Looking for Advice - Freeze up on CATs

You need to take help of some mind relaxation techniques. Try looking elsewhere...on the seam of your shirt for 5-7 sec....bring back your attention to the screen and then try solving. Ideally it should help you.

You might be getting nervous because of thinking about the end result/score and then anticipating of bad things like freezing to happen which might be hampering your concentration. Try to chuck this feeling and solve it like normal questions you do routinely.

Indeed, you're experiencing the psychological aspects of the test - something most test takers overlook.

Remember, it's not just knowledge you are being tested on - it's thinking under prolonged pressure -- think of the test as a marathon and adapt accordingly. It's very easy to run out of steam and then blank out in the middle.

So you should understand that GMAT doesn't necessarily test how smart you are - but instead tests you on a combination of many factors -- of which psychology is one of them.

Take a look at some more tips in our psychology article here what you can do to adjust: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-psychology ... trategies/

You can learn more about us at https://www.gmatpill.com/testimonials

Hi Classof15USA,

While most questions on the GMAT can be solved in more than one way, there are never that many 'options' when it comes to approaching a prompt - so part of your 'analysis' when it comes to any individual GMAT question should be in terms of which of the possible approaches "fits" what the prompt gives you to work with. To that end, if you've trained properly, then every question you see should remind you of something that you already dealt with during your studies. It might be a math/grammar rule, Number Property, phrase, etc., but your ability to draw on that memory/experience should also help you to see how to approach a new prompt (or potentially get 'unstuck' from a prompt). Certain prompts also just require a bit of 'playing around', so you have to take some notes and try to find a pattern that's built into the information.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Your mindset is really important when taking the exam. Sometimes, you may want to spend additional time on a math question because you believe you can solve it within a certain amount of time. However, if you see the clock ticking and you haven't gotten to a reasonable spot yet, then it may be best to move onto the next question.

There will almost always be some questions that you won't get in the time you are given. Be comfortable with letting (some) "points" go.