GMAT Finally Done - 750 (Q49, V44) - dealing with anxiety

[james.jt.wu]

Hello everyone,

After picking up my studies on and off for the last 3 years, I finally took the GMAT today and was very pleased with the results. Many of my esteemed colleagues here have given great advices on how to prepare for this test in terms of content and techniques - while I will do my best to provide some insights on these areas, I want to focus on one area that is near and dear to me and that most people have not covered in much detail - test anxiety.

First, a bit of background about myself. I have studied for this test on and off for the past 3 years - yes that's right, 3 years. Main reason that it took so long is because I suffer from extreme test anxiety - I will cover this a bit more in the sections to follow. I took the MGMAT course twice and had private tutoring with Ron, Stacey and Dan B (thanks guys... I owe ya). Thank God for MGMAT - I am very grateful that a test prep company of such calibre exists. I wouldn't be able to do this without this wonderful group of professionals.

Test Anxiety

One often overlooked aspect of the test is test anxiety. A common misconception for dealing with test anxiety is that you simply have to "relax" and "think it away." Unfortunately, this advice simply does not work for people who suffer extreme forms of anxiety. I am one of those people. The anxiety will come, and instead of going into denial it is best to prepare for it as best and as honestly as you can.

I suffer from such extreme test anxiety, which is exacerbated by my demanding work schedule. It got to the point where I had panic attacks during practice tests and eventually had to seek professional help for treatment. It was probably the best thing I've ever done for myself. I have been on anti-anxiety medicine for the past 2 months and the medication has helped immensely to help calm me down so I can perform to my true ability. It was a very trying time for me and my family - I was ready to take the test months ago but I did not know how to get over the anxiety hump.

My advice is that if you are one of those people who suffer from extreme anxiety, it is perfectly fine to seek medical help to alleviate your nerves - there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Clinical depression and test anxiety are very common and it is best to get them properly treated by a professional, if you decide that it would be helpful.

A couple other tricks that helped me to deal with anxiety outside of medication:

1.) Give Up, Alot - Get used to getting ALOT of questions wrong. This is part of the test. For me, I decided to give myself 3 "free passes" that are just throw-aways. No strategic guessing... no estimation... just pure pick an answer and go. This allows me to catch up when I am behind and focus my energy on questions that I know I can get right.

2.) Redirect / Re-Label the anxiety. The anxiety will come, and you have to expect it. When it comes, try to harness it as an extra boost to your performance. Thats what professional athletes do... they also feel anxiety, but the great ones are able to get into a "zone." Try to envision yourself taking the test as much as you can... and get your body to start producing those adrenaline rush. Keep practicing this and once the test comes, you will not let the adrenaline rush overtake you.

3.) Look Away (If You Have to). If you find yourself just spazzing out... just stop for 30 seconds. Use one of your free passes. Close your eyes, take deep breaths, then tackle the test again. I had to do this twice during the test and it worked wonders. It's better to do this and throw away some test rather than keep plowing forward and feeling worse as you go.

4.) Overload Yourself with Happy Thoughts. The test sucks - there is no other way to look at it. It's a stressful, hard, and demanding test. One thing I found helpful is to overload your memory with happy thoughts. When the adrenaline rush becomes too much to bear, overload your thoughts with happy memories e.g. things that you are looking forward to doing after the test is over. This gives you the courage and the motivation to get through a 4-hour test.


5.) Be Prepared. The best way to alleviate test anxiety is to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more. There are no short cuts to doing well on the test - you must know your content. Follow the MGMAT curriculum religiously and you will get the content down if you put in the time. Of course, be within reason - know when you hit a diminishing return on your studies. Go into the test feeling that you are going to ace it, and you will increase the probability that you will end up doing well.

6.) It's Just Practice. No one wants to take the test more than they have to... but you should find relief that the option is there. If this is the first time you are taking the test... just pretend it's a dress rehearsal. You are simply there to check out what it's like to take the real thing without any investment put into the result. If you do well, superb you won the lottery. If not, no biggie the second try will be your real try. I find that this mentally really helped me relax during the exam.

Preparation

Now I got the test anxiety part out of the way, I will cover briefly other more "standard" stuff about the test.

Again, I cannot stress enough just how great MGMAT's curriculum is compared to other test companies out there. Stick to their materials and you will see drastic improvement in your scores.

