GMAT 615 to 695 While Working 70+ Hours a Week

Overview

Kshitij describes improving his GMAT score from 615 to 695 while working in consulting, where 70-hour weeks were common and some weeks reached 80 hours or more. He had studied and taken several attempts before earning his final score, but a disappointing result led him to reassess how he approached questions. Over roughly two months of targeted preparation and coaching, he focused less on relearning everything and more on correcting specific habits, managing time and stamina, and staying composed during the exam.

Main Lessons and Strategies

1. Diagnose the cause of mistakes instead of simply doing more practice

• Kshitij already knew much of the tested material. His main obstacles were often how he approached questions, rather than gaps in basic knowledge.
• Reviewing earlier attempts helped reveal recurring issues, such as spending too long on certain question types or using unnecessarily effortful methods.
• The host emphasized root-cause analysis: identify what is causing a weakness, then change that specific behavior rather than blindly reviewing all topics.

2. Adjust verbal reading habits and stay calm with difficult passages

Kshitij had been reading too quickly, which caused him to miss important details. A coach pointed out that he could understand the material but needed to slow down and read more carefully.

For Reading Comprehension, he worked on:

• Not panicking when a passage was long, unfamiliar, or difficult.
• Building a basic understanding of the passage’s overall story and connections, even if some lines were unclear.
• Rereading when necessary instead of rushing ahead.
• Treating each question on its merits rather than assuming that difficulty with one passage would ruin the next questions.

He stopped fixating on the clock and on the goal of getting through every question perfectly. Instead, he focused on making a strong attempt on the questions he could handle.

In his final exam, the first two verbal questions took more than seven minutes combined. He resisted the urge to panic, continued steadily, and still reached the final question. He also completed the 13 questions associated with four Reading Comprehension passages in about 20–25 minutes.

3. Use strategic methods in Data Insights to preserve time and stamina

Kshitij was comfortable with graphs and tables but identified Data Sufficiency and Multi-Source Reasoning (MSR) as areas to improve.

• In Data Sufficiency, he had often used brute force—setting up calculations and solving directly—even when a question could be answered more simply.
• He practiced comparing his methods with alternative solutions and adopting more logical, efficient approaches. The aim was to save effort on easier questions and reserve it for questions that genuinely required more work.
• For MSR, he treated the material like a passage: reading the sections carefully, linking the information, and forming an overall understanding before answering. He made useful inferences as he read, then approached each question as an inference task.

He did not panic if an MSR set took longer than expected. In the final exam, he completed the three questions in one such set in roughly five to five-and-a-half minutes.

He reached 18 of the 20 DI questions and guessed on the final two, which he later found were both incorrect.

4. Improve Quant by making easier questions more efficient

Kshitij felt confident in Quant and was comfortable with the underlying mathematics, but he sometimes spent too long on questions, especially when relying on a standard or improvised method.

His preparation focused on finding faster, more systematic approaches for familiar topics so he could save time and mental energy for harder questions. Examples included:

• Using efficient approaches for odd/even questions.
• Applying simpler methods to compound-interest problems.
• Reviewing time-and-work questions, where he had previously spent too long.

The broader lesson was that high Quant performance requires more than strengthening weak topics. It also means making routine questions reliably efficient and avoiding preventable errors.

In the final attempt, he completed all 21 Quant questions.

5. Fit studying around a demanding work schedule

Kshitij usually aimed for one to two hours on weekdays, often after work around 10 or 11 p.m. However, he did not force himself to study when he was exhausted and unlikely to work effectively.

Instead, he tracked his progress across the whole week:

• He studied on weekdays when time and energy allowed.
• He made up for missed weekday study on weekends.
• He occasionally gave up or rescheduled social plans to protect weekend study time.

He was not a morning person, so he built his plan around evening and weekend study rather than imposing an unrealistic early-morning routine.

His focused preparation with the coaches lasted about two months, though illness interrupted roughly one and a half to two weeks.

6. Manage exam pressure and protect confidence

After a disappointing attempt, Kshitij felt discouraged and questioned whether a strong score was achievable. Support from the host, his parents, and his coaches helped him decide to try again with a more focused approach.

He regarded the GMAT as partly a psychological test: unfamiliar or awkward questions can appear even after extensive preparation, so the goal is to handle them without letting one question derail the rest of the exam.

• He hid the on-screen clock and checked it less often.
• He focused on giving his best effort rather than constantly calculating whether he was on pace.
• He reminded himself that he had practiced and could solve questions at an appropriate average pace.
• If a question went badly, he moved on rather than letting it damage his performance on subsequent questions.
• He tried to treat the test like a regular practice exam instead of magnifying the pressure of “the GMAT.”

Kshitij’s final advice was to combine self-belief, a sound approach, consistent work, and calm execution. Mindset matters, but it does not replace learning the material and putting in the effort.

Results and Timeline

• Kshitij has an engineering background and had worked in consulting for more than six years. He decided to pursue an MBA to support his career growth.
• He began preparing around April or May of the prior year, took an initial attempt in August, and made further attempts before earning his final score in November.
• After a disappointing attempt in September, he revisited his preparation and worked with the host and coach Sunita for about two months.
• The host reports that Kshitij’s section scores improved from 84 to 89 in Quant, 78 to 83 in Data Insights, and by three points in Verbal. Improvements across all three sections contributed to the overall rise from 615 to 695.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Kshitij — Guest describing his preparation, work schedule, exam experience, and results. His name is rendered inconsistently in the auto-generated subtitles.
• The host/moderator, addressed as Push or P — Introduces Kshitij, asks questions, provides GMAT strategy commentary, and moderates the audience Q&A. The exact name is unclear in the transcript.
• Sunita ma’am — Referenced as Kshitij’s verbal coach. Her advice about his reading speed is recounted, but she does not speak in the subtitles.
• Audience questioners — Amon asks about study timing; Diya asks about the DI approach and number of questions attempted; Ojasri asks how to identify topics needing review. Another congratulatory question is read, but the questioner’s name is unclear.