Worried about losing focus while taking the GMAT?
Two weeks ago, we talked about anticipation stress and how it can impede your preparation for the GMAT. Being proactive in the months leading up to the test can greatly improve your score—but that’s only half battle.
What about when Test Day finally arrives?
While you continue to work on conquering anticipation stress, let’s talk about the other common type of stress that we mentioned in that prior blog post: Test Day performance anxiety.
On Test Day, there’s a chance that you’ll encounter a situation in which you:
- Get stuck on a question.
- Lose focus.
- Suddenly panic.
What to do if you get stuck on a question
Don’t spend an unnecessary amount of time on questions that trip you up. Think about employing a guessing strategy and move on. Good test-takers realize that everyone misses a point here or there—the key is to get the MOST points, not all the points. If you haven’t yet reached an answer after about two minutes of working on a GMAT question, it’s a good idea to move on.
What to do if you start to lose focus
When performance anxiety sets in on Test Day, It’s important to get it back to the task at hand as soon as possible. There are a couple tricks you can employ to regain your focus:
- Make an educated guess and move on to the next question. This is a good strategy if you lost focus because the question is difficult—though it may not be the best idea if you’re simply tired or distracted.
- If you lose focus because you’re tired or distracted or because of general GMAT performance anxiety, close your eyes, put your head down for a moment, or just look away. You can even try a quick chair stretch to relieve tension. Do something to shift your focus temporarily away from what is on the screen. You have the time to take 15 seconds and breathe deeply, disconnecting from the environment for a short period of time. Doing this will help control the adrenaline in your system and put the situation into perspective.
- If you lose focus because of something going on in the testing room, raise your hand and engage the proctor. The GMAT testing room should be quiet and free from distractions. The proctors are there to enforce this decorum.
What to do if you start to panic
If you employed the techniques above, you shouldn’t even come close to panicking. Panic comes from letting your performance anxiety and adrenaline get out of control, so it’s important to nip it in the bud. If you find yourself in a panic situation, make sure that you pull away from the screen for a few seconds and take a couple deep breaths. In the worst-case scenario, you may need to raise your hand and leave the testing room and grab a drink of water (this is permissible—but you won’t get your time back).
The key to a great test day performance is to know thyself. If you start feeling that the adrenaline and anxiety are building up, pause. Think about your breathing, skip the question, or find a way to take a very short break.
The GMAT tests your ability to answer quantitative and verbal questions, but it also tests your ability to perform under stress. Don’t let it beat you. You’ve prepared well, so keep your cool, stay confident, and fight for the GMAT score you deserve.
Minimizing last-minute Test Day stress requires proper planning and strategy. To get started, check out one of our free live online MBA Admissions Seminar.
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