DON'T GIVE UP! Be Encouraged!! Quick Insider

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Hellooo.. out there

I wanted to drop some golden nuggets for those out there who were like me, just looking for some encouragement, double thinking your school selections or if you should even apply that year. Don't give up! Some people with a 730+ will Not get into the top schools that those below a 650 will. Believe me. So keep your head up. They can buy private tutoring, but they cannot purchase your story. You have value beyond the score.

So, The Skinny?

My biggest GMAT blunder was not realizing that it is just as much about How you take the exam, as it is about Content knowledge.

:shock: :?: Whaa..

Yes!

How to take the Exam

Be comfortable!!

That's with the content, especially your problem areas (drill them; it will instill confidence), the ACTUAL EXAM-so take CATS until those 3.5 hrs seem like 20 min; and don't take CATS to learn material-they should be benchmarks, having your timing strategy down COLD; know what you're going to do before you even hit that table. What do I mean? Throwaways, When to speed up and slow down. Don't let anything catch you off guard. If there is a subject you don't know, be comfortable throwing that question away!! BUT take your time with the next one, the last thing you want is a STRING of wrongs (a no no). For more help on strategy, Stacey Koprince articles (MGMAT) help and especially gmatclub blogs [a DEFINITE KEEPER].

Calm Down..

You must you musttt relax. Again Stacey's articles help with this. I started meditating using what a MGMAT blog recommended "mindfulness meditation" proven to work; and I think it did for me too. I had much less anxiety than I did the first time and it taught me to focus on my tasks instead of my wandering mind. Next, be ok with a temporary setback. Have a plan B in case the GMAT doesn't work out and Actually be content with that. This is Not giving up, just taking a lot of pressure off that you may not know you're carrying. Tell yourself it is okay if you do not do well and know you'll retake or go for alternatives. Read scriptures, think happy thoughts, be kind to yourself. ESPECIALLY WHILE TAKING THE TEST; don't beat yourself up, that can only lead to a string of wrong answers. It's going to be ok, BREATHE in positivity, it is not your end, just a step in your next chapter.

Lastly, Myths

Here we go, there are tons of people saying do this, do that. And trust me, I read most all of them. The truth is, you need to find a strategy for you, all of the above are true, but here are some myths to WATCH OUT for.

1. Taking an expensive class will better your GMAT.

Um.. ok, it's about the work YOU place in too and the time you have to do it. There are tons of good materials out there, just get rolling. But remember, it's really about LEARNING how to take the GMAT, rather than a tutoring brand or content/content/content- because content is preparation; you won't see everything you study on that test; but you do need mental stamina to Conquer it.

2. First 10 Quant is just as equal as the rest

This is just my opinion (backed up by Many bloggers) that it DID matter. I don't care what anyone says. When I had higher accuracy on the first 10, it made a difference in point and percentage. Read gmatclub articles for more insight on this. Remember, have a strategy before you even hit the table.

So in all, I just wanted you to be encouraged, the GMAT is really just one factor of your stellar application. It is also an important one, but please know that anything is possible. I graduated with highest honors from h.s. and highest honors from a great University, and STILL scored in the low 500s my first time (just a few months ago). This test Clearly did not show who I am and what I can offer especially academically and I was so discouraged and depressed. I dusted myself off and said screw that, and read and read and read strategy vs. content. I decided to write down my log (which I didn't do before) to keep track of my most problematic Q/V and drilled them, then I wrote down a timing strategy to look up at the clock with:

This was just my timing strategy!
Quant Question: 0-35 next to Time: 75-5 in a T table (T) with one on each side. I checked the clock every now and then to keep up (NOT AFTER EACH QUESTION that's just wasting precious seconds :) )

I also read WSJ articles to read faster. Bottom line, I did the above and have now scored 700+ in 6 mos from my last Official GMAT while working and tons of other life events, so you may be able to do beyond.

DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!! NEVER EVER EVER GIVE UP! YOU CAN DO IT!! YES YOU CAN! YOU CAN DO IT!
Last edited by KristenH88 on Mon Feb 02, 2015 2:07 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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by [email protected] » Thu Dec 25, 2014 8:46 am
HI KristenH88,

That's fantastic news about your recent score improvement. Was your recent score on the Official GMAT or on a practice CAT? I remember that just a few weeks ago you commented about being stuck in the 500s. What have you done differently in this last couple of weeks?

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Lots of great advice, Kristen! I, too, am a big proponent of developing the proper mindset (and body language). In fact, I wrote two articles about this:
- https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2013/06 ... -destroyer
- https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/04 ... n-the-gmat

I'd like to comment on this comment....
KristenH88 wrote: 2. First 10 Quant is just as equal as the rest

This is just my opinion (backed up by many bloggers) that it DID matter. I don't care what anyone says. When I had higher accuracy on the first 10, it made a difference in point and percentage.
It may be the case that, you took greater notice when the outcome matched your theory. The GMAT scoring algorithm isn't that straightforward. To illustrate this, consider the following experiment that I performed:

I took GMATPrep Practice Test #1 four times, and each time I answered every second question correctly (I did this for the quant section only)

Given that I correctly answered exactly half of the questions each time, you'd expect my quant scores to be roughly the same for all 4 tests.

My 4 scaled scores were: 19, 23, 26 and 42

This represents a percentile range from approximately 8th percentile to the 63rd percentile.

