Hey Everyone-
I'm super excited to share that I wildly exceeded my (low) expectations on test day. Having general anxiety to begin with, May 16th was a terrifying day for me. I want to share my strategies for surviving test day and ensuring that you're in peak condition for your test. Combined with the advice from others, I hope the following tips can help you out!
Take Care of Yourself!This one is obvious, and every expert will recommend the same thing. Get plenty of sleep leading up to your test day, not just the night before. If you've ever taken Psych 101, you may have come across Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This pyramid argues that in order to begin addressing higher level needs, you must first establish security in your basic needs. The base of the pyramid includes "breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion." I've seen many arguments for/against sex near test time, so I'll leave that for you to research, but when it comes to the others - take care of your body! Notice that "problem solving" is at the top of the pyramid? Do whatever it takes to make sure that the rest of your needs are met. If there are circumstances outside of your control, maybe consider changing your test date. For example, if you have any family issues, this could be distracting on test day. You will likely already be nervous, do NOT add anxiety to your day.
My Test Day Schedule8:30 - Wake Up
9:00 - Breakfast (eat healthy, get some protein, drink a little coffee if you normally do)
10:00 - Brain Space: Review a few notes from problems you may have previously had trouble with. If you have an error log, remind yourself of the trends you came across. I spent this time telling myself that I was going to look for a quadratic on every problem (GMAT likes to hide them!). I also told myself that I would carefully read the prompt and write down what the question is asking for. Don't use this time to tackle new questions or concepts, it's too late for new material. Just get your brain limbered up a little.
(if you're like me, you may have trouble focusing on anything at this point)
11:00 - Relax: I put a movie on. I needed something to distract me, because at this point I felt like I was going to puke. I put Ender's Game on, because it was the exact kind of mindlessness that I needed. I also spent a little time reading, but I didn't want to overdo it with the vast amount of reading that was coming up. If you can, get some exercise in at this point. I had surgery recently, so I did my PT exercises to get my blood flowing. I also knew I'd be celebrating afterwards, so I figured I should get those out of the way beforehand.
1:45 - Eat: I drove to Trader Joe's, fought the crazy Saturday parking lot, grabbed a small salad, and a coffee from nearby. I had no interest in eating, and I was worried that coffee would send my anxiety through the roof, but I had taken all of my practice tests after drinking coffee in the morning and afternoon, and I wanted to remain consistent as much as possible.
2:15 - Get Pumped: I drove to my test center. So this was probably weird, but I chose to take my test at the test center on the other side of town out in the suburbs. My other option was downtown. To give you an idea, I HATE driving downtown in my city. Parking is a nightmare, and pedestrians are crazy (literally). I also happen to love cruising... so I opted for a 25 min drive to the other side of town to give myself time to listen to music, breathe some fresh air, and try not to think about the test. I reverted back to my high school self and blasted Eminem "Lose Yourself." No shame, I KILLED it in my car studio. Really though, I think getting myself pumped up at this point was the best decision of my day. I had sweaty palms, wanted to puke, was cracked out on caffeine, but I turned it to giddiness for a little bit with Marshall's help.
2:40 - Last Minute Prep: Come to Jesus time. I got to my test center about an hour before my test time. Probably too early, honestly, but considering it was a little hard to find, I'm glad I did. I used this time to eat my salad and quickly glance over my flash cards I had made. I also used this time to jot out my essay outline (I barely studied the AWA) to make sure I still knew what I was writing. With about 40 min before my test time, I went for a walk around the area to get blood flowing and to relax. Considering this was a super random area for one to just go for a stroll, I got a lot of weird looks. Didn't care. This day was all about me and the GMAT and nobody was going to bother me... until I looked up and realized I'd wandered into the parking lot for an adult video store and should probably turn around at that point.
3:15 - Get Focused: 30 min to test time, I put my phone and notes in the car, grabbed my snack (almonds and a banana), and headed inside. On my way, I passed a girl that was walking out, holding her test scores, and crying. Panic started to creep in, but I reminded myself that 1. Pearson conducts several tests simultaneously, not just the GMAT, and 2. the GMAT is NOT worth crying over. Ever. Period. I took a deep breath and continued into the creepily empty office building. Taking note of the location of the bathrooms and water fountain, I proceeded to check in for my test. Having left my notes and cell phone in the car, following the rules were simple. I made sure to use the restroom immediately before beginning my test, then ended up starting early, probably around 3:30.
3:30 - Stay Focused: Focus blackout. I took up the offer for the ear plugs, and I'm so glad I did. I've read stories of other folks having distracting testing centers, but I must say I had zero distraction. With a giant monitor (much better than my laptop), I just allowed myself to be absorbed into the screen. I was killing it as far as timing went, way better than any practice test. I also had started with MGMAT tests, so I felt like the quant section was super easy in comparison. During each break I used the restroom, looked myself in the mirror, and told myself I was the ****. I swung my arms around, did a little yoga in the hallway, kept my earplugs in, and ignored everything around me. Long hair don't care. The test happened. Then my score happened.
7:00ish? - DONE: After deciding to accept my scores and then confirming my demographic information, my scores popped up. Does anyone else think the scores kinda come out of nowhere? I had no idea my score would just appear suddenly when I clicked "next" on that screen. I was pretty shocked. Then it registered that I'd exceeded my goal. I raised my hand, got the eff out of there, got my score report, and immediately texted my predetermined list of recipients:
1. Tutor (sorry, Mom)
2. Mom
3. Sister
4. Boyfriend
I proceeded to drive home, crack open a beer, and get absolutely obliterated in celebration.
Overall, the biggest takeaway I had was to stay confident. Keep visualizing success - literally picture what that score report looks like with your dream score on it. Don't let anything get to you, only you can distract yourself. Deep breaths, take care of yourself, get pumped and above all... CELEBRATE!
Let me know if there's anything else that would be useful to know... I'm making it my personal goal to raise the 99% level to 770 by helping others get high scores.