Time management and test anxiety

Question

Hello everyone,

I've been studying for GMAT for a few months already. A couple of days ago, I decided to go for a practice test since I was kind of satisfied with the accuracy during my study from both the verbal section and the quant section. But the practice test was a DISASTER. The moment I clicked on the "START BUTTON", my brain went completely blank. First, I got an RC passage and I had to re-read the passage several times which never happened to me before. On the verbal section, I left almost 10 questions unfinished and the accuracy was very horrible. Due to the poor performance in the verbal section, I rushed through the quant section and ended up ruining the entire practice test.

Does anyone have a similar experience? Could anyone give some advice on how to manage time and anxiety?

Thanks,
Abe

avigutman · Answer

abee0502 This is very common. Here are two videos that you'll probably find helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIcHKgPCnJw Subscribe for more: https://www.youtube.com/QuantReasoning? ... irmation=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxHEmTCfD1E

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Abe,

Many GMATers face some type of anxiety during their Exams (both their practice CATs/mocks and on Test Day) - so you are not alone. It might be that the manner in which you took this CAT was different from how you are used to studying and/or there were distractions that kept you from performing at your best. It's also possible that you've been studying in an inefficient way, so that when you were forced to test course under strict conditions, you were over-whelmed. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How many weeks have you studied so far? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
3) Is this the only CAT/mock that you've attempted or have there been others?

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

760+: What GMAT Assassins Do To Score at the Highest Levels

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

Contact Rich at: [email protected]

Russ19 · Answer

Hi abee0502 You might find the link useful: https://gmatclub.com/forum/timing-strat ... 06035.html Best Wishes!

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi abee0502,

I have a number of articles that you may find helpful. If after reading these you have any questions, feel free to reach out:

How to Eliminate GMAT Test-Day Anxiety

GMAT Verbal Timing Strategy

Timing Strategies For a Higher GMAT Quant Score

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi Abe,

Time management is one of the most important skills for competitive exams that most students struggle with. There is a significant penalty for failing to complete any section of the GMAT exam, so it is also important to develop pacing skills. Once you hone your time management skills strategically, you will be confident about not missing out on any questions on the test day.

Talking about anxiety, anxiety could be one of the major reasons. However, you have to stay test-ready and keep yourself calm on the exam day to focus. You get that confidence when you are all prepared and you have this thought in mind that no matter what you can tackle all the problems coming your way.

Let me share my 2 cents from my experience of scoring 740 on GMAT and helping many students reach their target score. Taking extra time to solve questions is a symptom and not the disease itself. Let me elaborate.

The possible reason for struggling with time management : 
There are 2 things that you do while solving questions - 1. You think about how to solve the question and 2. You solve the question. It's the first point that eats up unnecessary time. Now how do you tackle Point 1.

Talking about the reason behind struggling with time management, you are likely taking more time to solve RC questions. The reason for this might be you are taking too long to read a passage or you might be going back and forth to the passage for every question. This happens when you don’t use the right reading strategies. Students often read the passage from a detail perspective and stuff themselves with the details. And once they come across an inferential question or a main point question, they cannot answer it and they read the passage again to find the answer. This would often lead to the wastage of time.

Most people think the best solution is by solving additional questions. It does help but sadly is not the most effective solution because by just practising more questions you end repeating the same mistakes. The better solution is to learn the right logical methods to solve questions and then master these methods with additional practice.

Now before suggesting you the right methods, I would like to understand how you approach questions at present and then accordingly I can suggest you what's the way out. You can always write back to me here or the better way would be to connect over a call and have a discussion. You can schedule a free consultation call using the below link.
    Click here to schedule a call

Time management and test anxiety

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