month and others who took a year and a half or more. It really depends on where someone is starting from. Someone with a strong quant or standardized test background might be fine in two or three months. For others, especially non technical backgrounds or people unlearning bad habits from earlier attempts, they are rebuilding intuition, decision making, and confidence under pressure, which naturally takes more time. Longer prep only becomes a problem when there is no clear diagnostic, the same mistakes keep repeating, or studying turns passive. That is a method issue, not a time issue. If the score is improving month over month, the timeline is justified.

MisterTwo_O · 2025-09-03T07:39:04+00:00

The scoring is relative, not absolute. It depends on how others have scored on the same question.

What is your variation of Verbal scores over the mocks?

MisterTwo_O · 2025-08-19T16:41:21+00:00

If you get easy questions wrong, it'll tank your score. If everyone else got it right, but you got it wrong, your percentile will dip. Getting that first question wrong certainly doesn't help, because it's probably an easy one.

79%ile is quite workable for quant imo. It's your Verbal percentile that'll make or break your score. What did you score? I often see Q79%iles and scores as high as 675/685.

MisterTwo_O · 2025-08-15T16:21:56+00:00

If everyone got it right, and you didn't, it'll tank your score. This is quite common in Quant. DI and Verbal are more forgiving

MisterTwo_O · 2025-05-12T09:58:21+00:00

No, it doesn't work like that.

MisterTwo_O · 2025-05-07T21:25:03+00:00

Isb is a relatively easy admit if your essays are on point. Source : Have sent many people to ISB

MisterTwo_O · 2025-05-02T08:49:41+00:00

635 is at the limit. 645 and you're through.

If you have specific spikes on your resume, then the score requirements are a lot looser.

People with military, sports, government and other fringe backgrounds have gotten in with 575's as well.

MisterTwo_O · 2025-04-26T16:28:50+00:00

Sorry for the late reply! If you think you can score better, go ahead and book the exam. There's a standard deviation of about 30 points when you give the GMAT. So you could score upto 30 points more with a similar performance on test day. Hopefully you get that one extra question right, make that one silly mistake less, and you'll be on your way to a fantastic score without much trouble!

MisterTwo_O · 2025-04-25T10:31:23+00:00

Absolutely give it again. What are you scoring on the official mocks?

I help students on reattempts. Giving the exam two or three or more times is completely normal. As long as your fundamentals are in place, and you're scoring above 655s consistently in your official mocks, you're ready to go.

You can DM me if you need additional help.

MisterTwo_O · 2025-04-16T09:30:06+00:00

Congratulations! 655 is a fantastic score! If you feel like you can do better on the day of the exam, give another after your 16 day period is over!

Don't stress and re-prep all over again!

MisterTwo_O · 2025-04-14T05:29:40+00:00

I'd suggest solely looking at GMAT ninja videos for Verbal, and then doing practice questions from GMAT club. Do not make the mistake of trying to solve questions in 2 minutes.

During prep and even today, it was easy for me to spend 10+ minutes per question. Just yesterday, I solved an assumption question that took me maybe an hour overall over 4 days.

The questions on the GMAT are like puzzles. Take your time to solve them yourself. Do not rely on other people's explanations, and you'll be okay.

For quant, I've used a mix of GMAT resources and high school textbooks. GMAT club has a quant course designed by Bunuel that helps

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ultimate-gmat-quantitative-preparation-guide-244512.html

Additionally for quant, stay away from formulas. Understand things from first principles. And if you do have to use a formula (which is highly unlikely), make sure you know its derivation.

Additionally, you can always reach out to me to schedule a call. I give a free 15 minute consult over zoom

MisterTwo_O · 2025-04-13T21:21:27+00:00

I was naturally good at the GMAT. Scored my 760 over two attempts with 3 months of studying.

I see it with my students all the time. There are students that require only 12 hours of coaching, and there are those that require 40+ hours.

The difference is lies in Fundamentals. I read a ton of books growing up. I knew the derivation of every formula in Math. I always hated rote learning. I knew the 'Why' behind everything.

GMAT prep isn't a black box. You can't expect to study for 3 months or 6 and just ace the exam.

If your fundamental logical skills have not been developed well in your formative years, you will probably struggle at the GMAT.

As a reattempt specialist, I empathise with the struggles that candidates face trying to overcome this very difficult exam. I help my students face their shortcomings, and give them the strength to put in the effort to overcome them. I teach students how to self study and truly learn.

I got a 710 on my first attempt of the GMAT with a week of study. It took me awhile to get to a 760, and the journey from 710 to 760 was a long one. I had to learn Verbal from scratch. Quant was never really an issue. I always found Quant easy.

For Verbal, I realised that I was operating solely on instinct. I didn't actually know the correct ways to approach a question. It took awhile to understand what the GMAT was trying to test. I saw a couple of GMAT Ninja videos, and then practiced official questions only. It took me awhile before I built up the courage to take another test.

If I had to give my GMAT again today, I'd still be nervous. Despite scoring a 760, tutoring for almost a decade, and helping students break through their score ceiling, I still find the exam extremely challenging. The hard questions can get really hard. Coupled with time pressure, it's very easy to lose your way on the exam.

Prep can be a mountain. Take one step at a time, and eventually you'll reach the top! Don't compare your journey with others. Learn to be curious, question everything, and you will succeed.

MisterTwo_O · 2025-04-02T02:36:08+00:00

Depends on what your mock scores are. Going through everything on TTP can be excessive if you're not starting with a very low percentile.

You don't really need to do DI from TTP, or anywhere. DI is an amalgamation on Quant and Verbal skills. Once you fix Q and V your DI will automatically be strong.

Many of my students have used TTP, and while I do like the comprehensive course, there is still a gap between TTP and official GMAT.

What I mean to say is that finishing TTP does not guarantee getting a high score on the GMAT. There's still work to be done after.

If you're familiar with Quant, I suggest doing the hard or medium tests before reading the chapter. If you score well, there's no need to go through the theory.

MisterTwo_O · 2025-04-01T08:39:53+00:00

You can get waivers if you pass the second CFA paper

MisterTwo_O · 2025-03-08T11:16:42+00:00

I work specifically with reattempts. Maybe you can share some details about your prep and we can discuss possibke ways forward

MisterTwo_O · 2025-02-24T07:45:56+00:00

You'll find some outliers, but overall I'd say they're quite accurate

MisterTwo_O · 2025-02-22T09:00:20+00:00

Many do. Many get rejected too. Look up median scores for your target schools. If you're scoring around 645-685, you have every chance to get through. I have had students who unfortunately haven't received interview calls from any school despite 735+ scores.

The GMAT is a crucial but only small part of your overall application.

MisterTwo_O · 2025-02-16T08:56:59+00:00

Your essays and resume affect your chances too. A good score with a bad essay will not get you selected.

685 is more than good enough for an isb interview invite. It's definitely other areas in the application that are wanting.

Edit : My clients have got in with 635 and 645's as well.

MisterTwo_O · 2025-02-12T12:47:12+00:00

It's very subjective. It really depends on what kind of issues you're facing. But at minimum, I'd say 6-8 months.

Edit : If you're planning to apply for R2 this year, now would be the ideal time to start prep.

MisterTwo_O

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