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MY GMAT DRAMA

by vijshinde29 » Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:17 am
LAST WEEK I POSTED THIS POST ON BEAT THE GMAT FORUM STACY ASKED ME TO PUT THIS POST UNDER GMAT STRATERGY FORUM.

HERE IS MY GMAT DRAMA

ON THE NIGHT BEFORE THE EXAM I WAS JUST ABOUT TO GO TO BED AND LOGGED IN ON MBA.COM WEBSITE AND NOTICED THAT MY DOB ON MY PROFILE WAS WRONG........I GOT PANICKED..........I SENT EMAIL TO GMAT CUSTOMER SERVICE..LEFT VOICE MESSAGES ...I COULD NOT SLEEP WHOLE NIGHT THINKING THAT GMAT WILL NOT ALLOW ME TO TAKE THE TEST....

I WENT FOR MY TEST IN A MINDSET THAT I HAVE TO RESCHEDULE MY EXAM DUE TO PROFILE ERROR.GMAT ALLOWED ME TO TAKE THE TEST.

I STARTED MY TEST WITH COOL MIND..COMPLETED ESSAYS AND STARTED MY QUANT SECTION..I GOT PANICKED AND I WAS UNABLE TO CONCENTRATE ON MY EXAM...I AM VERY GOOD AT MATH BUT I COULD NOT DO ANY SIMPLE MULTIPLICATION OR COULD NOT READ PROBLEMS ON THE SCREEN.I THOUGHT SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE EXAM TO QUIT BUT I COMPLETED THE EXAM..

IN THE END I SCORED 540(Q37,V27) .......580 SHOULD HAVE WORKED ..

I AM PLANNING TO RETAKE THE EXAM AGAIN ON MAY 1ST... I NEED SCORE IN 600'S...

AT THIS TIME I AM DISAPPOINTED , DEJECTED,DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO AND DON'T KNOW HOW DO I START MY PREPARATION AGAIN...

I WORKED HARD FOR LAST 3 MONTHS AND PANICKED IN THE END....
AND I HAVE TO START ALL OVER AGAIN

ANY COMMENTS,ANY ADVICE WILL BE HELPFUL.

I AM TAKING MY TEST AGAIN ON MAY 4TH ..I AM NOT GIVING UP..
I AM LOOKING AT THIS INCIDENCE AS VALUABLE LESSON IN MY LIFE..
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I AM TAKING ANY EXAM THE SCECOND TIME..
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by Stacey Koprince » Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:01 pm
I'm sorry you had such a stressful test experience.

What were you scoring on your practice tests shortly before the real test? (Please give dates of tests, quant and verbal subscores, and type of test - GMATPrep, MGMAT, etc.) I'm trying to figure out whether what you scored represented a significant drop compared to your recent practice tests.

How have you felt about standardized tests or other important tests in the past? Were you lacking sleep, extra nervous, and having serious difficulty concentrating? Or was this a very unusual situation for you? If it was an unusual situation, and you don't expect to have such sleep or anxiety problems next time, that's one thing - but if you may have similar problems next time, you need to try to do something about that. Here are some stress management articles that might give you some ideas:

https://www.manhattangmat.com/stress-tips.cfm
https://www.manhattangmat.com/strategy-series-stress.cfm

Were there other issues during the test day besides your lack of sleep and anxiety? Did you mess up the timing? If so, how? Too fast, too slow? (Give as much detail as you can, and don't forget to address both the quant and verbal sections.)
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by Bara » Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:45 pm
Ah...teachings: love them, hate them, don't got a choice in the matter, because we all have to deal with them.

While most people don't have the opportunity to retake tests - - the GMAT and other standardized tests offer this option. But life, my friend, is an on-going test, and each day, when we arise we can realize we can be better, more focused, more present day than the day prior. We can choose health, love, etc.. It is all a choice.

I didn't read how you were scoring over the past few months...so I'm not sure if the score you received on the real test was in the same ball park as diagnostics or not. Regardless, how you study has a huge impact on your score. So does something that happens the night before. As you yourself experienced.

