phighter wrote:
Hi bmillan01
Thanks for your reply,
My answers to your queries are as follows:
1. I slept hardly 3 hours before the test as it was at 9 am and I sleep usually late.
2. I was extremely anxious during the test, and there was a test taker constantly coughing, I get distracted very easily
3. I took breaks but did not eat or drink anything
4 5 days before the test I studied less than I had before those days.
5 Practice CAT were in my living room, ideal conditions
6 I always had three to four day breaks between my studies but that stopped 2-3 weeks before GMAT
7 I took prep 1 gmat first time before starting my preparation and had a score of 580
8 I got put off mentally when I saw a question in quant which I had seen before but not understood, only question to which I did not find an answer during prep as it was a week before and I thought it is just 1 question
Sorry for the delay in reply,but I am quite confused plus my concentration span is minimal and I don't know how I would not get irritated or distracted during test this time around, I have to put a lot of effort to focus
Thanks
It sounds like all of these things together played a huge role on test day and you seem to know what you were doing wrong.
Perhaps you should try to get in a better sleeping pattern beginning a couple weeks before the test, eat/re-hydrate during break times, take practice tests (and get used to taking them) in non-ideal locations/noise conditions and prepare ahead of time to know that there are probably going to be questions that will throw you off but know that it will likely throw off anyone else who prepared as much as you did so you shouldn't freak out and instead calmly deduct the best possible answer.
As far as #4 goes, my standardized testing experience has always been that you should take a break from studying a couple days before the test. That way you're not test fatigued when you begin the actual thing. By the week of the test, you know what you know and your testing skills are pretty much set. Cramming for the last couple of days isn't going to really help on a standardized test. It's much better to relax yourself and even get "hungry" for test questions on test day.
Good luck on your future retake!