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24 Mar 2021, 08:28
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Hey all,
a few weeks ago, I started to prep for the GMAT (again) to take the exam in May and I feel that stress and panic during the test are preventing me from getting my dream-score (and probably have hindered me in the past as well).
To give you a short overview over my journey so far: I started to prep in May 2020 with a sobering baseline-mock of 450 (Q20 / V31, not an official one) and goal of 660-680.
In October, I took the first test in a test center, scored a 640 (Q47 / V31) and decided to give it another, “last” try in December (in case you are interested, I made a post about my prep back then).
However, I ended up scoring another 640 (Q43 / V35), this time through the at-home version.
After a break to take the TOEFL, I got back to GMAT prep and started with a Manhattan CAT about 3 weeks ago.
Fortunately, I scored a 640 (Q46 / V32) without going through content before that, and it even felt easy and familiar (didn’t had to guess, no timing issues, etc.). I interpreted this as a ‘good sign’ for my upcoming prep.
Last Saturday, I took a second Manhattan CAT after 3 weeks of prep to see how I evolved: a devastating 580 (Q40 / V31).
The test felt much harder, I had more problems and couldn't really concentrate at some points. I couldn't even remember some of the questions directly after I finished the CAT.
This really dragged me down and I started to question myself and the way I prep for the GMAT.
However, I realized some interesting things when I went through the exam:
During the Test, I often felt so lost and overwhelmed by the questions that I didn’t even knew how to start, which was totally different during practice or the last CAT.
It is not that I don’t know the content. I think my biggest problem is that I start to panic, because I had similar feelings during my official exams.
Even the days before a CAT, I’m anxious because I’m scared that the result will (again) be not what I need and want.
Then, during the CAT, there is so much going on in my head: 'I don’t want to mess up this CAT,' 'I need to get the question right', 'I need to improve this time', 'Oh no, I bet I spent too long on this question', ...
Because of this, I start to make stupid mistakes that clearly cost some points:
There are other 'symptoms' that I could definitely add, but I think you get the point.
As I said, it is not that I don’t know the content. When I reviewed the questions afterwards and gave them another try, most questions were no problem and I finished them easily in under 2 minutes. I set a timer for each question, but I wasn’t in 'real exam mode', so my brain was working properly.
All in all, I think that the stress and panic that I have during the test have a huge influence on what score I get and on how I improve.
I'm therefore more that thankful for any advices on how I can reduce my stress during the test.
I've read about meditation & breathing techniques, but have never seen concrete examples: maybe some of you have some recommendations?
Thank you in advance.
Best regards,
argerniki
a few weeks ago, I started to prep for the GMAT (again) to take the exam in May and I feel that stress and panic during the test are preventing me from getting my dream-score (and probably have hindered me in the past as well).
To give you a short overview over my journey so far: I started to prep in May 2020 with a sobering baseline-mock of 450 (Q20 / V31, not an official one) and goal of 660-680.
In October, I took the first test in a test center, scored a 640 (Q47 / V31) and decided to give it another, “last” try in December (in case you are interested, I made a post about my prep back then).
However, I ended up scoring another 640 (Q43 / V35), this time through the at-home version.
After a break to take the TOEFL, I got back to GMAT prep and started with a Manhattan CAT about 3 weeks ago.
Fortunately, I scored a 640 (Q46 / V32) without going through content before that, and it even felt easy and familiar (didn’t had to guess, no timing issues, etc.). I interpreted this as a ‘good sign’ for my upcoming prep.
Last Saturday, I took a second Manhattan CAT after 3 weeks of prep to see how I evolved: a devastating 580 (Q40 / V31).
The test felt much harder, I had more problems and couldn't really concentrate at some points. I couldn't even remember some of the questions directly after I finished the CAT.
This really dragged me down and I started to question myself and the way I prep for the GMAT.
However, I realized some interesting things when I went through the exam:
During the Test, I often felt so lost and overwhelmed by the questions that I didn’t even knew how to start, which was totally different during practice or the last CAT.
It is not that I don’t know the content. I think my biggest problem is that I start to panic, because I had similar feelings during my official exams.
Even the days before a CAT, I’m anxious because I’m scared that the result will (again) be not what I need and want.
Then, during the CAT, there is so much going on in my head: 'I don’t want to mess up this CAT,' 'I need to get the question right', 'I need to improve this time', 'Oh no, I bet I spent too long on this question', ...
Because of this, I start to make stupid mistakes that clearly cost some points:
- My brain starts to “freeze” and I suddently don’t know how to attack the simplest questions. Even questions that are usually my strength suddenly look like an abstract painting.
- I constantly think that I’m behind and start to rush. In reality, that is almost never the case: I can see my timing in the Manhattan CATs and I’m almost always within +-2 minutes of the targeted time. My brain just makes me 'feel' that I’m behind because I panic.
- I make careless errors, such as overlooking important information in the question, or mess up easy calculations and because of that, I don’t find the correct answers (and start to panic even more).
There are other 'symptoms' that I could definitely add, but I think you get the point.
As I said, it is not that I don’t know the content. When I reviewed the questions afterwards and gave them another try, most questions were no problem and I finished them easily in under 2 minutes. I set a timer for each question, but I wasn’t in 'real exam mode', so my brain was working properly.
All in all, I think that the stress and panic that I have during the test have a huge influence on what score I get and on how I improve.
I'm therefore more that thankful for any advices on how I can reduce my stress during the test.
I've read about meditation & breathing techniques, but have never seen concrete examples: maybe some of you have some recommendations?
Thank you in advance.
Best regards,
argerniki
Updated on: 19 Jun 2023, 10:17
Originally posted by RetaketheGMAT on 24 Mar 2021, 09:18.
