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10 Jun 2020, 22:48
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Hello everyone
This will not be an usual kind of debrief, in which (not where :p) i will talk about my study routine, practise materials or things like that.
Instead, i will talk about nerves, anxiety and that 'feeling of unfamiliarity' that engulfs most of us (some more than others) on our testing day sitting in front of the screen.
I have been lurking on this wonderful forum for good 4 months now, and occasionally i come across posts from people who even with there best efforts could not achieve their targeted scores because of a little thing called 'test day nerves', most recently this piece from Dizzi3 https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-online-what-we-know-319048-1420.html#p2540623
I know that feeling,
I have had it, and
I am one of you, one of many.
In the last 7 days, I gave Gmat Online and traditional Gmat and both times I was overwhelmed by my emotions. Usually I am a very calm person, who doesn't get rattled easily. But what can I say, test day anxiety gets to even the best of us. In both the exams I scored, x20. In my last 4 official mocks, spanned over 6 weeks, I have scored : x70, x50, x60, and x60.
I wish I had a real answer (please let me know, if you do).
All I can tell you is why it happens to some (me).
I decided to give Gmat because you know ‘Ambitions and Aspirations’. As I went on with the preparation the image of life after Gmat became clearer and stronger ( realer? ). On the test day, the realisation that i am just 3 hours away from making that image a reality, that this is the moment for which i have spent the last x no of months just overpowered me. The stakes were so damn high!
Then, suddenly Emotions! To me, It happens mostly in the verbal section, I read the text but I am not able to fully comprehend, it's like I am not connecting with what's written, I am not able to make a ‘mental picture’ as I read. And then everything looks so unfamiliar. questions that I do so easily in practise/Mocks do not come to me in the exam.
I shivered throughout my GMAT online verbal section. My vision had darkened corners, like the Vignette Photo filter.
In center GMAT: I was aware of my experience of the Online exam and I was prepared for it but in sectional break, Excessive checking and Covid precautions cost me 4 minutes of my time, I started my Verbal with 61 mins on the clock. Like demon, that feeling came back, I was not able to concentrate for initial 10 mins.
I am scheduled to appear for another attempt in about 2 weeks. Again I will try to achieve just my mean/median/mode official mock score. But I plan to spend the next two weeks not doing excessive practise but trying to instil mindfulness , a sense of calmness and maybe light practise in the last few days before the exam just to keep the thoughts sharpened.
What else one can do but try and try .
Yes it happens! Yes probably it might happen again!
All we can do is recognise this little problem, accept it, and be prepared for it.
If you have any helpful suggestion or similar thing to share, do ping me.
Fun Fact : i solved a quant problem that i was unable to do even after spending 4-5 mins in exam, watching a spanish movie with subtitles, in 60-70 seconds the night after exam. Nerves! Tell me about them.
PS: I tried to write this post in concise and parallel sentences, but if you find any errors do let me know
PPS: I hope this post helps at least one person.
what this post is not
This will not be an usual kind of debrief, in which (not where :p) i will talk about my study routine, practise materials or things like that.
what this is
Instead, i will talk about nerves, anxiety and that 'feeling of unfamiliarity' that engulfs most of us (some more than others) on our testing day sitting in front of the screen.
li'l thing called 'Test day Nerves'
I have been lurking on this wonderful forum for good 4 months now, and occasionally i come across posts from people who even with there best efforts could not achieve their targeted scores because of a little thing called 'test day nerves', most recently this piece from Dizzi3 https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-online-what-we-know-319048-1420.html#p2540623
I know that feeling,
I have had it, and
I am one of you, one of many.
some context
In the last 7 days, I gave Gmat Online and traditional Gmat and both times I was overwhelmed by my emotions. Usually I am a very calm person, who doesn't get rattled easily. But what can I say, test day anxiety gets to even the best of us. In both the exams I scored, x20. In my last 4 official mocks, spanned over 6 weeks, I have scored : x70, x50, x60, and x60.
why & how it happens
I wish I had a real answer (please let me know, if you do).
All I can tell you is why it happens to some (me).
I decided to give Gmat because you know ‘Ambitions and Aspirations’. As I went on with the preparation the image of life after Gmat became clearer and stronger ( realer? ). On the test day, the realisation that i am just 3 hours away from making that image a reality, that this is the moment for which i have spent the last x no of months just overpowered me. The stakes were so damn high!
Then, suddenly Emotions! To me, It happens mostly in the verbal section, I read the text but I am not able to fully comprehend, it's like I am not connecting with what's written, I am not able to make a ‘mental picture’ as I read. And then everything looks so unfamiliar. questions that I do so easily in practise/Mocks do not come to me in the exam.
I shivered throughout my GMAT online verbal section. My vision had darkened corners, like the Vignette Photo filter.
In center GMAT: I was aware of my experience of the Online exam and I was prepared for it but in sectional break, Excessive checking and Covid precautions cost me 4 minutes of my time, I started my Verbal with 61 mins on the clock. Like demon, that feeling came back, I was not able to concentrate for initial 10 mins.
road Ahead
I am scheduled to appear for another attempt in about 2 weeks. Again I will try to achieve just my mean/median/mode official mock score. But I plan to spend the next two weeks not doing excessive practise but trying to instil mindfulness , a sense of calmness and maybe light practise in the last few days before the exam just to keep the thoughts sharpened.
What else one can do but try and try .
shoutout to Nervous peeps (like me!)
Yes it happens! Yes probably it might happen again!
All we can do is recognise this little problem, accept it, and be prepared for it.
If you have any helpful suggestion or similar thing to share, do ping me.
Fun Fact : i solved a quant problem that i was unable to do even after spending 4-5 mins in exam, watching a spanish movie with subtitles, in 60-70 seconds the night after exam. Nerves! Tell me about them.
PS: I tried to write this post in concise and parallel sentences, but if you find any errors do let me know
PPS: I hope this post helps at least one person.
11 Jun 2020, 02:52
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hey Shivam1809
so glad to see I'm not the only one struggling with nerves! Would you mind sharing what you would use to practice mindfulness, any apps in particular?
so glad to see I'm not the only one struggling with nerves! Would you mind sharing what you would use to practice mindfulness, any apps in particular?
11 Jun 2020, 19:05
Kudos
Bookmarks
[quote="AnirudhaS"]Hey [url=https://gmatclub.com:443/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&un=Shivam1809][b]Shivam1809[/b][/url]
so glad to see I'm not the only one struggling with nerves! Would you mind sharing what you would use to practice mindfulness, any apps in particular?[/quote]
Hi Aniruddha,
From what I have gathered is that there is no 'one size fits all' approach.
Everyone has different triggers, hence different solutions.
In my case acceptance of the fact that I get anxious sometimes and then deep breathing help.
If you want you can practise meditation and deep breathing exercises, 'Calm' is an ap that might help you.
Stay in touch , cheers !
[size=80][b][i]Posted from my mobile device[/i][/b][/size]
so glad to see I'm not the only one struggling with nerves! Would you mind sharing what you would use to practice mindfulness, any apps in particular?[/quote]
Hi Aniruddha,
From what I have gathered is that there is no 'one size fits all' approach.
Everyone has different triggers, hence different solutions.
In my case acceptance of the fact that I get anxious sometimes and then deep breathing help.
If you want you can practise meditation and deep breathing exercises, 'Calm' is an ap that might help you.
Stay in touch , cheers !
[size=80][b][i]Posted from my mobile device[/i][/b][/size]
