Forum Home > GMAT > Quantitative > Problem Solving (PS)
Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Dec 1410:00 AM EST
-12:00 PM EST
Think a 100% GMAT Verbal score is out of your reach? Target Test Prep will make you think again! Our course uses techniques such as topical study and spaced repetition to maximize knowledge retention and make studying simple and fun.
Dec 1411:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Attend this session to learn how to Deconstruct arguments, Pre-Think Author’s Assumptions, and apply Negation Test.- Dec 15
11:00 AM IST
-01:00 PM IST
Attend this free GMAT Algebra Webinar and learn how to master the most challenging Inequalities and Absolute Value problems with ease. 
Dec 1608:00 AM PST
-11:59 PM PST
GMAT Club 12 Days of Christmas is a 4th Annual GMAT Club Winter Competition based on solving questions. This is the Winter GMAT competition on GMAT Club with an amazing opportunity to win over $40,000 worth of prizes!- Dec 17
09:00 AM PST
-10:00 AM PST
Join Manhattan Prep instructor Whitney Garner for a fun—and thorough—review of logic-based (non-math) problems, with a particular emphasis on Data Sufficiency and Two-Parts. - Dec 18
10:00 AM PST
-11:00 AM PST
Here is the essential guide to securing scholarships as an MBA student! In this video, we explore the various types of scholarships available, including need-based and merit-based options.
10 Jun 2022, 00:00
Kudos
Bookmarks
I appeared for the GMAT on the 7th of June after 4 months of rigorous prep. I pretty much did everything by the textbook. Studied consistently, maintained error logs and revised the problems multiple times, covered all the topics required for all the sections. Even outside of the official preparation, I followed healthy practices to keep myself calm. I have been meditating for more than a year and I regularly go out for nature walks, and in general, try to be as mindful as possible. I had already tested out all my meals for the test day several times while giving my mock tests and the meals worked quite well. I stopped studying 24 hours before the exam and tried to get 8 hours of sleep the previous night(which may not have been the most effective sleep because of test day anticipation, but it was 8 hours).
I was really calm the morning of the exam and felt that my Quant section went pretty well. However, as soon as I started my verbal section, my brain stopped working. I was unable to register sentences and their meanings and had to read them several times. I have never once run out of time in the Verbal section during all of the mock tests but that day I had to guess the last five questions in that section. The rest of the exam went as well as you may have guessed already. I ended up with a pretty terrible score of 640.
I am aiming for an elite score of 720+. I gave multiple mocks before the exam and I am sharing the score for each below:
Magoosh Test - 660 (Used as a diagnostic)
mgmat free test - 700
ExpertsGlobal free test- 700
Official Mock 1- 720
Official Mock 2- 690
Official Mock 3- 710
Official Mock 4- 710
Official Mock 5- 720
Official Mock 6- 760
I realize 760 may have been an aberration. However, after getting decent mock scores, a 640 on my actual test has been a shock. I plan to restart my prep and appear for the exam again in a few months.
How can I do things differently this time around? I still haven't been able to zero in on the reason behind the sudden brain fog but what can I do to ensure that it doesn't happen in the future? I would really appreciate some tips and advice.
Thank you!
I was really calm the morning of the exam and felt that my Quant section went pretty well. However, as soon as I started my verbal section, my brain stopped working. I was unable to register sentences and their meanings and had to read them several times. I have never once run out of time in the Verbal section during all of the mock tests but that day I had to guess the last five questions in that section. The rest of the exam went as well as you may have guessed already. I ended up with a pretty terrible score of 640.
I am aiming for an elite score of 720+. I gave multiple mocks before the exam and I am sharing the score for each below:
Magoosh Test - 660 (Used as a diagnostic)
mgmat free test - 700
ExpertsGlobal free test- 700
Official Mock 1- 720
Official Mock 2- 690
Official Mock 3- 710
Official Mock 4- 710
Official Mock 5- 720
Official Mock 6- 760
I realize 760 may have been an aberration. However, after getting decent mock scores, a 640 on my actual test has been a shock. I plan to restart my prep and appear for the exam again in a few months.
How can I do things differently this time around? I still haven't been able to zero in on the reason behind the sudden brain fog but what can I do to ensure that it doesn't happen in the future? I would really appreciate some tips and advice.
Thank you!
10 Jun 2022, 02:39
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Amritaroy1995.
Did you warm up before the test by doing some practice questions? It could be that just by doing some quant and verbal practice questions before the test and getting into game mode, you could get past any possible brain fog before the test begins. I actually had a student who would do tutoring sessions on test day to warm up before the test, and it was so interesting how much more on point he would be by the end of the session than he had been when we began.
Another idea you could consider is that you experienced some kind of self-sabotage during the verbal section. In other words, there you were so close to success, and maybe something went on psychologically. Sometimes, when a person is close to achieving a goal, something psychological kicks in and makes things difficult. I've had that happen with major projects that I was close to completing and found that I had to sort of push through some strange moments to come out the other side and get whatever I was doing done.
On a related note, two things that can cause brain fog are fear and anger. A key part of preparing for the GMAT can be to learn to be fearless and to respond to problematic situations in positive, healing ways, rather than negative ways, so that you remain in flow. So, if you haven't done much work on learning to respond in positive healing ways to pretty much anything, then doing so could help you avoid experiencing brain fog in the future.
I personally did a lot of inner work when preparing for the GMAT, and it made an incredible difference, and I have seen inner work make a huge difference for other people as well. In multiple cases, test-takers have been shocked by how easy the test felt or by their results after they did some inner work.
Did you warm up before the test by doing some practice questions? It could be that just by doing some quant and verbal practice questions before the test and getting into game mode, you could get past any possible brain fog before the test begins. I actually had a student who would do tutoring sessions on test day to warm up before the test, and it was so interesting how much more on point he would be by the end of the session than he had been when we began.
Another idea you could consider is that you experienced some kind of self-sabotage during the verbal section. In other words, there you were so close to success, and maybe something went on psychologically. Sometimes, when a person is close to achieving a goal, something psychological kicks in and makes things difficult. I've had that happen with major projects that I was close to completing and found that I had to sort of push through some strange moments to come out the other side and get whatever I was doing done.
On a related note, two things that can cause brain fog are fear and anger. A key part of preparing for the GMAT can be to learn to be fearless and to respond to problematic situations in positive, healing ways, rather than negative ways, so that you remain in flow. So, if you haven't done much work on learning to respond in positive healing ways to pretty much anything, then doing so could help you avoid experiencing brain fog in the future.
I personally did a lot of inner work when preparing for the GMAT, and it made an incredible difference, and I have seen inner work make a huge difference for other people as well. In multiple cases, test-takers have been shocked by how easy the test felt or by their results after they did some inner work.
10 Jun 2022, 02:50
Kudos
Bookmarks
Consider working on your solving approach. If you are experiencing a concentration issue when reading through passages, work on a method that actively "forces" absorption.
However, as soon as I started my verbal section, my brain stopped working. I was unable to register sentences and their meanings and had to read them several times. I have never once run out of time in the Verbal section during all of the mock tests but that day I had to guess the last five questions in that section.
How to get a V40 or higher on the GMAT? What about a V51?
However, as soon as I started my verbal section, my brain stopped working. I was unable to register sentences and their meanings and had to read them several times. I have never once run out of time in the Verbal section during all of the mock tests but that day I had to guess the last five questions in that section.
How to get a V40 or higher on the GMAT? What about a V51?
