Hello again, Brian. I wanted to take the time to write a proper response when I had time, not just dash off some missive between lessons. I will respond in-line below.
mcelroytutoring wrote:
Hi Andrew,
I definitely respect that. The GMAT has evolved over the last few years, especially on Verbal, and your students deserve a tutor who has taken a recent exam, as well as the
GMAT online.
Yes, evolved to the point that I have seen a single 800 since the shorter test was unveiled in 2018, and none since that very year (thus, no perfect online attempts). Neither have I seen any evidence of such a score in the ranges listed at top business schools. Finally, I know at least one confirmed 780-scorer who
earned a 730 more recently. On the whole, the body of evidence suggests to me that the test has gotten harder.
mcelroytutoring wrote:
However, I'm not yet quite prepared to make that pledge, because I'm still trying to score a perfect 800, I only have two three lifetime attempts remaining, and I find the test-center exam to be easier, especially on Quant.
You and I seem to approach the same problem, then, from a different angle. In my head, there is no eight-time limit. I am giving this next attempt everything I have got—no backups, no failsafes. If I believe I can earn an 800, then I know I have to be willing to put myself through what it takes to achieve it.
Where I used to live was quite hilly, and I rode my bike everywhere to meet my clients (packing an appropriate change of clothes in my backpack to maintain a sense of professionalism). During one of my last assignments, I rode 9.8 miles each way to get to my destination. My reward was a long ride home after a full workday of being on my feet. The kicker? The hardest part was right at the end. My apartment was at the top of a hill, maybe a tenth or two-tenths of a mile, the first two-thirds of which pitched at a 9.5 percent gradient. I rode my bike as a fixie, so no gear changes. I hit the bottom of that hill, it kicked up, and I counted my crank turnover. By the time I would get to twenty, my momentum from the bottom was gone, and by forty, I could already feel the burn in my quads; by sixty, my legs were screaming for me to stop, and by eighty, the cranks were barely turning. At first, I listened to my body. I would pull off into this parking lot that served as a plateau, ride a lap on that flat surface, and then, with legs only half full of lactic acid, I would finish my push, round a curve, and crest the hill. Every time I pulled off, though, I got down on myself.
I remember one night, soon after one of my close family members died, I was going up that hill and I entertained a different notion:
What if? What if I pushed beyond the parking lot and emptied the tank
completely instead of holding anything back? You know, you think a little differently when major life events occur. Well, you can guess what happened. I kept counting those steps and grinding, legs be d**ned. When I got to one hundred turns of the crank, I was on that crest, with nothing more than a slight incline to almost coast through. I could feel my heart in my throat, and my legs were shot, but that was the point at which I had broken myself and pushed through that particular challenge.
I know the GMAT™ will prove the same for me. I cannot rely on innate ability or even my training. I have to teach myself to embrace that grind, question after question, hour after hour. If the exam wants to throw sixty-seven questions my way, I want to be ready to take on a hundred.
mcelroytutoring wrote:
That said, I'll probably relent and take the Examity version eventually, if only for the sake of my private students and other test takers. I do think it's a great option for many students: in particular, those with quiet homes and apartments who don't have 3 kids and 2 dogs.
Other than my sound-isolated home office, which I use for online tutoring and is clearly not an allowed exam location because there are GMAT books anywhere, my home is not a quiet, comfortable place to take an exam, especially during the day when I am freshest, because of all the little humans and animals running around. Thus, so far I chosen have to wait until late at night to schedule my GMAT onlines, even though I'm more tired at that time of day than I would prefer (I usually go to bed around 11).
We all know that fatigue is a major factor on the GMAT, and that careless mistakes can be a killer. Especially given that my last few
GMAT online experiences began by staring at the screen, waiting for the proctor to arrive for nearly an hour, I don't want to take the GMAT at 10 pm ever again—even in the comfort of my own home with blazing-fast fiber internet.
Maybe I'll try the hotel option, now that lockdown is no longer a thing here in Colorado: that would allow me to take the enhanced
GMAT online at my preferred time slot of 2 pm.
EDIT: I just realized that I actually have 3 attempts left, since neither of my official attempts at the
GMAT online so far counted toward the lifetime limit of 8 GMAT exams.
If you include my very first attempt at the
GMAT online, which was terminated before the test began because I dared look to the side of the room for a moment, then that means I could be the first person in history to take the GMAT 11 times...
I have the utmost respect for people who take their parenting seriously. If I were a father, I have no doubt I would put my GMAT™ aspirations behind me and devote myself more to my family. If you can manage to juggle both challenges simultaneously, then I applaud your efforts and wish you the best in both.
Should you decide to participate in my 2021-2022 GMAT™ challenge once I get it up and running, you have an open invitation. I would welcome the Expert company.
- Andrew
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Updated on: 02 Jun 2021, 09:09
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by rudywip