Cheers,
Brent
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by manyaabroadtpr » Sat Dec 27, 2014 9:17 pm
Thanks Kristen for putting such a detailed note on your experience. We are sure this will help a lot of students and give them the confidence to keep going.

Wish you the best.

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by KristenH88 » Mon Feb 02, 2015 1:44 pm
[email protected] wrote:HI KristenH88,

That's fantastic news about your recent score improvement. Was your recent score on the Official GMAT or on a practice CAT? I remember that just a few weeks ago you commented about being stuck in the 500s. What have you done differently in this last couple of weeks?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Thank you Rich for your comment

Absolutely, everything that I mentioned above was what I did differently.

I finally made an Excel log to track my mistakes and drilled them before my practice exams to stop bad patterns. I did Mindfulness meditation (some schools like UCLA are even hosting it) which I read helped improve various test scores over 50 points average in 2 weeks! I had to go in full faith on that one because I was borderline desperate and it helped tremendously with my anxiety, stress, focus, and nerves. I was finally able to see and tackle the problem at hand without thinking about the errors of the one before. MGMAT articles and GMATCLUB on OG questions that were difficult helped SOOO MUCH. Reading multiple WSJ and Business Week articles every day to train my mental stamina for RC and CR. And thinking real with the whole exam.

This entire process surely did not take only 2 weeks, but it did not take 3 months either. I did score much higher on my Actual GMAT [which the article is based on] than on my last practice test 2 days before (640) and now have had awesome interviews with my top choice schools that were once out of the question. I wrote this article for those who were like me who want to attend top schools but didn't have a glamorous GMAT score, who were told they're not good enough to run with the pack by admissions consultants, or even to try again later. All I came across was one's pride not positivity for others. It is IMPERATIVE to think positive for It is Possible. Fight until you cannot anymore. And that is what I did.

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by KristenH88 » Mon Feb 02, 2015 2:27 pm
Awesome Insight, and thank you for your videos, they really are great. For me, working hard to get the first 10 correct made a difference and there are mixed reviews from many instructors (Yeh and Neh) however so many testers feel consistent with the importance of First 10 Q accuracy, so I gave my experience and take on the issue. Again, the main point is preparation. As you said your scores and percentiles were all different with the number of questions correct, but I do feel like setting yourself up high for an eventual drop may help more in the ultimate score than an up and down graph VNV (wrong/right/wrong..). I don't believe there is a one size fit all, just choosing the best strategy for you; setting yourself up for success. Thank you again Brent :).
Brent@GMATPrepNow wrote:Lots of great advice, Kristen! I, too, am a big proponent of developing the proper mindset (and body language). In fact, I wrote two articles about this:
- https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2013/06/ ... -destroyer
- https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/04/ ... n-the-gmat

I'd like to comment on this comment....
KristenH88 wrote: 2. First 10 Quant is just as equal as the rest

This is just my opinion (backed up by many bloggers) that it DID matter. I don't care what anyone says. When I had higher accuracy on the first 10, it made a difference in point and percentage.
It may be the case that, you took greater notice when the outcome matched your theory. The GMAT scoring algorithm isn't that straightforward. To illustrate this, consider the following experiment that I performed:

I took GMATPrep Practice Test #1 four times, and each time I answered every second question correctly (I did this for the quant section only)

Given that I correctly answered exactly half of the questions each time, you'd expect my quant scores to be roughly the same for all 4 tests.

My 4 scaled scores were: 19, 23, 26 and 42

This represents a percentile range from approximately 8th percentile to the 63rd percentile.

Cheers,
Brent

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Mon Feb 02, 2015 2:43 pm
KristenH88 wrote:Awesome Insight, and thank you for your videos, they really are great. For me, working hard to get the first 10 correct made a difference and there are mixed reviews from many instructors (Yeh and Neh) however so many testers feel consistent with the importance of First 10 Q accuracy, so I gave my experience and take on the issue. Again, the main point is preparation. As you said your scores and percentiles were all different with the number of questions correct, but I do feel like setting yourself up high for an eventual drop may help more in the ultimate score than an up and down graph VNV (wrong/right/wrong..). I don't believe there is a one size fit all, just choosing the best strategy for you; setting yourself up for success. Thank you again Brent :).
Hi KristenH88,

I'm not against working hard to get the first 10 questions correct. In fact, it's good idea to work hard to get the ALL of the questions correct :-)

However, the proposed strategy has a big assumption. It assumes that it's actually possible to get the first 10 questions correct, and that all one needs to do is spend a bit more time. For many, the 1st question is already above their abilities, and no matter how much time they spend on it, they will not get the correct answer. So, they rely on the adaptive nature of the GMAT to present them with easier and easier questions until the difficulty level matches their skill lever. Conversely, students who answer the first question with ease will SOON encounter questions that are beyond their abilities. Once again, no matter how long they spend, they may not get the correct answer.

Sure there are questions that are right on the edge of our abilities, and for these particular questions, it may be useful to spend some extra time to ensure that you get them correct. But, this should apply to ALL questions that are on the edge of our abilities, not just those among the first 10 questions.

For questions that are BEYOND our abilities (no matter where they're located), we need to recognize them as such, make the best guess possible and move on to the next question AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Doing so, will add time to our "time bank," which we can later devote to questions that are WITHIN our abilities.

My 2 cents.

Cheers,
Brent
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by KristenH88 » Mon Feb 23, 2015 7:52 pm
GREAT READ: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-wont ... cted-byrne

Most recent info on HBS applicants :)

Thanks!