[#permalink]
15 Sep 2006, 23:51
This is probably too 'last minute' to help you, but try to be as rested as possible. Don't consume too much sugar, or you may start to fade towards the end of the 4 hour ordeal. Be hydrated, but don't drink too much water because a full bladder can be distracting. Dress in layers - it was really cold at my test center, and the first time around I was pretty cold. I'm not going to say it affected my score, but it definitely distracted me a little bit.
Try to ask for an extra pen, or at least a new pen when they walk you in for the exam. I got a crappy pen for my first try and actually found myself not doing calculations because the pen sucked so much. Then it actually ran out of ink and I had to wait while they brought me another one. It's completely asinine, but you need to deal with it.
Most importantly, if you do not stay calm, you will not score your best so try to go in with a mindset that you can handle any challenge - this will help you stay calm. For example, you might come across a Q question that you just can't seem to solve. After a few minutes, you must move on - convince yourself ahead of time that you will in fact MOVE ON. It's much worse to waste 6-7 minutes on a problem than it is to simply take your best guess and go on. One way to stay calm is to keep in mind that it is a CAT, so you'll have the opportunity to recover from any missed question, and that many of the questions are experimental and don't even figure into your score. How terrible would you be if you wasted 6 minutes on an experimental question causing you to run out of time on 2 scored questions later on?
Just remember that over the course of the 4 hours of the exam, it's very likely that you will hit some obstacles. You must remain focused and calm. Do not let your mind wander! If you start thinking about how your score will be affected, and then how that will affect your applications, which will then affect the job that you can get, and your lifetime earning potential . . . you could cause yourself a major anxiety attack. Before you walk in for your exam, brace yourself for test difficulties so you can overcome them and score to your potential.