Mind blank/panic attack during mock test with two weeks to exam

Question

Dear members,

First up, I have my GMAT exam scheduled for January 4th (two weeks from now). I took my very first official mock exam (the one available on mba.com) today and my mind just went blank the moment the first question showed up on the screen. I ended up aborting the exam within five minutes in total panic. With just two weeks left for the exam, how can I overcome this HUGE issue?

Preparation is not the problem. I feel very well-prepared having been able to correctly solve (within the rough two-minute time limit) about 95% of quant questions and about 90% of verbal questions in the Official Guide.

I did a little bit of introspection after the mock test disaster and I feel the issue could be that my mind gets into panic mode the moment it can't find the answer to a question within 20 to 30 seconds. It interprets the inability to find an answer quickly as a huge negative and starts to freeze.

Maybe taking more full-length mock exams in the next two weeks will train my brain to adapt to the stressful situation better? Please help with tips! Thank you!

cantaffordname · Answer

Happens. Basically, we have practice of solving problems from one section and when sudden mix questions comes, it's difficult to switch mind among all of them. Also, we have fear of getting low score after lot of practice. I would suggest you to take third party couple of mocks and don't rely on the score even in it's as low as 400. Just see where you lack and attempt one more mock. Once you feel confident, attempt gmat prep.

All the best. You have less time. At least attempt one mock. Going directly in exam will make you more panic.

All the best. You have less time. At least attempt one mock. Going directly in exam will make you more panic.

ShankSouljaBoi · Answer

Get veritas test series for prep and mindset adjustment. And initial questions are generally tough. So conquering this phobia is a definite challenge !!!
Welcome to gmat club !!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi pj2294,

To start, your goal on Test Day should NOT be to 'ace the GMAT'; you're going to get lots of questions wrong. Thankfully, that's okay - almost everyone does, and you can still score at a really high level as long as you're not making lots of silly/little mistakes.

From what you described, you have not taken any FULL-LENGTH practice CATs/mocks yet - and THAT is an issue. There are aspects to taking the FULL GMAT that you can really only learn from taking CATs in a realistic fashion. However, the process of taking (and reviewing) a CAT requires a significant amount of energy and effort - and takes time to 'recover' from. This is one of the reasons why you typically shouldn't take more than 1 CAT per week - and your last CAT should be taken about 1 week before Test Day. If you try to take too many CATs during these last 2 weeks, then there's a reasonable chance that you might 'burn out' on Test Day.

I suggest that you retry this CAT (either today or tomorrow) and make sure to take it in a realistic fashion (take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, take it away from your home, at the same time of day as when you'll take the Official GMAT, etc.). Once you have that score, you should report back here and we can discuss the results. If you find yourself 'stuck' on a question, then take a quick guess and move on.

Before we can discuss how you might best plan out these next 2 weeks of study, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?

Goals:
3) What is your overall goal score?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

pj2294 · Answer

Thanks, guys, for your lovely and helpful replies.

Since yesterday I've been taking small to medium size sets of Official questions (from OGs more than ten years old so that I don't come across repeat questions) from each of the five quant (PS, DS) and verbal (RC, SC, CR) sections and answering them with an eye on the timer.

I'm doing fine in both the quant sections (so I've decided that I'll tackle the quant section first in the next official mock I take; I took the verbal section first yesterday and totally bombed it). I'm doing very well in SC (average time of a little less than 1 minute), and pretty decent in the CR and RC sections (2 to 3 minutes). Will take a full-length mock in a day or two and let you guys know how it goes.

These timed sets are helping me understand that there's no rule that I need to do every question in under two minutes. I'm also learning that I shouldn't rush unnecessarily (saw a couple of Youtube videos from Reed Arnold of Manhattan prep taking the exam real-time, and they were really helpful--good to see that even expert test-takers fall behind on time, get confused by certain questions etc.). I realize it's totally okay to slow down for a certain question and speed up on a later question that's up your alley.

I'm building up my confidence slowly but surely. I'll hopefully be game-ready by January 4th.

pj2294 · Answer

I thought that the initial questions are medium difficulty ones? Or do you mean these medium-difficulty ones turn out to be hard given the nerves at the start of the exam?

pj2294 · Answer

Hello guys, I took the official mock for the Quant section just now. Managed a decent Q49 (lots of silly mistakes and had to rush the last few questions due to timing issues; so there's definite scope for raising my score further by targeting my weaknesses now). This mock definitely does a whole lot of good to my confidence!! Will take a full-length test along with verbal and report back here (Verbal is my strength, so pretty excited about taking the full-length test).

My mind felt a little blank this time too during the initial minutes of the test, but I just decided to hide the stupid timer that makes me nervous and focus instead on the question in hand. It's amazing how all the nerves vanish once you get busy with the task in hand

Feeling so relieved, thanks so much for your timely help

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi pj2294,

Q49 is a great quant score! For sure, let us know how things go with a full-length mock. Just remember to take the mock following realistic testing conditions. Also, if you need any advice regarding test anxiety, feel free to reach back out.

pj2294 · Answer

Hey Scott, just took the official verbal mock and scored a V44 (with 8 minutes left on the clock when I finished

). I guess Q49, V44 is a 750? I'm delighted

Btw, I used your product (TargetTestPrep) for Quant. Absolutely amazing. No other product comes anywhere close. The tons of practice problems you guys provide makes sure there's hardly any surprise that the exam can throw at you. If I stop making silly mistakes and cover some of the topics that I ignored, I'm sure I can get an even better Quant score.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Nice job! I’m thrilled to hear that you’ve been loving TTP. Keep me updated.

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Mind blank/panic attack during mock test with two weeks to exam

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