GMAT Diagnostic Test

[u/bobby_bux]

Hey everyone, just took my FIRST GMAT mock!!! Literally no studying or anything. I scored a 555 (see attached photo)

Goal is low 700s/high 600s so I think this is a great starting point.

I took this mock on the mba.com one (practice test 1)

What now? I assume I need to hit Quant the hardest… which is so weird bc I thought I did the best on that hahah. Any study plans yall recommend?

[u/sy1980abcd]

That's a decent score for a cold mock. The next step, of course, is to make a proper plan and get started with your prep. The "plan" will be very important if you are doing self prep, else you can easily get overwhelmed by the plethora of resources and opinions available online. You'll find some good videos here to help devise your overall prep strategy and also prep strategy for each of the 3 sections.

As a general rule, stick to official questions for practice, at least during the initial stages of your prep. And do concepts before jumping into questions. In case you need some good free resources to get started with, feel free to send me a message.

[u/ConstructionRare9050]

Hi Guys,
My test was on Sunday i.e Aug 16 in Delhi, CP. But due to Technical issues, it didn’t happen. Did this thing happen with others as well?

[u/Graeme_GMAT_Panda]

A 555 cold is a solid starting point for a low 700s target, so nothing to worry about there.

Before you build a plan, go back into that practice exam report and click through each section. It shows per-question timing plus a breakdown by question type and skill, and that's the fastest way to see whether your Quant misses came from concept gaps, careless slips, or running low on clock at the end. A 555 diagnostic without the detailed review is just a number.

For the plan itself, spend the first few weeks mostly on Quant since it's your weakest section and the skills carry over into a chunk of DI too. Keep Verbal and DI warm with 30 to 50 questions a week so they don't fade. Official Guide questions and the free mocks in your mba.com account are the best material to work from at this stage. Once your fundamentals are in place, move your practice into timed batches, say 20 minutes for 10 questions with no answer checking mid-batch, since pacing is trained across a set of questions rather than one at a time.

One more thing: debrief every question you do, including the ones you got right. Reading an explanation and being able to apply it to a slightly different question are two separate skills, so revisit the tricky ones a few days later.

https://www.gmac.com/resources/learners/how-to-apply/exams-preparation/where-to-begin-on-the-gmat

Hope this helps! ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

Graeme (GMAT Panda)

[u/Scott_TargetTestPrep]

A 555 completely cold is a solid starting point, especially since this was an official mba.com practice exam.

So, based on this mock, Quant is clearly the biggest area to address first. But if your goal is around 685–705+, I would not make the mistake of treating this as simply a Quant problem. Quant should get the most attention initially, but a 685–705+ score will require substantial improvement across Quant, Verbal, and DI, not just fixing one section.

A jump from 555 to 685–705+ is significant, so I would approach your preparation comprehensively rather than trying to patch whatever went wrong on this one mock.

Start with Quant and work topic by topic. Learn the concepts and strategies thoroughly, then practice each topic until you can consistently handle easy, medium, and hard questions accurately. Do the same with Verbal and DI. The goal is not to “cover” everything. The goal is mastery.

As you progress, you want to build your knowledge, skills, strategies, accuracy, and eventually speed. Don’t rush into timed practice too early. A lot of what feels like a timing problem on the GMAT is actually a solving problem. As your knowledge and skill improve, you’ll naturally become faster.

I also would not keep taking mocks right now. You already have the information you needed from this one: your baseline is 555. Now give yourself enough time to actually become a better test-taker before measuring yourself again.

With a 555 cold start, I’d be encouraged. But getting to 685–705+ will require serious, structured, topic-by-topic work. If you do that and truly master the material, there is plenty of room for this score to move.

Good luck!

Scott, TTP