The score was only the final outcome of months of exhaustion, pressure, disappointment, and persistence.

When asked about the moment he saw the result back in September 2025, Aymanul laughed, recalling how quickly it happened. During the exam, he already felt that he had probably done well enough to land somewhere around the 95th percentile. Still, seeing “705” appear on the screen felt unreal.

“There was a sudden rush of blood,” he said. “I actually clicked away from the page very fast.”

He did not even tell people immediately. Instead, he waited for the official result before sharing the news.

What makes his journey interesting is that at some point, the GMAT stopped being just another exam. It became personal.

Before this attempt, Aymanul had already received admission offers from multiple MBA programmes in the United States. But financial limitations meant he could not attend. Talking about that phase, he described it as heartbreaking. After coming so close to opportunities he had worked hard for, having to let them go was difficult to accept.

Still, he could not completely move on from it.

After some reflection, he decided to try again. Even though he already had a decent GMAT score, he wanted something stronger, something that would make him feel more confident about his own capabilities. For him, aiming for a top score became less about impressing others and more about proving something to himself.

Interestingly, his final attempt came with less anxiety than expected. Since he had already decided that this would be his last try, he felt calmer during preparation. Instead of constantly worrying about the outcome, he focused on giving everything he could during the final stretch and being satisfied with the effort itself.

That mindset became important during the exam when technical issues cost him valuable time. For many candidates, something like that would completely ruin concentration. But Aymanul approached the situation differently.

“Control the controllable,” he said.

There were too many things during the exam that he could not change, so instead of panicking, he focused entirely on using the remaining time as well as possible.

Even now, when he talks about the result, he does not speak about percentile or rankings first. What mattered more to him was the feeling that he had genuinely worked hard for something.

“This was more about telling myself I had given myself a good shot at my plan,” he explained.

The preparation process itself was far from glamorous. At the time, Aymanul was balancing a full-time job, another master’s degree, and daily commuting that often took three to four hours. According to him, the commuting was actually one of the hardest parts of the entire journey.

By the time he reached home, finding even two productive hours to study felt difficult. Most of his serious preparation happened on weekends, even though he often had classes during those days as well.

The emotional state he was in during that period made things even harder. He described those months as brutal, filled with rejection, heartbreak, and mental struggles. But strangely, those experiences also helped shape his mindset. He realised that many things in life, especially admissions, scholarships, and visa decisions, depend heavily on timing and luck. Preparation was different. It was one of the few areas where effort stayed completely within his control.

At the same time, he also made major changes to his physical health, losing twelve kilograms in four months. His schedule during that period sounded exhausting. Office from morning to evening, gym afterwards, then studying late into the night.

Some days were simply hectic.

But he explained that discipline became addictive in a way. If he managed to complete everything he planned for the day, it gave him a sense of satisfaction that pushed him forward again the next morning.

He also spoke about something he called the “plateauing effect”. Some days, it feels like no progress is happening at all. But over time, the small efforts slowly accumulate. According to him, both studying and fitness work the same way. Results are built quietly before they become visible.

One of the most striking things during the conversation was the way he viewed setbacks. He did not even like calling them failures. Instead, he said he tried to critically assess every disappointing outcome and immediately look for what could be improved the next time.

That mentality also shaped how he viewed larger opportunities. As a Bangladeshi student, he believes financial limitations often make students feel like underdogs in international processes. Yet he also believes dreaming big still matters because ambition helps people survive the stress and disappointment that naturally come with difficult journeys.

Now that the GMAT phase is over, life has become a little more relaxed for him. He joked that he finally sleeps longer, attends more coffee meet-ups, and spends more evenings watching football, things he barely had time for during preparation.

When asked what advice he would give to students balancing work, studies, and GMAT preparation together, his answer was practical rather than motivational.

Set realistic deadlines. Understand that preparation is a marathon, not a sprint. Celebrate small wins. Take care of your sleep, health, and food. And most importantly, expect setbacks because unexpected problems will always come, whether from office work, academics, or life itself.

Once again, he returned to the line that seemed to define his entire journey:

“Control the controllable.”

Today, Aymanul is preparing for the CFA examination and plans to apply for Fall 2027 admissions. The pressure may look different now, but the mindset remains largely unchanged.

And if he could speak to the version of himself who struggled through those difficult eighteen months, he would keep the message simple.

Every hour counts. Every practice test counts. A good score is never built in one dramatic moment. It is built little by little, day after day, long before anybody sees the final result on a screen.