Hello everyone! I took the GMAT today as a practice run. I had drastically overestimated my abilities and scheduled the test a month ago thinking I would be ready by today. Not a chance. Instead of paying the rescheduling fee, I chose to just go and hoped for the best.
650- 46V and a HORRIBLE 32Q (an increase from low 20's)
I've been studying for a solid month, every day for at least 3 hours. The complete time was devoted solely to quant and I didn't study for verbal at all. Last year, I was diagnosed with a nonverbal learning disability (for those of you who have never heard of it, I don't fully understand it either). I have a major weakness with anything involving visual and spatial relations, but on the other hand, am very strong in verbal abilities (hence the 46 without studying).
Translating this to the GMAT:
1) The sheets of paper I use as scrap looks like a math book threw up on it. When I'm rapidly jotting things down, going line by line doesn't come natural. I will write something in the top right corner, then jump down to the bottom of the page, then turn the page sideways and write in the middle. By the time I'm done, I have the steps to one single problem scrawled randomly across three separate pages. Variables and numbers get lost, turned around and reversed. Sad part is, I have actually devoted study time training myself to write in an organized manner. Not much different than a two year old learning how to color, this within itself is a challenging task for me.
2) I cannot do any sort of mental math or number organization in my head whatsoever. I need to write absolutely EVERYTHING down, like even very simple equations (Ex: .1 *10? Easiest question ever, I know. But I need to that down, count the number of zeros and then physically move the decimal in order to not make a careless mistake).
3) One word: Geometry. I can sit here and recite every single geometry rule for every shape imaginable, but when it comes to applying it to an actual shape, I have to draw it and label every single side and every angle. When theres shapes inscribed in other shapes, each one has to be drawn separately or my brain goes into overload trying to piece everything together. And 3-D shapes drawn look like one of those weird, impossible optical illusions; if a common equation doesn't neatly fit the problem, I'm stuck trying to figure out how the shape works rather than what the equation for it would be.
And blah blah, you get the idea. The whole thing is EXTREMELY frustrating- the steps I take to solve the problems almost match up exactly to solutions in the
MGMAT review books/test and I usually get the problem right. It just takes a lot of energy and time to do so. By question 20, not only am I coming up on the 5 minute mark, but I have already filled up 3 of the GMAT dry erase notebooks and I'm mentally drained from having to do a million tiny calculations.
I'm fully prepared to study for as long and as hard as I need too, but at the same time, I'm wondering if this is something I can even improve? I'm aiming for schools that I'm going to need at least a 675 for, but I'm starting to lose hope that I can ever get overcome the time problem and get quant up high enough
Any study tips/life, career, admissions advice would be much appreciated!!! Even brutally honest advice telling me to give up now.
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02 Jan 2014, 17:24
