Practice results and trends

Question

I'm feeling demoralised. I started with GMATPrep early this year, and I've prevented it from going stale by purchasing additional questions.

Attempt, Score

1. 720 (this is my first look at GMAT mock exams)
2. 680
3. 650
4. 610
5. 520

In case you think this is upside down, the trend is: I am getting worse with practice!

I don't know what to do. Blame the water supply?

raxsin12 · Answer

Hey, it is evident from your score that you are good. Scoring 700+ in first attempt is a BIG deal......

Anyway, I can understand your feeling. It really is an awful one! I had been through something similar sometime back. My practice score plunged with every passing exam. I could not fathom the reason for it. I took a short break and after some retrospection realized that I am pressurizing myself too much for a very high score. The pressure was getting better of me and resulting in worse scores each time. Once I realised my folly, in the next test I went with a free mind and without any pre-decided score to achieve. I went there with only intention of giving my best. Score started improving and finally on the D-Day I did well..

Long story short..... Prepare hard, have faith in your abilities, do your best and forget the rest. (that rhymes as well....

)

Hope it helps!

) Hope it helps!

VeritasPrepRon · Answer

Yikes! Yeah I'd do as raxsin12 suggested and take a week off or something. You're obviously capable of scoring well on this exam, maybe you're overthinking the questions or getting confused with the concepts? Your score shouldn't be dropping hundreds of points as you practice! Look through the questions you got wrong on the most recent tests and see where you may have gone wrong. Is it possible these 5 tests weren't all from the same source? It wouldn't really explain such a drop but it might be something to consider.

Best of luck!
-Ron

Best of luck!
-Ron

stormbind · Answer

I've just returned from a holiday, and each attempt has been with the GMATPrep software. raxsin12 made a good guess because I have felt the pressure of this year's application deadlines, but I've missed those deadlines now.

Sticking to strict exam conditions: to help revitalise my the mind between sections, do I have access to my personal belongings during the 10 minute breaks?

VeritasPrepRon · Answer

Hi stormbind, for all intents and purposes, you don't have access to your personal belongings during the break. I've heard of students getting their scores cancelled for checking their e-mail. Now, if you need an inhaler or something medical, it's not the same, but if you want to "brush up" on some material during the exam, forget about it.

Do you have a specific situation in mind?

-Ron

stormbind · Answer

I read that a human brain operates optimally for about 30 minutes with one medium (i.e. computer screen), after which concentration fades. The recommendation was to change the medium during breaks.

Some examples that came to mind: 10 minutes of music, a strong-tasting snack, or some press-ups. Each of these ideas would exercise different neural pathways to those used during the exam; and most ideas require access to personal belongings.

VeritasPrepRon · Answer

I hear what you're saying. Unfortunately I don't make the rules. If you can convince the proctor that whatever you're planning at the break won't constitute cheating, then you're good to go. My best advice: Go outside for 5 minutes and breathe in the fresh air. If you want, maybe do a set of push ups or two! Whatever works for you!

I agree that the human brain gets fatigued during the GMAT (like any other long test). The trick is to find a way to combat it without breaking the established rules. It's like telling your boss that you'd rather be at the gym for an hour than at your desk, because it's good for your mind and body. He or she may agree with you, but you're still probably not going to get paid to go to the gym during work hours

Hope this helps!
-Ron

Hope this helps! -Ron

arkle · Answer

hey...I get paid to use gym during work hours...It is a different story that I work at google and I work 18-19 hours... :roll:

stormbind · Answer

That's similar to most large companies - they typically pay employees to spend time doing yoga or anything else that can help to keep their mind fresh. My employer has more than 120,000 employees - according to LinkedIn (I have not counted), and my employer does not have a gym! We get free chocolate and free soda instead :shock:

Anyway.. my GMAT is going horribly wrong! The trend has continued along the same course stated above. I started out scoring 80% in quantitative, that sagged to an abysmal 50%, and is now a horrendous 25%!! I've stopped using GMATPrep because I exhausted the questions database. Ironically, my work assigns me only pure maths and C++ because apparently that's what I am (or was) good at *sigh* My verbal is above 90%, which is equally bemusing, but less worrying. Oddly, my employer does not assign me language-based tasks, and they say that's because my English isn't good enough. I'm looking forward to waking up and remembering that we all live on Mars, and that soda doesn't actually exist.

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