And all the emotional/spiritual prep you do along the way has AS much impact on your performance and score as the data suffiency and grammar (etc.). So take heed:

Here are quotes from great spiritual teachers,

“Sooner or later comes a crisis in our affairs, and how we meet it determines our future happiness and success. Since the beginning of time, every form of life has been called upon to meet such crisis.”
Robert Collier

“A crisis is an opportunity riding the dangerous wind”
 Chinese Proverbs

“Try to relax and enjoy the crisis.”
 Ashleigh Brilliant

“When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters-one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.”
John Fitzgerald Kennedy

When confronted with crisis, know that 'this too, shall pass.'

So, lets say in this crazy world we live in, another crisis occurs the night, day or week before your test. How are you going to safeguard yourself against that kind of intensity? HOw will you be able to go in with the presence of mind and focus so you can score your best?

The kind of preparation you and so many other test takers need includes mastery of material and strategy along with an incorporation of ways to enter into the mindset, the zone, the head-space or whatever you want to call it, to fully be your best self and USE all that 'brainpower' and 'recall' to demonstrate to the folks that count, all you've learned. And to know that part of this mindset preparation is a way to cope and ride through the anxiety and fear that accompanies this high stakes test...as well as other unforseen 'opportunities' aka crises, you may have to deal with during a business deal, a family or social event, an academic situation, etc..

SO, whether you take up yoga, meditation, a martial art, weekly massage, or a myriad of other practices to choose from to get you to glide through life a bit more with the 'this too shall pass, and I too shall excel' rather than freaking out with the 'what ifs.' There are also shorter term ways to become more adept with the anxiety you feel, and these include seeing professionals who move you through hypnosis, Neuro Linguistic Programming, Guided Visualization, and more. Rather than psychotherapy or years of silent meditation, these are methods to get you into the mindset quickly, as you decide whether you want a lifetime of 'practice' in these other fields. (You might also want to check out our audio program, the only product available that addresses these aspects and is geared for GMAT test takers https://testprepny.com/pages/products_gmat.htm)

Really, the bottom line is that an article or a response isn't going to help you. You will need to ACTIVELY change. And we know this first hand because we're the only company who actively deals with helping students make these kinds of changes while intensively studying the GMAT content.

Now, you're ahead of the game if you've gotten over the bit of ruckus over the registration of you birth date. If not, there are things you can do - - mostly incorporating guided visualization of reliving the actual event with different results. Imagine calling the GMAC, and their saying they've corrected the problem, but for your inconvenience, you'll be sent coupons to your favorite restaurant or tickets to some fantastic faraway place for a dream vacation. Unlikely to really happen, you may think, but what would it feel like if it did? And in the realm of the imagination, anything is possible, and FEELING that vindication at this level of customer service -- how great would that be?!?! So day-dream on, and get your self on board of a jedi-warrior's mantra.

And get busy. You've got a good solid month of mind-body-spirit preparation ahead of you!
Bara Sapir, MA, CHt, CNLP
Founder/CEO City Test Prep
Maximize your Score, Minimize your Stress!
GMAT Badass and Test Anxiety Relief Expert
SPEEDREADING: https://citytestprep.com/mindflow-workshops/
ANXIETY RELIEF: https://citytestprep.com/mindfulness-therapy/
BOOK: https://tinyurl.com/TPNYSC
TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McA4aqCNS-c
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by vijshinde29 » Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:43 pm
Thank you for the reply.I again took GMAT PREP1 yesterday just to see where I am and scored 700,I did noticed 4-5 repeated questions though.

Stacy,I do not have any anxiety problem I took several CATs before and I did very well.The reason I got upset because on GMAT website they have written in BOLD that they will not allow me to take test if profile birth date do not match with my ID.I think I was also mad at myself for silly mistake.

I am very particular about small details even a week before I went to test center to make sure I have correct directions.

STACY,I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP TO FORMULATE A PLAN FOR A MONTH.

Here is what I did for last 3 months

I studied all my resources mentioned below and practiced under timed condition.I solved as many questions I could on various topics.I prepared my own flash cards and studied them REGULARY.