Last edited by RetaketheGMAT on 19 Jun 2023, 10:17, edited 1 time in total.
Last edited by RetaketheGMAT on 19 Jun 2023, 10:17, edited 1 time in total.
Kudos
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First thanks for asking this question and being so open about your challenges. I can tell you that, as a GMAT performance coach focusing on helping people with retakes, a big part of my time goes in helping people overcome exactly this problem.
Let's look at each of your "stress symptoms" one by one:
1) My brain starts to “freeze” and I suddently don’t know how to attack the simplest questions. Even questions that are usually my strength suddenly look like an abstract painting.
The antidote to this is having a consistent process for approaching each question. It may sound obvious but very few people do this correctly. When you don't follow a consistent process, each question can feel like you're starting from scratch (driving up your anxiety and error rates). The first two steps of any question (especially quant) are capture / preprocessing and visualization. If you follow consistent approaches to these two steps, you'll narrow your focus when it comes to solving the question. Focus always reduces anxiety.
2) I constantly think that I’m behind and start to rush. In reality, that is almost never the case: I can see my timing in the Manhattan CATs and I’m almost always within +-2 minutes of the targeted time. My brain just makes me 'feel' that I’m behind because I panic.
There are multiple approaches to addressing timing anxiety (as well as timing issues) on the GMAT. One is practicing "marking to the clock". I mean really practicing it. During practice tests and even question sets, set time mileposts and know where you should be. For example on the test, at 40 minutes remaining, you should be past Q11, at 20 minutes remaining you should be past Q21. This shouldn't be vague. Put your quant skills to use and do regular timing checks.
The second is having a skipping strategy. The truth is, unless you're aiming for a 800 score, you can get a significant number of questions wrong and still do well. If you can get a 720 with as low as 65% right on quant and verbal questions, should you attempt every question? No. you should skip ones you have a higher likelihood of getting wrong so you have enough time to do well on the ones you are better at.
3) I make careless errors, such as overlooking important information in the question, or mess up easy calculations and because of that, I don’t find the correct answers (and start to panic even more).
Remember, no one will ever see HOW you took the GMAT, only your score. That means you should follow methods that I call "resilient' -- with built in safety nets for the pressure driven mistakes that happen to everyone on the GMAT.
Recognizing that you're under stress (let's face it, the stakes are really high), you should adjust your way of doing calculations. Assume you might make a math error -- so write down more so it's easy to debug your calculations and find the mistakes (or better avoid them completely).
Look it all comes down to better process in taking the test. That's the key to managing your stress. All the other stuff (while useful) is only helpful if you're attacking each question in the smartest way.
We do FREE diagnostic sessions with a GMAT performance coach (no signup obligation) that will unearth the key process gaps that are causing your stress and error rates. It's what we specialize in -- we help clients (1500+ and counting) to make their last 30, 50 or even 100 points to their target score on the GMAT.
Let's look at each of your "stress symptoms" one by one:
1) My brain starts to “freeze” and I suddently don’t know how to attack the simplest questions. Even questions that are usually my strength suddenly look like an abstract painting.
The antidote to this is having a consistent process for approaching each question. It may sound obvious but very few people do this correctly. When you don't follow a consistent process, each question can feel like you're starting from scratch (driving up your anxiety and error rates). The first two steps of any question (especially quant) are capture / preprocessing and visualization. If you follow consistent approaches to these two steps, you'll narrow your focus when it comes to solving the question. Focus always reduces anxiety.
2) I constantly think that I’m behind and start to rush. In reality, that is almost never the case: I can see my timing in the Manhattan CATs and I’m almost always within +-2 minutes of the targeted time. My brain just makes me 'feel' that I’m behind because I panic.
There are multiple approaches to addressing timing anxiety (as well as timing issues) on the GMAT. One is practicing "marking to the clock". I mean really practicing it. During practice tests and even question sets, set time mileposts and know where you should be. For example on the test, at 40 minutes remaining, you should be past Q11, at 20 minutes remaining you should be past Q21. This shouldn't be vague. Put your quant skills to use and do regular timing checks.
The second is having a skipping strategy. The truth is, unless you're aiming for a 800 score, you can get a significant number of questions wrong and still do well. If you can get a 720 with as low as 65% right on quant and verbal questions, should you attempt every question? No. you should skip ones you have a higher likelihood of getting wrong so you have enough time to do well on the ones you are better at.
3) I make careless errors, such as overlooking important information in the question, or mess up easy calculations and because of that, I don’t find the correct answers (and start to panic even more).
Remember, no one will ever see HOW you took the GMAT, only your score. That means you should follow methods that I call "resilient' -- with built in safety nets for the pressure driven mistakes that happen to everyone on the GMAT.
Recognizing that you're under stress (let's face it, the stakes are really high), you should adjust your way of doing calculations. Assume you might make a math error -- so write down more so it's easy to debug your calculations and find the mistakes (or better avoid them completely).
Look it all comes down to better process in taking the test. That's the key to managing your stress. All the other stuff (while useful) is only helpful if you're attacking each question in the smartest way.
We do FREE diagnostic sessions with a GMAT performance coach (no signup obligation) that will unearth the key process gaps that are causing your stress and error rates. It's what we specialize in -- we help clients (1500+ and counting) to make their last 30, 50 or even 100 points to their target score on the GMAT.
24 Mar 2021, 12:06
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi argerniki,
I'm sorry to hear about what has been happening with your GMAT. I actually have the perfect article for you. If you have any questions after reading it, feel free to reach out.
How to Eliminate GMAT Test-Day Anxiety
I'm sorry to hear about what has been happening with your GMAT. I actually have the perfect article for you. If you have any questions after reading it, feel free to reach out.
How to Eliminate GMAT Test-Day Anxiety
