Sourav Paul

Dear Ayush,
A general answer to your question would be - GMAT is accessible if you know how to go about it, and difficult if you don't. Instead, I would like to take a different angle and share what I have learned about this exam in the last eight years - from taking and acing the exam myself to coaching other test-takers.
GMAT is a test of your personality. Most test takers have been away from active academics for an extended period, and a good GMAT score is a way of telling the MBA admission panel that you still have it in you to sustain the rigours of a challenging MBA program. It creates confidence that you can take up any challenge in a management career. Believe it or not - such discussions occur in adcom meetings (I was a student member of the adcom at ISB).
So here are a few tips on how to go about your GMAT preparation for a 700+ score.
1) GMAT is like a project for an exam taker. Like any project, it needs to have an end goal (target score in this case) and a timeline to achieve that goal. So break down the overall goal into a laundry list of things-to-do, identify the sequence of these tasks, and assign timelines to each task. In short, schedule your project and prepare a day-wise plan. Give your best to stick to this plan. However, be flexible enough to alter the plan if things do not go as you wanted. The key is that you should know, at any time, where you stand concerning the goal and how to cover the remaining path.
2) Assign sufficient time to study. Most of the topics in the GMAT syllabus are grade 8 or grade 9 stuff. Yet, GMAT is not so much about gaining knowledge - it is more about developing skills. And developing skills requires time and effort. The exam tests how you comprehend information, analyze, reason, and draw inferences. These skills are very crucial for an MBA program and a management career ahead. In general, it is advisable to assign 2-3 hours a day for GMAT preparation for four months.
3) Timing and pacing is a critical part of your preparation. From the very start, set up a timer even while doing basic questions. Speed up a bit the next day. The following day, target to do 5-7 more problems at the same time. As you carry on with this, you will start to get an intuitive sense of time and pace, and you will never stress out if a problematic question takes a bit longer.
4) Get your basics right. GMAT is not a Mathematics or an English exam - It is a Quant and a Verbal exam. Even the AWA and IR sections test application - something that you would regularly do during the MBA program. As I said earlier, the concepts are those from grades 8 and 9. But if you are not thorough with these, you will not ace the application questions. You can do self-study or even enrol in a class to refresh your basics.
5) Stay positive. The preparation will help you learn many good habits that you will find useful in your academic life and career ahead. A personal experience - before GMAT, there had been a significant drop in my spoken English quality. Post GMAT, even today, I try to apply the same verbal concepts while speaking or writing. So try to enjoy the GMAT journey and pick up some useful lessons en route.