Seeking some godly advice: I have performance anxiety, ThankYou

Question

Summary:  Thanks for listening guys. I just took my GMAT today the second time and scored  650 (Q47,V33) – disappointed and frustrated , considering re-taking GMAT, aiming for  INSEAD

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1)  2015-July Attempt: 680 (Q48,V35) – Prior to this exam I studied for about 1 month-ish, I cancelled the scores partly because I thought I could score higher.

Then I took a 7 month break from the GMAT.

2)  2016-March Attempt: 650 (Q47,V33) – Prior to this exam I studied for about 1.5 months, the three weekends prior to this exam attempt, I scored 700 (Q48,V38), 720 (Q49,V40), 760 (Q50,V42) on GMATPrep. So I thought I’d be alright..

3)  2016-May, I am considering retaking the GMAT in 5 weeks time.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I believe I am capable of achieving a 700+ score, but for some reason it just didn’t happen on exam day. Honestly, I’m baffled. All I want to do is apply to only one school: INSEAD. My professional work experience is in a Big4 accounting firm as an actuary in the consulting team. My undergraduate studies: Mathematics, Statistics & Actuarial Science. I’m a native English speaker (Chinese background).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question 1)  I believe I have the knowledge and understand the concept, but I failed to execute well on exam day. What do you recommend I do to help me score at my full potential on D-Day? Any advice is very much appreciated, THANK YOU.

Question 2)  Should I apply with 650 to INSEAD R2 and take my chances? My gut feel is no. Cuz it would be selling myself short. If I want to retake the GMAT though, I’d need to apply during R3.

Thanks for your kind advice.

lamderson · Answer

For #1, could you describe how your exam day goes besides your score? For example how do you feel (are you anxious or do you just sit down take the test like normal and your score isn't as high as you'd like?), how is your timing/pace (e.g. do you find yourself spending too much time on one problem that you need to rush some others? if your pacing is alright do you find yourself with barely enough time for the last few questions? are you finishing with a surplus of time for the last few questions? etc.)? What differs between your practice test and real test experience? And other parts of your test experience you think are relevant for us to know.

#2 Not going to comment much on what to do (I'm no expert at all) but INSEAD's score range for the middle 80% is 660-750 (source: Poets & Quants) and that most people are going to tell you that GMAT is just one part of the application. That being said my personal attitude is to score as high as you can and not leave something quantifiable that you can control (like the GMAT) to chance.

vqracrdfxa · Answer

Hi lamderson, Thanks for your response.

During the exam I felt like there were a few questions that I had struggled with, this didn't occur during the actual practice exams.

I had some minor issues with pacing, I didn't know how to not spend too much time on the hard questions.

I was anxious in the beginning of the exam, I then felt a lot more relaxed, then felt extremely anxious when I realised I was behind my counter on time.

Would you suggest that I simply continue to practice doing every question within the respective time limit, and forget about the hard ones that cannot be correctly solved.

Thanks!

Posted from my mobile device

lamderson · Answer

Solving individual questions within the respective time limit will only get you so far - if you feel on average you're taking too long on most questions this will help you to a good extent. I find that doing multiple problems at the proportionate time limit helps more, because it teaches you how to better manage overall. If you keep on thinking you have X minutes per question, no matter the difficulty, then when you hit one that takes more than X, it throws you off. On the other hand if you're working large sets of problems, then every easy question is an opportunity to add time to a hard one.

On to your point on hard questions, for verbal I think it's just a matter of really carefully reading the prompts and knowing what GMAC is looking for in an answer. I'm not a fan of guessing verbal questions outright, simply because if you know the rules (and as a native English speaker you do) and can keep focused then you should be able to get it down to 1-2 choices for any question. For knowing what GMAC is looking for, read the solutions.

But looking at your score breakdown (I didn't earlier - sorry), it really looks like verbal seems to be your main issue, and if you're scoring decently on practice tests, maybe you're feeling fatigued after doing (and spending more energy being anxious) for the first 3 sections? That's also why I say work on large problem sets because it will teach you to keep focused on something that requires incredible scrutiny even when your eyes are screaming at you. I'm also a native English speaker (Chinese background too) working in financial services and for this there's no better time than after a long day of spreadsheets at work to build your test-taking stamina. Also, this may help to a smaller extent, if you can figure out a strategy of how to use your breaks to stay energetic and confident it helps as well too.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi GonnaAceTheGmat,

To start, 650 and 680 are both strong scores (they're both at/above the 80th percentile overall), so either of them could be enough to get you into INSEAD. With GMAC's new re-instatement policies, you could reactivate that 680 - thus, a retest might not be necessary. That all having been said, since INSEAD is so competitive, it's understandable that you might want to retest.

Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so one of the likely factors in your performances is that you just have not put in enough time and effort yet. Since your two Official Scores are so similar, you're likely 'seeing' (and responding to) the GMAT in the same general ways every time you take it.

1) Since you've studied twice, have you used the same CATs twice? 
2) What other practice materials have you used? 
3) When are you planning to apply to INSEAD?

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

	Magoosh increases your score, guaranteed - 15% off ALL Magoosh GMAT plans with code GMATCLUB15 + Free GMAT Club Tests.
	Manhattan Prep: $79 Bonus Score Higher on Your GMAT Exam. Guaranteed.
	Target Test Prep - Save up to $325 $200 Discount + $79 Bonus GMAT Club Tests
	e-GMAT: 60% Off on GMAT Focus Get to 735+ from any starting point
	Experts' Global - ~~$1720~~ $960 End-to-End GMAT Prep + App Support: 150+ Videos, 2000+ Questions, 15 FLTs +
	GMATWhiz - $299 ~~$499~~ Experience the course through a free trial.
	GMAT Club Tests - Free Included with every course purchase of $149+ View all deals

Seeking some godly advice: I have performance anxiety, ThankYou

Should I re-take the GMAT?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards