How to overcome a 100+ point drop?

[PhillyPhillie]

Hello Stacey,

I am hoping that you have some insight into my particular predicament. I just took the GMAT and scored a 590 (Q35, V36). This score is marginally better than the GMAT Prep 1 diagnostic that I took 2.5 months ago (540, Q33, V31) to gauge my starting point. It is as if I did not do any preparation at all and I am highly discouraged at the moment.

I am also even more discouraged by the fact that I scored a 690 (Q43, V41) on GMAT Prep 2 six days before taking the actual test.

And even more discouraging is the fact that I prepared diligently and felt that I started really hitting a stride two weeks ago with regard to Quant. Some of the more challenging questions in the OG flummoxed me, but suddenly, I started getting these questions correct and understanding clearly why and how. I even understood the questions to the point where I often typed in little answer insights into OG Archer responses boxes that would make the problem seem really easy.

My practice test scores have been all over the place:
- 540 (Q33, V31) diagnostic... time as a major issue here
- 610 (Q35, V39); a reset of Prep 1 taken 2 weeks later, timing again on Q an issue
- 680 (Q42, V40); Prep 1 three weeks later
- 640 (Q39, V38); MGMT CAT1 one week later (timing also an issue.. was way ahead of time curve on V, then fell behind, but miraculously got 6 of last 7 right in quick reads and guesses... I like to tell myself that this is a sign that I instinctively understand the problems.. what really hurt me here overall was SC performance, which is odd, because it is my strongest area.. got only 1 CR wrong)
- 640 (Q40, V37); MGMT CAT 2 one week later (was really annoyed with this one because I was in the 99%-ile for V almost the entire test, then got the last six wrong... timing was an issue.. I recall being close to on the scheduled time, but started panicking a bit by looking at timer near the end.. and kind of lost focus, though my Q timing was fine);
- 610 (Q38, V35) MGMT CAT 3 one week later (was kind of in a weird, relaxed mood this test.. think of the main guy in Office Space... and was aware I was just winging it on verbal)
- 640 (Q35, V41) Prep Test 2 the next day, because I was annoyed with my previous day's approach.. timing was fine
- 690 (Q43, V41) Prep Test 2 one week later, and one week ago... timing was fine.. had a minute to spare on each

Just a few notes: Sure, the Prep tests were reset. But I do not think that had much of an impact... I did not even analyze or review my answers on the first attempt at Prep 2, and the second time I took Prep2, the Q questions were almost all new (and for those that weren't I didn't know if I got them wrong or right the previous week). Also, my second attempt at Prep2 was only a few days following my a-ha moments on Q (highest score yet), and this past week, I started having more success in the OG (i.e. higher number problems that I did not attempt yet). With regard to the MGMTs, timing was the primary reason for my struggles. After redoing some of the MGMT Q answers, I often just put my hand to my head and said, "what? how did I not see that! It's so obvious!"... before viewing and reading the answers. I also logged my mistakes, with a thorough dissection of problem elements and how to think (I think this really helped me towards the end of my "preparation"). Also of note, I religiously used the MGMT guides and OG... made flashcards... made a list of key principle things I learned and to do (again, I think this list started helping me towards the end).

Now for the test itself: I actually stopped by the center twice in the past two weeks to get a feel for the area and to peek inside the windows... I even did some practice questions outside one week before to actually visualize and practice doing GMAT work in the area! So, I knew what to expect there. I ate my usual healthy brain food breakfast and brought snacks that I usually ate on breaks. Also, I should note that I lost 1:15 heading into Q coming back from break... I know what you think "oh, well that's it!" No, I wasn't rattled... I like to think like Michael Phelps... things don't go according to script: be mentally ready for everything. I was. Read the problem. Kind of knew where it was going. Made an educated guess. Second and third were no sweat. I checked about question ten and I saw that I was on track. But for some reason, towards the 20s I saw that I was getting a bit behind (3minutes)... but I didn't feel as if I were rushing.. and I knew that I didn't see many DS questions yet. And I finished with a bit of time to pick the last question apart pretty thoroughly (which I am confident I got right). Verbal felt fine... feeling very positive and happy I was almost done... I felt that I saw all of the questions clearly and made educated guesses on really only two. Timing again was not an issue... last question selected with <1min to spare. And then I saw the score screen...

It is also very discouraging because a friend of mine who struggled to increase her score and had unsatisfactory scores on MGMT tests scored a 690 on the real thing, her highest... and I've read many cases where people scored their highest on the real test. I am just so discouraged because I started seeing the Q section extremely well in the past two weeks... and verbal has usually been there. I always envisioned succeeding during my prep and when thoughts of failing popped up here and there, I dismissed them, saying "you are not trending in that direction and you are understanding it more and more."

I do admit that I did not sleep the 8 hours that I wanted and have been getting because I couldn't fall back to sleep this morning at 7am (only got 6.5)... felt physically awake but so-so mentally. It is a very overcast and humid day here.. so meh, not unusual for me.. got to the test center... still felt meh, but then once I got into that room, went through the steps, boom... wide awake.. the essay really got me going.

For those of you familiar with NYC... you know those two-way cross avenues i.e. 34th and 57th... and the traffic cops that stand on the median yellow line in the middle of the street... yeah, I kind of felt like that during the test.. except the traffic was going 50mph in each direction... and kind of struggled to put together competent thoughts/strategies at times. Even during my practice exams... same thing. Following the practice exams are usually the worst.. my stomach was severely irritated for a few days after taking one of the MGMTs... and I am usually in a very worked-up/hyper/weird/floating above reality state whenever finishing a practice test (does anyone else have this happen?) I'm not sure that it's a hinderance since I have made improvements from test-to-test (for the most part) and have been getting strong. I never feel this way doing practice problems... and I often sit for a long time doing the problems (sitting and concentrating on complicated things for a long time is my bread and butter).

SO... does anyone have any tips, strategies, advice on how to overcome such a drop? Does anyone here/know of anyone who has overcome such a drop? Am I not being honest with my practice or not preparing correctly, or not doing something that I should be doing? Not being realistic?

Any insight would be sincerely and deeply appreciated!

- R

[PhillyPhillie]

Hello Stacey,

Ok, I've been poking around and found a very relevant article. Here is my analysis: http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index.php/2011/06/08/my-score-dropped-figuring-out-what-went-wrong/

1. Official Test Conditions
Do both essays? - Yes, always
Take only two 8-minute breaks (the first between essays and quant, the second between quant and verbal)? -Yes, strictly enforced... I sometimes took 7minute or 7:30 breaks to simulate reality
Complete the test in one sitting (e.g., you didn’t do the verbal section later that evening or the next day)? -Yes
Pause the test, look at books or notes, eat and drink during the test, or do anything else that wouldn’t be allowed on test day -I paused a few times, simply because the phone rang or a lawn mower was outside, but tried not think of the problem

2. Stamina
Take the tests under official conditions? (including essays and breaks " see Section 1. - Yes, I actually like the essays, gets me ready
Take the practice tests at the same time of day as you took (or plan to take) the real test? - Yes, though if not the exact start time, I was still taking the test during a time when I would be doing the test
Avoid taking a second test (practice or official) within 3 days of taking another practice test? - No, only did this once
Eat good energy food before the test and during the breaks, drink liquids to stay hydrated, and stretch or do light exercise to loosen up and get your blood flowing? - Yes

3. Timing

This is probably an issue more than I likely realize and is further supported by the articles. I have an strong 1-minute sense, however, I find that 1-minute sense is relative to the speed of one's mind. When I am simply sitting here at my computer, or casually doing GMAT problems, I can deduce one-minute. However, when I am thinking really fast or in a hyped up state taking the test, 45 second feels like one minute, or if I am feeling too relaxed and like a slug, what feels like one minute is really 1:20-30.

I think I have verbal timing down well (still don't know what happened there), but Q is still an issue. The death spiral is evident on some of my practice tests i.e. consecutive questions wrong, but I was attributing them more to content. But since that time, perhaps since I have greater grasp of the content, I try and slow things down to actually do the problem? Maybe... I've seen this trend on some of my OG Archer problems.. BUT.. I think I make that up on some of the more easier to grasp DS questions. But.. you don't know what kind of DS questions will be on the real thing.

And yes, I understand the concept of 'selective engagement' of questions (I punt on more difficult rate questions and certain probability questions). I don't punt on any Verbal CRs, though I occassionaly obsessively try to confirm answers and over analyze... though I've since learned to stop this. But, I can do most of the tough SCs in less than a minute.


4. Anxiety

Yeah, I'd say so. My mind felt like it was swimming and being in the middle of a fast and busy street. But this happens on every practice test. Each feels like a mad, swirling scramble (nothing like the logical thought and dissection I feel that I do during practice)... but I've done ok on the practice test in this manner. However, I felt that on the real thing, I was resorting to stupid and illogical habits from before I even started prepping... not surprising I guess since the score was nearly identical to my benchmark.

I think that I get too psyched up... I kind of take a mentality like I am about do a physically demanding and combative exercise.. and since I can't move or expend the energy, I go into self-destruct mode. However, I know that going into the test without being in "ready" mode will not be a good thing. Sometimes after practice tests I was unable to function very well for up to two days (and felt 'hungover' when doing GMAT problems for a good four days). Sometimes during the tests, I feel that I can hardly read the words i.e. not what stem is actually saying... but what the actual word is and what it means... or reading the first half of a sentence and the rest is a blur... and mind you, English is my native language and I have even written for a newspaper. I sometimes feel that I lose focus.

PS.. the pad they give you is terrible! I didn't think it would be a grid... I could hardly read what I was writing and it was distracting!

Any thoughts on what you think I can do to prevent this from happening again? Thoughts? Strategies? Different mental approach?

Thank you!

- R

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm going to read your second post first.

Comments in order of your replies:
- That article is old and mentions the "2 essays" but now the test consists of 1 essay and IR. So you did the 1 essay plus the IR section?

- Pausing the test is a problem, even if you didn't work on the test question. You gave yourself a mental break. This will never happen on the real test; on the real test, you have to keep going and the pressure and fatigue keep building. You also didn't work through distractions (eg, the lawnmower) but you can't simply wait out or get rid of any distractions during the real test. You have to work through them. My rule: don't pause unless the house is on fire. :)

- The 1-minute sense. 45 seconds is close enough. So is 1m20 to 1m30s (as long as it's not like that on every single problem through the section). You just want to have a rough idea.

The more important question is: how do you react when you feel the 1-min sense coming on? At that point, on quant (you mention quant as the issue), you should know what the problem is asking, have a solution method in mind and sometimes have started to solve. If not, you should switch to educated guessing. Do you?

Have you studied how to make educated guesses? Have you studied techniques that will help you to narrow down the answers if not get all the way to the right answers? (You can't always do this... but often you can!)

Yes, the trend you describe is very common - people learn stuff and then think "But I should know how to do this!" so they slow down... and kill their timing.

The test is not a math test, believe it or not. It's not acually about getting these questions (all) right. It's a decision-making test. Specifically, how good are you at making decisions about how spend your precious resources: your mental energy and your time?

Read these two articles:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

Have you been approaching the test / your study in that way? If not, start doing so. :)

on the real thing, I was resorting to stupid and illogical habits from before I even started prepping

Yes, anxiety does this to us. There are usually two causes. First, the smaller cause, you didn't fully trust various technique you were learning or habits you were building, so under the stress of the real test, you reverted to older things that don't work on this test (and possibly don't work on any test!).

The other, more important, cause: if you ultimately go into the GMAT with the mindset that it's a "test" - as in, a school test, where your goal was to get everything right - then you're going to mess it up. This goes back to what the two articles above say. You've got to change this mindset.

The other symptom you mention - not being able to read / everything is a blur - is a sign of decently serious anxiety as well as mental fatigue. Try this:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... mat-score/

That method (meditation) won't raise your score by itself, but it will help to calm the anxiety so that the anxiety doesn't sabotage you.

the pad they give you is terrible! I didn't think it would be a grid... I could hardly read what I was writing and it was distracting!

Graph paper, do you mean? Yes, they give graph paper (as you know now). You may want to look in our store, because we sell a laminated booklet that's just like what they use. (We also give it to all of our class students from day 1 - it's weird, so we want you practicing with it right from the beginning.)

If you do buy one to practice with, make sure you have access to a photocopy machine. After using it, photocopy the pages so that you can keep your notes. Then you can erase and reuse it.

Okay, so the next step is to figure out what's going on with the timing. Use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Then come back here and tell us the results of your analysis and what you think you should do based on that analysis. We'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)

Pay particular attention to the timing analysis. I've never met anyone who couldn't improve on quant timing (I've looked at a LOT of tests!). On verbal, occasionally I'll get someone who really is okay - but most people can use help there too. :)

Watch out for this assumption:

timing was fine.. had a minute to spare on each

That doesn't mean timing was fine. I have seen hundreds of tests on which the person finished on time but there were still serious timing issues throughout the section.

Overall, it sounds like some things really started to click in the last couple of weeks, which is fantastic and you're going to keep building on that. The major problems sound like timing and anxiety (though I want to see your test analysis before we really confirm that).

Now, during the test, you felt that you "saw all of the questions clearly." That's actually a warning sign. It means you weren't doing so well to be offered questions that were much too hard for you. You actually WANT the test to feel hard, because that means you're doing well. If you don't have at least 4-5 questions throughout the section on which you think, "What? Argh!" then something isn't going right.

And definitely check out the meditation thing that I linked above - I think that's going to help the symptoms that you describe.

Finally, yes, I've spoken with many students who have experienced a drop and who have been able to recover. The two key steps are to figure out why it happened so that you can then come up with (and execute!) a plan to address those issues. So tell me what you think after reading all of the above!

[PhillyPhillie]

Hello Stacey,

Thank you for your insightful and analytical response. I appreciate it.

I have included your comments in bold below, followed by my response:

- That article is old and mentions the "2 essays" but now the test consists of 1 essay and IR. So you did the 1 essay plus the IR section? Yes, I always did the essay and IR section during a CAT. On the actual exam, I received a '6' on the AWA and a '7' on IR, so something was working upstairs on test day. I remember not stressing out very much during these two sections. In fact, I even took some time to adjust my chair. Oddly, my MGMT IR scores were nowhere near a '7', though my benchmark was a 4 from the GMAT Prep diagnostic.

My rule: don't pause unless the house is on fire. ... Got it.

The more important question is: how do you react when you feel the 1-min sense coming on? At that point, on quant (you mention quant as the issue), you should know what the problem is asking, have a solution method in mind and sometimes have started to solve. If not, you should switch to educated guessing. Do you? I do not react in the sense that I think 'Oh, it's one minute, time to do something.' It just seems to be a natural mental blip, i.e. at what step I am doing in during the problem. I have also practiced educated guessing, and have had some success doing so. For example, on my MGMT CAT last week, I sketched out a geometry problem, but did not quite get what the question was asking... but, since it was a sphere in a cube, and it was asking for the shortest vertices distance, I thought "ok, probably asking for diagonal distance since it’s in the answers, so sq. root of 3, and ok, side is 10, so a radius of 5 for the base.. not sure how the minus 1 part of the answer fits, but this has two parts that look good" Sure enough, I answered correctly on a 700-800 problem. I did it in less than 1:40. Oddly though, I remember thinking on the CAT that I was taking way too long with certain problems, but upon review, I was really between 2:00-2:30.

Have you studied how to make educated guesses? Have you studied techniques that will help you to narrow down the answers if not get all the way to the right answers? I have not exactly "studied" a technique, but instead have kind of figured out the pattern on most questions where I can easily narrow down choices. For example, on DS questions, when both statements look obviously sufficient together, I spend a bit more time dissecting one stem because I know there is a strong chance that just one statement is sufficient. I can recall on some thinking, "ok, this has to be either A or C, or it's C or E." CR is a bit of a hit or miss. For example, on my last CAT, I could narrow down two answer choices, but chose wrongly for a significant majority of the guesses. I can usually deduce that three of the CR choices are clearly wrong, while two choices have subtle variations and are somewhat linked to the stem (though one is obviously right). So in short, the above is my technique.

The test is not a math test, believe it or not. It's not actually about getting these questions (all) right. It's a decision-making test. Specifically, how good are you at making decisions about how spend your precious resources: your mental energy and your time? I think you may be asking a rhetorical question here, but I tell myself that I will punt on more difficult probability and rate questions (can get the rate questions correct, sometimes, but it just takes awhile). And, I know that my AWA and IR scores are fine, so I will try to casually complete those sections. I am aware though that it is not an academic test or intelligence test or trying to get a perfect score and have read those articles earlier (they were helpful). I think I have a pretty cool approach on Q, i.e. I know I'm not getting every question right and know what I can and can't do well, but on V, I know I have the ability to do well, so I try to get as many right as possible. So to answer your question: Have you been approaching the test / your study in that way? Yes, for Q, but I think I may be putting too much pressure on myself for V.

Yes, anxiety does this to us. There are usually two causes. First, the smaller cause, you didn't fully trust various technique you were learning or habits you were building, so under the stress of the real test, you reverted to older things that don't work on this test (and possibly don't work on any test!).

The other, more important, cause: if you ultimately go into the GMAT with the mindset that it's a "test" - as in, a school test, where your goal was to get everything right - then you're going to mess it up. This goes back to what the two articles above say. You've got to change this mindset.

I do trust my techniques and habits... they have been very helpful and have led to many correct questions, but I simply just couldn't remember them and calm down enough mentally to execute them. And yes, I know that this is not a school test-test i.e get them all correct, but whether or not I believe it is another issue. I don't have the school mindset on Q, but do somewhat on V.

The other symptom you mention - not being able to read / everything is a blur - is a sign of decently serious anxiety as well as mental fatigue.

Anxiety, yes. I have to get it under control. In retrospect, I must have been extremely tense physically. I explained to my friend that my lower back felt locked up and there was a shooting pain through my sciatic (I fell on my behind last fall, and during the test was the worst it has hurt, by far, since my fall... I thought it was simply the chair). And having read that article, yes, I am thinking about other things during the test, irrelevant things i.e. soundtracks and food.

However, I tried a new approach on my last CAT... I started with the approach "This is no big deal, you've seen this before, you know what topics will be there, you even took it already, so just chill out." I also watched some funny YouTube videos beforehand to relax. I also went in with a 'cool customer' approach on the AWA and IR. It seemed to work... not only did I get my highest IR score on a MGMT CAT (still not near a 7), I actually was able to focus and put together logical thoughts during the Q. For the first time, the entire section did not feel like a whirlwind during any part. I even matched my highest Q score to date from the GMAT Prep (42)... and felt it could have been one or even two points higher if not for a dumb mistake towards the end on a question I actually "answered" but chose something else.

The Verbal though was a different story... I started off well, but came across an RC question that I "answered" but second guessed and over analyzed, and then did so again on the next RC question. As a result, I got 10 of the next 12 wrong (I've never done that on V)... though I put the question behind me, the emotional and mental sting was still there (ironically, several others complained about the question on the forum... but that's not my point).

Mental fatigue was definitely a factor on this V... I actually felt it. During review, I was able to spot the subtle differences and shifts in the stems and answers that I was unable to spot during the CAT. I know what to look for... I just was too fatigued to "see" and spot the shifts, or think through the shifts. So, I ended up with a very disappointing V35, also one of my lowest overall V scores... not happy with this downward trend (also V 35 on the GMAT, my lowest outside the diagnostic).

In general, I have spotted a trend in my V, which leads into your point... Now, during the test, you felt that you "saw all of the questions clearly." That's actually a warning sign. It means you weren't doing so well to be offered questions that were much too hard for you. You actually WANT the test to feel hard, because that means you're doing well. If you don't have at least 4-5 questions throughout the section on which you think, "What? Argh!" then something isn't going right. I should clarify that I saw the questions clearly on the GMAT, meaning that I was actually able to read them on V and get a sense what they were asking, unlike the Q section. But, I was probably too mentally fatigued and hyped up to spot the subtle shifts in stimulus/answers.

In early August, shortly after I finished with the MGMT CR book, I was a verbal machine... could not get a CR question wrong in the OG or MGMT CATs. On my first CAT, I got one CR wrong of almost all 700-800 questions. (some of my data is below) On the second CAT, the V section felt very difficult.. like I was battling it and that I was mostly guessing and getting it wrong. However, through question 35, I had only gotten 3 wrong, but then remember looking at the time at this point, panicked a bit, even though I was almost exactly on pace (by a minute or so), and got the last six questions wrong to finish with a V 37. Also, I think that since this point, I may have gotten mentally lazy on CR, i.e. "I can get this right, no need to really try that hard" and developed a tendency to overanalyze and be extra careful because I know I can get it right. I have started to review the CR guide again.

I completed the analysis using your method, and the timing issues were not as severe as I thought they were. On my last CAT (9/10), I only had two questions that were "way too slow." One was a 700-800 geometry question that I knew how to do but was questioning myself (got it right), and the other was a 7-8 PS statistics question towards the end that I purposely took awhile to do because I had time to play with the question. But even here, I made a guess between two choices and got it right. Including the above two, only five were spent above 2:30 (4 of 5 correct), three under 3min. I had a few that I solved very quickly (not guesses).

I had three consecutive wrong questions in the 6-7 range. I am not exactly sure what to conclude here... I got 8 correct7-8 level questions out of 13, but only got 1 of 6 600-700 PS right for 17%... not limited to one specific type of problem type, but some were areas that I could improve. PS Average right: 680, wrong 700... BUT I definitely need improvement on DS, which was abysmal... 40% correct, 590 right, 710 wrong averages... and only one 7-8 DS correct. I have noticed this trend for DS on all of the MGMTs. Overall, I need improvement on Algebra and Number Properties, which were well below 50%.

I should also note that the level of difficulty for PS on the latest CAT was much, much higher than my aggregate averages for all of my MGMT CATs and the previous three, which has led me to believe that I am hitting a stride. But, what do about that DS? I feel confident when I do the OG problems and get them correct (and know why).

Verbal is a bit of a mystery. Overall, there were no major timing issues. I seem to take a bit longer than I should on some of the longer, denser 7-8 SC questions, but timing as a whole was ok... nothing too fast or too slow. However, I took very long on some CR questions during my meltdown where I could not decide between two answers, and even took a long time on two 5-6 level CR question, which I got wrong. Unusual for me.

I am a bit concerned because I looked at my first two CAT verbal averages:
CR C 730, W 710;
RC C 650, W 720;
SC C 730 W 740... and all within or exactly on the expected time. BUT, my last two CATs, which includes my meltdown and when I was winging it/struggling:
CR C 640, W 660;
RC C 680, W 730;
SC C 680; W 720 ... timing is identical between the first two CATs and last two CATs, except the correct answer timing for the CR on the last two CATs is 16 seconds faster and the wrong answers 15 seconds slower (all 4 CATs were just above or below the 2 minute mark for CR).

My weaker performance on the last two Vs seems to coincide with my improved performance on Q and some sort of mental issue or getting thrown by one thing and then having it affect me the next several questions. Fatigue also may be a factor at this point, however, I still felt fatigued and challenged after Q on my first two CATs when I did well on V. Also, I think I need to review some of the CR material. I need to be able to catch the subtle shifts in language when fatigued and start trying to explain why the answer choices are wrong again. I did this earlier, but I think I stopped doing this because I thought I can just hunt down the answer because I knew what I was doing.

As for Q, my latest CAT was light years better overall than earlier Qs, but what to do about DS? I think I need to review some of the OG questions... I’m usually down to two choices in DS, but I always seem to guess wrongly. And I’m not sure what to think about the horrible percentage over a potpourri of topics when I’m hitting the 7-8 level questions (you don’t get 8 out of 13 correct solely by guessing and being lucky, though I made an educated guess on two of them). My timing for 7-8 level questions could improve as I am getting close to "too long correct" status, but that was skewed due to two questions... my wrong answers were exactly two minutes. But, practice still would not hurt i.e. drill baby drill.

I think my approach is strong on DS... read the stimulus and statements... jot down key info from the stimulus and manipulate if possible. I do the same with the statements. I may have to just review some content, especially algebra and number properties, which rule DS.


So, in short, here is what I need to do:
- Work on getting anxiety under control... think I am on the right path here

- Prevent mental fatigue or at least be aware enough to spot the subtle language shifts on CR... not quite sure how to approach the mental fatigue part, but reviewing CR books again might be a start and explaining why answers don’t work (I’ve started typing some detailed explanations on why/how answers do/don’t work

- I could review some of the meaning and modifier material again, particularly on the longer SCs; I can spot the makers easily when mentally fresh, but again, fatigue

- Do not obsess or over analyze on V problems, particularly CR and RC... I have taken almost a minute more than I should, but it only happens once or twice

- Keep drilling on 7-8 level Q questions... timing should improve if keep working on methods... I guess my 6-7 level debacle will fix itself, since I think the specific questions that were asked threw me a bit... but nonetheless, I have logged the errors and will continue to review the types of problems that I got wrong there

- DS: work on number properties and Algebra.

- Look out the window for a few seconds on V so you are not staring the screen so long (I don’t write anything on V, never have). On Q, one is mostly looking at the desk/pad. I think the eye strain gets to me (as does everyone... I wear glasses). And since I feel ok with timing on V, a glance away every now and then wouldn’t hurt.

On the GMAT, I just think I "lost it" on Q and on V, was probably too spent to make clearly reasoned decisions on V. I think you can see that kind of happened on the latest CAT during V.

And yes, I will check out meditation (been thinking of trying that in general) and the laminated pad.

So, let me know what you think, or if you have any suggestions and commentary....

Thank you for your insight!

- R

[StaceyKoprince]

Great, so you don't need to worry about AWA and IR. Still do those sections when you take practice tests, though - there's a potential stamina issue for Q and V, so you want to make sure your brain has to jump through the same hoops it will have to jump through on test day.

Okay, so it sounds like you do need to develop your 1-minute sense (or, at least, your response to it). You basically want to have the ability, around the half-way mark on quant, to realize, "I'm not where I should* be right now, so I should stop doing what I'm doing." Then you look to see whether you can use educated guessing to narrow down. If so, you have up to a minute to do that before guessing. If not, you just guess right away.

*where you should be = you understand what the problem is asking and you have a plan for how to tackle it. If both of those things aren't true around the halfway mark, stop trying to find the right answer.

Re: educated guessing, figuring out the patterns for making guesses is exactly what I mean by "techniques" to help you make guesses. :)

BUT: take it a step further. You say that if the two statements obviously work, you'll spend more time examining the statements separately. That's not guessing! That's still trying to solve. Guessing is: "well, they really obviously work together, so I'm going to guess that the answer is actually either A, B, or D, NOT C, and I'm just going to guess A. Done."

I could narrow down two answer choices, but chose wrongly for a significant majority of the guesses

I would (strongly) bet that you got more of these right when you realized... but, at the end, you spent a lot more time reviewing problems that you got WRONG, and so you felt like you got all of your guesses wrong. You just don't pay as much attention when you answer something correctly.

Try this: next time, use a little symbol to mark the problems on which you narrow down to 2 and then guess at the moment when you guess. Give them an asterisk or something. Then, go back and check ALL of them. Do you really get the vast majority wrong when your chances are 50/50? Or do you just not notice the correct answers as much?

Specifically, how good are you at making decisions about how spend your precious resources: your mental energy and your time? I think you may be asking a rhetorical question here

This was not rhetorical in the slightest. This is the single most important skill you can have on this test and it should be in the back of your mind at all times. This is what the test is actually trying to evaluate!

on V, I know I have the ability to do well, so I try to get as many right as possible.

Then you might not have actually internalized the lesson that this is not an academic test but a decision-making test. The goal is not to "get as many right as possible" in the sense that most people use that phrase. Most people use that to mean: when any single question is in front of me, I'm trying to get that right no matter what.

The correct interpretation, though, is trying to get as many correct as possible within the limited 75-minute timeframe for 41 questions. If that's what you mean, then great. But if you are, at any point, forgetting the full section and the fact that whatever decisions you make right now (eg, to spend extra time on ONE question) will have serious consequences for other questions in that section... then you are not performing to your peak possible ability on this test.

That's not to say that you can't spend extra time on some questions. Sometimes, that is the best decision to make. But it needs to be a conscious decision made within the context of what it is costing you, not just a "I want to get this one right!" compulsion.

Does that all make sense? :)

Okay, I'm now at the part of your post where you acknowledge that you haven't fully internalized this yet on the verbal. So you're just going to have to work on that. The anxiety bit also sounds like it's an issue, so do check out the meditation stuff.

I like the idea of the funny videos, or anything else that makes you laugh. When you see or read something that makes you laugh genuinely, that really does carry over into the next couple of hours of whatever you're doing.

It sounds like you do need some additional work on DS. How's your timing there? A lot of people go too fast on DS and fall into traps - they miss scenarios in which something actually isn't sufficient when they thought it was because they didn't test it / think it through well enough. Could that be happening?

You'll need to dive into those DS problems and figure out WHY you missed them. That will help you to figure out what you need to do to get better.

I took very long on some CR questions during my meltdown where I could not decide between two answers

Standard rule on ALL verbal for future: once you're down to 2 answers, you compare those two answers ONCE. Then you pick and move on. No exceptions. (At that point, you either know or you don't. If you don't, agonizing back and forth won't help. It'll only waste time.)

How much of your time have you been spending studying Q vs. V? It might be that your scores are going down because you've been concentrating so much on Q that you haven't been keeping your V skills up.

In addition, because Q has gone up and you're answering harder questions, you may be using up more of your brain energy during that section, making V tougher. One of the necessary skills to develop, as you get better, is how to make it easier for you to answer questions that are now "medium" for you.

Think of it this way. Let's say that 650-level quant used to be hard for you, 600 was medium, and 550 was easy. You move your level up to 700. Now, the 650s have to be your medium problems. Have they actually gotten easier for you though? Have you studied how to answer more efficiently and effectively? Or did you ignore those because you could already do them? If so, you've got to go back and learn how to turn those 650-levels into true "medium" questions that don't take so much time and brain energy to do.

Also, expect to hit at least one verbal question on which you want to call up the test makers and argue with them. When you get that question, shrug, guess, and move on. :)

I like your list of things to do (at the end of your post). Think about what I wrote above as well. Good luck!

[PhillyPhillie]

Hello Stacey,

Thank you for taking the time to write another thoughtful analysis (and reading something very long... sorry!) It is good to know that there is someone out there who cares and will listen, especially with an endeavor that is somewhat lonely and that others don't understand very well.

Does that all make sense? :)

Yes, it does. I was cognizant of it earlier, but acknowledging something and practicing it are two different things. It's "I have to get this question right and the next one etc... all right" vs. "Let's try and get as many right as we can out of 41 within 75 minutes... and to do that, we sometimes may need to sacrifice a question that is a bit tricky because it will impair our ability (time, mental energy) to get another question correct that we can perhaps answer pretty efficiently and therefore, will help us reach our goal of as many right w/in 41 and 75 minutes." And yes, I can see how this works with the scoring algorithim on the MGMT tests.

It sounds like you do need some additional work on DS. How's your timing there? A lot of people go too fast on DS and fall into traps - they miss scenarios in which something actually isn't sufficient when they thought it was because they didn't test it / think it through well enough. Could that be happening?

My timing has been pretty good on DS, what it should be i.e. not too fast or slow for any particular problem type. I just think I try to evaluate one statement a little too carefully... then glance at the other one, make a quick deduction, and then answer the question. I purchased the Quant Review Guide and have been practicing more DS, and my timing and accuracy have been strong. I have been manipulating the expressions and to be honest, after seeing this stuff for 3+ months, it is starting to become automatic. But overall, I am much more comfortable and confident doing the OG/QR problems than I am doing MGMT DS problems (I don't know why).

Standard rule on ALL verbal for future: once you're down to 2 answers, you compare those two answers ONCE. Then you pick and move on. No exceptions.

Yes, I am paying particularly close attention to the language of the answers. Some words i.e. adverbs, may/will etc. qualify or disqualify an answer.

How much of your time have you been spending studying Q vs. V? It might be that your scores are going down because you've been concentrating so much on Q that you haven't been keeping your V skills up.

I can't cite an amount, but it's definitely more time on Q. I've rebooted my verbal and I am feeling more confident answering questions now and feel like I am getting back to where I was. I started thinking more about possible answers and what direction the answers will go in. i.e. predicting and articulating the goal more thoroughly. I think I got away from that somewhat too. Also, I practiced arguments with an old LSAT book, which helped me much too (their questions seem to be more difficult and formal, but it's great practice).

In addition, because Q has gone up and you're answering harder questions, you may be using up more of your brain energy during that section, making V tougher. One of the necessary skills to develop, as you get better, is how to make it easier for you to answer questions that are now "medium" for you.

Think of it this way. Let's say that 650-level quant used to be hard for you, 600 was medium, and 550 was easy. You move your level up to 700. Now, the 650s have to be your medium problems. Have they actually gotten easier for you though? Have you studied how to answer more efficiently and effectively?

