The GMAT is a standardized test, which means that it elicits a standard set of mistakes over and over again.\u00a0 Your score may be well below what you wanted, but if it\u2019s just a case of you making the same mistakes multiple times each, you may not be that far away.\u00a0 Go back to your practice tests and homework sets to ask yourself not just \u201cwhat\u201d types of questions you missed, but \u201cwhy\u201d you missed them.<\/p>\n
Did you:<\/p>\n
- Fail to take into account \u201cspecial case\u201d numbers like 0, negatives, nonintegers, etc. on Data Sufficiency problems?<\/p>\n
- Often answer the wrong question, submitting the answer for x when the question asked for y?\u00a0 Or provide the cause of a situation when the question asked for the effect?<\/p>\n
- Tend to struggle on a particular concept over and over?<\/p>\n
Your recent practice problems offer a terrific blueprint of where you are vulnerable.\u00a0 Use them to identify the underlying reasons for why you\u2019re falling for trap answers and making mistakes.\u00a0 This practice will also help you better understand the test and not just the content.\u00a0 Which brings us to\u2026<\/p>\n
2) Think like the testmaker as you study<\/strong><\/p>\n The most common pitfall for conscientious GMAT studiers is that they study for the GMAT like they studied for final exams in high school and college.\u00a0 They list formulas and rules and pore over notes, trying to remember as much as possible.\u00a0 But the GMAT isn\u2019t an \u201cexit exam\u201d like a final or midterm; it is an entrance exam, designed to assess your potential as a manager, a decision-maker, and a critical thinker.\u00a0 It measures \u201chow you think,\u201d and so it is simply not sufficient to just know the content.\u00a0 You need to understand the test and its thought processes.<\/p>\n As you study for your next attempt, slow down \u2013 do fewer problems but learn more from each.\u00a0 Ask yourself why the question specified \u201cnonnegative\u201d and not \u201cpositive\u201d (I bet 0, a nonnegative but also not positive number, played a role).\u00a0 Ask yourself why someone might select choice D instead of correct choice B \u2013 what mistake was D designed to elicit?\u00a0 Ask yourself how you could rephrase this Problem Solving question as a tricky Data Sufficiency question.\u00a0 Start to anticipate how the test is making itself more difficult by the way in which it presents information or asks questions.<\/p>\n 3) Pay attention to pacing<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the more recurring themes among GMAT attempts that fell short is a problem with pacing.\u00a0 The GMAT is a timed test and most examinees find that the pacing component is, indeed, a challenge.\u00a0 If you recognized a pacing challenge, work for your retake to avoid or minimize it in the future.\u00a0 Ask yourself:<\/p>\n - Which types of questions do you tend to miss when you rush?<\/p>\n - Which concepts are you doing well on, but could afford to speed up?\u00a0 Try some pacing drills to become quicker at recognizing these concepts and performing or combining certain steps.\u00a0 Give yourself 30 seconds each to start problems and have something to show for that time, or do a set of 10 problems in 3\/4 of the time that you normally allot.\u00a0 Then pay attention to that first point \u2013 when you were forced to rush a bit, which \u201csilly\u201d mistakes did you make, and where do you need to slow down a bit?<\/p>\n - Which concepts simply take you too long?\u00a0 If you have 2 minutes per question, some questions will take you 2:30 and that is not terrible if you balance that out with some 1:15s and 1:40s. But once you start pushing 3 minutes\u2026you are spending 50% of the time you have allotted for the next question, and research shows that after around 2:15-2:30 per question people\u2019s likelihood of getting questions correct actually declines.\u00a0 If certain question types are just bound to take you more time than you can afford, plan to quickly make an educated guess on those so that you can bank the extra 75-90 seconds of time allotment toward the questions that you will get right.<\/p>\n 4) To thine own self be true Ready to sign up for a GMAT course ? Enroll through GMAT Club and save up to $180 (use discount code GMATC10)! Take a look at our course options in some of our most popular cities: New York<\/a>, Chicago <\/a>and Los Angeles<\/a> and make sure to check the Veritas Prep blog<\/a> for daily articles.<\/p>\n
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\nYour recent GMAT attempt taught you some things about yourself and you should take time to reflect on what you learned.\u00a0 If you felt anxiety, some of it may have been just general \u201cit\u2019s a big day\u201d stress, but some was undoubtedly specific.\u00a0 When you had trouble sleeping the night before the exam, what was it that worried you?\u00a0 Did you know that you should have spent more time studying the verbal?\u00a0 Were you worried that you\u2019d see more than one probability problem?\u00a0 Had you recently struggled through a sentence correction problem set?\u00a0 Take this next opportunity to shore up those problem areas that caused you grief leading up to your exam \u2013 you have a second chance coming!\u00a0 Then, also, reflect on what you did do well and use that to build confidence.\u00a0\u00a0 Your test probably was not an abject disaster.\u00a0 Simply noting before your next test that \u201cthe AWA will be no sweat\u201d or \u201cGMAT geometry is easier than advertised so I\u2019m comfortable there\u201d allows you to begin from a position of strength.\u00a0 You\u2019re not starting from scratch, so take the positives from your first attempt and build on those.<\/p>\n
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