My practice tests generally range from 720 to 780, with math ranging from 46 to 51 and verbal ranging from 44 to 47. The MGMAT tests are stellar - don't try other company's tests you will just be wasting your time. MGMAT CAT's tests are generally harder on the math, and about the same on the verbal. If you don't do as well on MGMAT's math, do not worry they really are more content driven and less prone to "short cut" methods. Use the tests to diagnose your weak areas, and use the GMAT Prep as the final two practice tests before you hit the real thing.

I won't give my general test prep plan here because, to be honest, I really didn't manage my test prep very well. I spent most of my efforts dealing with test anxiety and alot of my efforts studying contents were actually not that helpful. I will give some very specific pointers by the different sections below and hope I don't create too much redundancy with other posters.

Quant

Contents of course are very important, but it is equally important to know the "back up methods" to help you when the textbook methods fail. The GMAT is intentionally designed to be solved with these backup methods. Using the backup methods, you can actually solve about 80% of PS and 50% of DS.

Please see Ron Purewal's "Thursday with Ron" recording and find the study hall on backup methods. Practice those and you will see your score go up substantially. It also helps you with the timing because you won't be tempted to spend too much time trying to solve a problem via textbook. The backup methods are very mechanical - if one doesn't work, you quickly abandon and move on.

Of course, still know your content... review every OG you do and try multiple ways to solve a problem. Practice makes perfect.

Verbal

SC - the MGMAT SC Guide is it. Read that thing twice over and you will do well on the SC. Don't waste your time going to other sources.. if you know this book, you will do well on SC. It's pretty simple :)

CR - Always about the conclusion... find the conclusion, and know the type of question it is and the stuff to look out for, and more than likely you will get the right answer.

RC - Do not over-diagram. Start reading slowly... then pick up your speed as you go. You should be able to answer general questions pretty fast. For specific questions, take your finger and point to the exact spot on the screen where the evidence is shown. Most RC questions are actually not that hard... you just have to not be lazy and actually find the exact spot in the passage where the details are in.

Thank You

Ron, Stacey, and Dan - Don't know what I would have done without you. You guys have been not just tutors, but great friends as well. I will leave detailed feedback at the instructor feedback forum. Thanks again for being so understanding with my situation.

If anyone's looking for private tutoring... these guys are the real deal (not to say other instructors are not great.. just havent worked with them).


Again... this test has dragged me and my family through alot... I really hope to give back to this community that has helped me so much. For readers who think based on my explanation above I can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to send me an email. This is not an easy test - I hope to help where I can.

Regards,

James

[shimashouri]

Dear James,

Congratulation!!!!!! Nice job.
and thank you very much for sharing your experience.
I agree with you that Manhattan is the best.
I will take the GMAT on next friday (10 days later). I have so much stress like you. your experience helps me to tackle GMAT.
How many times did you take GMAT?

Thanks
Sh.

[james.jt.wu]

Hi Sh.,

Thank you for your note. I am rooting for you to do well on the GMAT!

I took the GMAT once, but most people do at least 2 iterations before hitting their target score.

How do you feel about your preparation thus far? Are you at a point where your content knowledge is pretty solid but may have some small stuff here and there to tweak? One thing I forgot to mention is that people often get burned out by studying too much. You really want to scale down your studying if you're within the week of your test.

Unlike other tests you might have taken in the past, you MUST be well rested and mentally sound before taking the test. If you have prepared adequately up to this point, a little bit of studying simply will not do you much good. You cannot memorize your way through this test. Assignments like Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning require that you are mentally alert to process the information quickly and efficiently.

Therefore, in the last week you really need to stop cramming things because i.) they won't stay and ii.) you will tire yourself out. Instead, if you are an anxious test taker like me, you need to do the drills I mentioned before... mentally preparing yourself to take the test and get used to that adrenaline rush. Tell yourself that this is your first try so it's just a dress rehearsal - no commitment whatsoever.

In a nutshell - if you have prepared adequately up to this point, I would spend probably another 4-5 days brushing up on major areas... take one more practice test under official condition (ideally GMATPrep if you have not used them up already)... and then relax your mind as much as possible the last 3 days. Studying too much will just hurt you.

Hope this helps :) If you have any specific questions, please don't hesitate to email me at james.jt.wu@gmail.com or post here.

Best of luck - you will do great!

James

Dear James,

Congratulation!!!!!! Nice job.
and thank you very much for sharing your experience.
I agree with you that Manhattan is the best.
I will take the GMAT on next friday (10 days later). I have so much stress like you. your experience helps me to tackle GMAT.
How many times did you take GMAT?

Thanks
Sh.