How can you do that? I understand the methods and how to approach problems, and execute the problems strongly, particularly those 650-level questions in the OG and QR guides... and yes, these types of questions do feel like they have gotten easier, based on the order of questions in the guides, especially the QR Guide, which I recently purchased and have gotten the higher number questions correct at a very high rate and within acceptable time. But it has not seemed to translate into my test performance. But if I had to answer, yes, I know how to answer the questions more efficiently and effectively through manipulating expressions, making inferences etc. and I've studied how I got them right, and made notes on the key things I need to do to answer a certain problem.

How do you stay mentally fresh and fight fatigue during the GMAT? Do you take it often? I can imagine that it may not be a significant issue for you since the material is so familiar that taking the GMAT feels like driving... or isn't it? I know not doing well on the test is not the end of the world and I'm not really worried or as high-strung about it anymore, but the fatigue and remaining mentally aware during the test is the single biggest thing "keeping me awake at night," so to speak...

Thanks for your insight!

- R

[StaceyKoprince]

I am much more comfortable and confident doing the OG/QR problems than I am doing MGMT DS problems (I don't know why).

That's perfectly fine. If you were better at non-official problems, that might be concerning, but if you're better at official problems, then great. :)

It sounds like you did neglect V a bit but now you're picking it back up again; that's good.

Re: how to get better at answering efficiently and effectively, a big part of this is making sure that you're actually reviewing even the questions that you answer correctly. A lot of people will only review a correct problem if they spent much too long on it. Review EVERYthing. If I get something right in 2 minutes, or even 1.5 minutes, I'm still going to look at it to see whether I can shave 15 seconds somewhere.

On math, my favorite question is, "Okay, so which part of that solution was the most annoying? Now, can I think of a way to get to the answer without having to do that annoying part? Or with short-cutting it in some way? Maybe I didn't have to find the exact number; an estimate would have been good enough. Maybe I had to add fractions and finding the common denominator was annoying - but I knew the percent equivalents and could have just converted and done the problem that way. Sometimes, I'll realize, oh, the answer has to end in a 5, so that knocks out three of the answers... and that one's too small, so it has to be the other. Yay! Now I don't have to multiply it out (or whatever).

There are all kinds of shortcuts - and you'll find* them without too much difficulty on the questions that you answered correctly and efficiently in the first place, because you understand how everything worked!

*Well, you only find them if you're actually looking in the first place. And if you don't find something, but you still think there's probably a faster way, look on a forum somewhere to see whether anyone else came up with a better method!

On verbal, try to figure out what took the most time (even if you didn't go over time) and see whether you can get better / faster at whatever that thing was. Maybe you didn't know a certain rule well enough, so you went back and forth over it a few times.

Maybe a sentence (in any section) was sort of convoluted and confusing so you had to read it a couple of times. What's the core of the sentence - the bare minimum you need to still have a basic sentence? Does just that part of it make sense? If so, then start to look at how the extra stuff adds on (and if it's RC, you don't necessarily need all of the detail, so you can just ignore detail that makes no sense to you).

That sort of thing.

The fatigue thing is tough. Everyone is going to feel at least some fatigue building as the test goes on. It's long! A big part of it is back to decision-making again. I know what's hard for me, or what tends to tire me out, and so I'm careful about how I choose to spend my time from the very first question.

There are certain questions that I'm already thinking, "Hmm, I'm not sure I'm even going to try this" from the moment they pop up. A roman numeral question? Why should I answer 3 questions for the price of one? I'll look, but if it's also hard, forget it. Combinatorics? No thanks - I'm terrible at these. Okay, I'll look, and I'll do it if it's an easier one. But otherwise, forget it.

Same deal on verbal or IR - you know what drives you crazy, so be skeptical. Don't go into every problem with the idea that you ARE going to answer it. Go into the problem with the idea that you are deciding what to do - and that includes saying forget it and moving on. The sooner you can make that decision to pull the plug, the better for you. You just need a lot of practice to ensure that you're making effective decisions (and not pulling the plug too soon on something you actually could have done without spending too much time or mental energy).

The better you are at making those decisions throughout, the fresher you'll be able to keep yourself even late in the test. (Though, again, everyone feels at least some mental fatigue as the test goes in - you can't avoid that.)

Also make sure to take physical actions to help. Roll your neck around. Stretch our your fingers, legs, and toes. Look above the screen or at the ceiling or close your eyes periodically to give yourself a few seconds' break. Eat and drink on the break.

Not physical energy food - mental energy food. People tell me they eat a snickers or an energy bar and drink Gatorade, but you're not prepping to play football. You're trying to prep your brain!! Mental food = protein and fat, with some complex carbs to make it last. Also, glucose can help your brain get a short-term recovery boost, but then you crash. So don't do a bunch of sugar before the test or at the first break. At the second break, get a hit of glucose in liquid form - fresh fruit juice or coconut milk, something like that. Do NOT do high-fructose corn syrup under any circumstances - that will fatigue you faster.

And while you're eating and drinking, stretch. Do a few jumping jacks. Walk around during the break - you've been sitting for hours.