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Nerves on test day -> failed miserably..

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MerelM
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Nerves on test day -> failed miserably.. [#permalink] New post   26 Mar 2015, 03:07
Hi there guys!

After looking at this forum for many hours in the last couple of days, I decided to share my story. Many of the stories here are a great inspiration and they helped me a lot!
So, I hope that you can give me some advice as well, because I am feeling pretty down...

Important information: I need a 600+ to get into the school I want (Rotterdam Business School in the Netherlands). Ratio V/Q doesn't matter here, and I only need to do the Quant and Verbal sections of the test. Did the GMAT twice last year, but two times a 460 due to lack of preparation and too busy with my thesis and other courses. So, for the last months I only focused on the GMAT, and started all over.
I studied for the last 5 months for 2 days a week. Finished everything from Manhattan GMAT, on Quant and Verbal. Did all OG practice questions as well.

CAT scores were the following (CAT on Manhattan GMAT site):
2/20 580 q38 v31
2/26 590 q39 v34
3/08 600 :-D q37 v35
3/14 620 q43 v32
3/22 580 q39 v31

So I was confident going into my exam yesterday (3/25), with a focus on Verbal and test taking strategies for the last couple of days.
Here's the score: 490, q36 v21
Needless to day, I feel pretty down. After 5 months of studying and promising CAT scores, a terrible 490.
The thing is: Quant went pretty well, but my nerves got the best of me during Verbal. Took my time with the first 10 questions, and had only 50 min for the last 30 questions. Not a big issue, but I was getting stressed so I tried to calm down with breathing exercises. However, once calm, I had so little time left I started rushing and blew the whole thing :cry:
I know I know all the concepts of the different topics, so I think without the nerves I could have had a 600 ( or at least 550 - 590 range).

I am thinking to retake the test in one month, while practicing 1,5 days a week to ensure I don't lose my skills and knowledge. However, first need to relax after the horrible score of yesterday.

My question is:
What are your strategies to keep calm during the test?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
Merel
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SavageBrother
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Nerves on test day -> failed miserably.. [#permalink] New post   26 Mar 2015, 04:20
Hey there,
Nice to see someone else here who is interested in applying at the EUR. I’m also trying to score a 600+ (aiming for 620, but 600 would be sufficient) . I’ve managed to score 570 last time, so I got pretty close. I don’t really have any concrete tips as far as your nervousness. What I would suggest is that you make sure that you have knowledge of all the possible topics (even more than you have now) and make a lot of questions to get familiar with those questions. This should help I guess. Also, having a healthy meal before the test can make a slight difference.
Try to pace yourself during the exam (as you should have practiced during your CATs) , so that you don’t have to panic because you are running out of time.
Good luck and keep us updated!

By the way, why do you only study 1,5 - 2 days a week? Practicing questions, reviewing them and making them again takes up a considerable amount of time...
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Nerves on test day -> failed miserably.. [#permalink] New post   26 Mar 2015, 12:40
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Hi MerelM,

Anxiety can certainly impact a Test Taker's performance, but your practice CAT scores were consistently higher than your Official Score to a degree that I think there's something "off" about how you've been practicing.

The GMAT is a specific "event" which you CAN mimic in most ways. Many Test Takers don't think about the various aspects of Test Day though, so they don't properly train for the Test Day event. Sometimes the differences can be small, sometimes they can be big, but they ALL matter.

For example....
1) Did you take your CATs at home? (and on Test Day, how long is the ride to the Testing Center from your home?)
2) Did you use a desktop computer or a laptop computer?
3) Did you take your CATs at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Was there ANYTHING that you did during your CATs that you weren't allowed to do (or didn't do) on Test Day?
5) Was there ANYTHING about Test Day itself that was inconvenient, unexpected, etc?

A Test Taker's calm-ness can be significantly improved by becoming more familiar with the material that is tested. It might be that your studies were a bit too "lean" to help you get to that necessary level of familiarity. Studying just 1-2 days per week is far less time than most Test Takers spend. You might also need to invest in some new GMAT resources.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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MerelM
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Re: Nerves on test day -> failed miserably.. [#permalink] New post   26 Mar 2015, 13:04
Thanks for the quick reply both of you!

To answer your questions / comments:
- SavageBrother: Good to have another EUR person here :) the extra knowledge is a good tip indeed, as well as not panicking ;) I only study 2 days a week because I noticed when studying more days a week I was less effective. I really need my rest days in between, so I do the same amount of work in 2 days than I would do in 3. It's weird, I know, but I have a year to do the GMAT so no worries there.
- Rich: Thanks for the reply. Please look at the previous comment to see why I study 2 days a week. Your answers are below:
1) Did you take your CATs at home? - Yes, Test center is 40 min drive.
2) Did you use a desktop computer or a laptop computer? - Laptop, only have a laptop.
3) Did you take your CATs at the same time of day as your Official GMAT? - Yes.
4) Was there ANYTHING that you did during your CATs that you weren't allowed to do (or didn't do) on Test Day? Yes! So I think you might be on the right track here. Drinking water / tea for example, so that could be one of the reasons.
5) Was there ANYTHING about Test Day itself that was inconvenient, unexpected, etc? - Yes, woke up with quite a headache...

