“From 420 to 620 - An ADHD Journey” or “This is not a 700+ story, but

Hello everyone,

The feedback I provide below is not intended to give any high scorers further tips to increase even more their results. Neither it is a brag or a blueprint showing off on “how to jump from the 400’s to the 600’s and then to the 700’s”. This testimonial is a form of gratitude for the dozens of anonymous people who donated time and material to me, and an encouragement letter to those who feel alone while digging their hole towards the light at the end of the tunnel – hang on!

A week ago, I attended the Test Centre in Sao Paulo/BR endowed by an entirely different mindset towards the test. That time I felt light as if a ton of concrete was taken out from my back. My 620 points were not splendid as the 700+ of many others you quickly find gmatclub, but it meant a lot to me, to my family and friends who walked this hard journey by my side. By the way, I realized that the average test taker in Brazil scores below 600 – here is a shock of reality to those feeling down for not getting an imaginary 700+ score.
It is important to say that not more than three months earlier I attended the very same place with an opposite thinking. I faced the test, at that time, as a life-saver, almost like a life-or-death mission. My thought was that “my career, family, and destiny depended on the success in the endeavor” and the result was not only unexpected but also disastrous and disturbing. I got a 480, which I promptly canceled.

My fastest background ever would be: I started working at the age of 14 as an apprentice in a multinational and for another fifteen years I remained working in renowned companies. A few years ago, I got very frustrated with the corporate world, so I started a small advisory firm to help SME’s. Nearly four years ago, I took the decision to change the direction of my career utterly. I started my Masters in Science degree and joined the research field, which became my real passion. The MSc was my 1st contact to the GMAT, and the reception was an outstanding 420-points score, an icy bucket right on my head. I did not become worried at first because I did not give the test the preparation it deserves, and second because there were alternatives better alternatives to suffice the entry requirement for my Master program. So I prepared for them and did well.

Around January 2016, I decided to pursue a Ph.D., which is the natural path for anyone engaged in research. This time, though, the circumstance was slightly different – no alternative, lots of pressure to succeed, a family, bills, etc. Therefore, a logical decision was to decide for a “consulting firm to take care of me.” The house for MBA hooked me up by promising to teach me everything essential to tackle the GMAT and reach the stratosphere, walk me through all the steps of the applications (I paid for five!), and facilitate my life and of my family with scholarship applications and visas. It did not take me long to realize that the live classes covered 400-500 content, the best instructors were unable to clarify my doubts, and my contract could not be broken without a lawyer. Final result: US$ 5k sent to the trash.

Thankfully I found GmatClub and all the anonymous heroes on it. I will not even pretend to tip other students. Seriously, there are plenty of material and monsters here already dedicating time and life to keep this Forum up! carcass bb Bunuel and so many retired members and moderators like logicguru
It is worthless.

All I can say is that I covered almost every single material available out there. Magoosh, Manhattan, GmatClub, Kaplan, Reviews, so on . If you see my Kindle and home desk, you find a gigantic pile of books, notebooks, and pieces of papers that will turn into a bonfire very soon. I reached a point in my studies where I cannot judge which one helped me the most or confused me the least. But, like any ordinary student and as a matter of curiosity, I picked math and sentence correction. My first diagnostic from the Official Guide told me I was a complete disaster in both.


Absolutely nothing.

Each one has a different experience and more importantly, its own journey. In my case, one happening that I won’t forget ever, jokes apart, was that my struggle and desolation for not understanding what Critical Reasoning asked me to answer was so insane that I looked for medical advice!

For anyone beginning or still struggling in the studies, I tell you to face the test with humbleness, set up and grow your expectations at the right time, and sweat to learn skills. Do not focus on the content, even less the way to solve problems. The test somehow prepares you to write more concisely, to think straightforwardly and to tackle unimaginable materials more systematically. So, if you do that already in your daily life, you will do well on the very first mock. If you think you do or you don’t, it is an opportunity to reassess and learn some new your abilities.

GMAC is a corporation that has a group of psychometrists, professors, and researchers backing up the whole content presented on your screen. It is a big deal. You, despite your journey, working history, or genius, will not “find a way” to beat the algorithm. Face it. It may be feasible in other tests, but this devil test won’t let you do that. Maybe, in your undergrad, exhaustive repetition of exercises would lead you to higher marks, but GMAT DOES NOT WORK THIS WAY. If you are doing that right now, stop it. The test will continue to punish you if you rehearse your intuition rather than your reasoning. I cannot be more clear than that.

If you don’t have the skill, don’t panic, you can build it up. But, you have to have the right attitude from the very beginning or fix it along the way.

My greatest suggestion for you to move from average or null band to a higher one is very essential but poorly applied (including myself). Mate, sweat the a** off to understand “how and why” an expert explanations or book theory presents the information is such way. It is their bread-and-butter, their way of living and unless you are a genius, it is at least prudent to assume that the way you solve is the least efficient one. Such reaction leads to another common trap: “well, this content (even, +/-, article usage, details, inference) is quite basic, so let me move to harder subjects”. By doing so, you are doomed! Nearly 90% of the test is based on primary content, and what makes this test devil is the way this group of people organizes and set up the question. Therefore, not mastering the basics = failure.

My second greatest suggestion is a top-secret formula that goes in the same direction. Solve and get all the easy questions right, then solve and get all the medium questions right, then solve and get a few hard questions right. Your task is to find out which question GMAC considers “easy” and which ones it deems “medium” or “hard” questions. I suggest checking Wiley because here at GmatClub ( hehe) some questions categorized as 600-700 are rated as easy by the official site. Take advantage of solving every single problem in test mode (a question per page). You will wonder how an “easy” question becomes “hard” by showing itself with a clock in front of you.

I could be going forever in this discussion, but it would be boring. I just wanted to share this experience because I am sure most of the users here are not 650+ test takers. The forum can easily be intimidating for those, so guys, I jumped on the real thing from a below average performance to an above the score in April, not even touching the material for the entire 2017. I could do even better but (Thank God, anonymous friends, GmatClubbers, and the many other I can’t remember) I got an offer from a top School!

Remember that GMAT is JUST a part of your application!

Meditate at least 20 minutes Daily, to Control your anxiety!

Read these little and powerful guys here along with your Gmat courses and methodology. Expect them to shake your earth and not to teach anything surreal to “tackle the test”.

• How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading
• How to Think Clearly: A Guide to Critical Thinking
• GMAT - Mind Games - Advanced Techniques To Improve your GMAT Score Drastically
• Mastering Logical Fallacies: The Definitive Guide to Flawless Rhetoric and Bulletproof Logic
• Thinking, Fast and Slow