Overall, I think you guys are right with practicing the topics more, finding new study materials and mimicking test experiences more at home. I will keep you updated!
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Re: Nerves on test day -> failed miserably.. [#permalink] New post   26 Mar 2015, 18:25
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Hi MerelM,

With this next set of CATs that you'll take, you really MUST be more specific with how you take them and make sure that they 'match up' with the full Test Day event in every way that is reasonably possible.

Also, while I understand your argument about your study routine, the way that you chose to study that first time ended in a 490. I'm not convinced that continuing to study in that fashion will lead to a much higher score result. As such, beyond investing in some new GMAT materials, you might also have to put more time into the process than you current are.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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Re: Nerves on test day -> failed miserably.. [#permalink] New post   26 Mar 2015, 19:35
Hi MereIM,

I will add one more point. During practice, stick only to the OFFICIAL questions for verbal.
I see that you have listed the mock scores of Manhattan CATs but not that of GMATPreps.
So I think you have done the same mistake as I did when I took the first attempt --> Preparing for Manhattan test instead of GMAT itself.
Like you, I consistently scored in the 650-690 range in the Manhattan mocks only to falter miserably in GMAT with a 590.
I have always read that Manhattan mocks are difficult compared to Gmatprep and thought if I could score between 650 and 690 here, I can easily score that in GMAT.
But I was wrong! The Official questions are unique. They are beautifully crafted and you have to train accordingly to familiarize yourself with the patterns.
And that means a lot of practice. Once you start doing it, you can very well see the difference it makes in your mock scores.

-- OG13, Verbal Review, GMAC Question Pack 1, Official GmatPrep Collection(Souvik) - Easily you have about a 1000 Official questions in them. Practice them religiously by analyzing the mistakes ( why the correct answer is "correct" and why the wrong answer is "incorrect" method)
The same goes for Quant as well. (OG13, Quant Review,QP1,Gmatprep collection). Of course, do the Gmatprep collection after exhausting the GMATprep 1 & 2 tests.

Once done, I bet you can score well above your target score.

Happy Studying! :)
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Nerves on test day -> failed miserably.. [#permalink] New post   27 Mar 2015, 01:05
I thought you wanted to join this year :). From what I've read on GMATclub, spreading your study'moments' over long periods of time isn't the most ideal. Rather focus on a period of 2 or 3 months where you fully dedicate yourself to it. But ofcourse, that is up to you.
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Re: Nerves on test day -> failed miserably.. [#permalink] New post   28 Mar 2015, 09:10
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MerelM wrote:
Thanks for the quick reply both of you!

To answer your questions / comments:
- SavageBrother: Good to have another EUR person here :) the extra knowledge is a good tip indeed, as well as not panicking ;) I only study 2 days a week because I noticed when studying more days a week I was less effective. I really need my rest days in between, so I do the same amount of work in 2 days than I would do in 3. It's weird, I know, but I have a year to do the GMAT so no worries there.
- Rich: Thanks for the reply. Please look at the previous comment to see why I study 2 days a week. Your answers are below:
1) Did you take your CATs at home? - Yes, Test center is 40 min drive.
2) Did you use a desktop computer or a laptop computer? - Laptop, only have a laptop.
3) Did you take your CATs at the same time of day as your Official GMAT? - Yes.
4) Was there ANYTHING that you did during your CATs that you weren't allowed to do (or didn't do) on Test Day? Yes! So I think you might be on the right track here. Drinking water / tea for example, so that could be one of the reasons.
5) Was there ANYTHING about Test Day itself that was inconvenient, unexpected, etc? - Yes, woke up with quite a headache...

Overall, I think you guys are right with practicing the topics more, finding new study materials and mimicking test experiences more at home. I will keep you updated!


Hi MereIM,

Since you got some great insight already, I thought I'd provide some "softer" tips on prepping for the retake:

1. Try to forget your last GMAT experience as much as you can. You cannot be afraid of your last performance. Take into account the positives: You already took the test once, so you know exactly what to expect from the test center. If you have studied well, you already know most of the material. There shouldn’t be many lingering jitters about the unknown.
2. Close knowledge gaps. If you were scattered in your studies and used multiple sources without a proper pedagogic line to follow, find a prep plan that works for you. This will streamline your learning and boost confidence.
3. Practice all parts of the exam. Focus on your weaknesses, but don't forget about your strengths. You want to hone in on them.
4. As you already plan to do, take several simulation tests in real conditions and at roughly the same hour of day. On exam day, do exactly what brought you success on sim tests.
5. Improve your time management. This is a key factor on the GMAT.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Jessica
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Re: Nerves on test day -> failed miserably.. [#permalink]
28 Mar 2015, 09:10
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