AT THIS POINT I CAN'T THINK OF ANY TOPIC IN MY HEAD THAT I NEED TO WORK ON..I COULD EVEN SOLVE PROBABILITY,RATE,WORK AND COORDINATED GEOMETRY SECTION EASILY.

I WORKED EXTENSIVELY ON RC,CR AND SC SECTIONS.

RESOURCES
OG-11
OG-VERBAL-REVIEW
OG-MATH-REVIEW

MGMAT-SC
MGMAT-WORD PROBLEMS

PRACTICE TESTS

MGMAT 1-4. I scored consistently around 600-640
gmat prep 1 - 560
gmat prep 2 - 590
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by Stacey Koprince » Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:24 am
If you geniunely believe that the major problem was the stress you experienced the night before, and that you were as prepared as you could be, then the best thing to do is take the test as soon as you possibly can and spend the month keeping your skills up.

In talking about the anxiety issue, you mentioned that you have taken several CATs and done very well - are you talking about practice tests or real, official tests that counted? Practice tests don't generate the same kind of anxiety because you know they aren't real. To judge a pattern of anxiety brought on by taking big tests, we have to look at the times when they actually counted - important final exams in school, the SAT (if you took that), etc. So just let me know about that - were you talking about official tests (GMAT or other)?

The 700 score you mentioned was with repeated questions, but you don't mention how you handled them (did you take full time anyway so that you wouldn't artificially give yourself extra time? did you get them wrong again if you'd gotten them wrong before?) - so how you handled them will determine whether your score was inflated and, if so, how much.

Except for that test, though, you were scoring around 600. So the score you got on the real thing was somewhat lower but not 100+ points lower than what you had been scoring on the practice tests. Please post the breakdown of quant and verbal for your two or three most recent practice tests (along with the date that you took them). We need to know whether both of your sections dropped a bit or whether one really dropped a lot.

In general, do a combination of new question sets and a review of old questions, along with practice tests about once a week. You can re-take exams that you have "used up" as long as you follow a few guidelines to minimize the chance of artificially inflating your score via question repeats. First, anytime you see a problem that you remember (and this means: I know the answer or I'm pretty sure I remember the answer, not just "hmm, this looks familiar..."), immediately look at the timer and make yourself sit there for the full length of time for that question type. This way, you don't artificially give yourself more time than you should have. Second, think about whether you got this problem right the last time. If you did, get it right again this time. If you didn't, get it wrong again. If you *completely honestly* think that you would get it right this time around if it were a new question (even though you got it wrong last time) because you've studied that area and improved, then get it right this time.

You can get about 300 new verbal and quant questions from OG12 (just published a few weeks ago); the other 600 in the book are repeats from OG11. But look through them all - you won't remember everything from OG11, so you can get more than the 300 new problems only. Also, there will be some you remember but want to study again because they're good problems, or test a concept that you struggle with, or something like that. You can also get additional quant questions from www.gmatfocus.com. (These are also official questions released by the test-makers.)

I can give more advice if I know what your practice test quant and verbal scores were (to see how your scores dropped on the real thing).
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by vijshinde29 » Tue Apr 07, 2009 1:03 pm
Stacy,

Thank you for your time to answer my post.
I really appreciate your help on this matter

REAL GMAT 03/31/2009 Q37\ V 27 - 540

Here are some of my MGMAT practice test analyses

MGMAT CAT Exam #6 3/28/2009 Q 42 \ V 30 - 590 67 %
MGMAT CAT Exam #5 3/22/2009 Q 41 \ V 32 - 600 70 %
MGMAT CAT Exam #4 3/28/2009 Q 44 \ V 29 - 600 67 %

I also used wrong approach when I was preparing for my GMAT.
My focus was on getting the correct answer rather than focusing on the method. I think it is important to use the correct method than just get the correct answer. I also do not have any sound strategy to work on my weaknesses may be this is the area where you could help me the most.

I am still weak on verbal section. I get trumped if I get tough RC.
On one of MGMAT test I received several CR questions in 700-800 range and I did not do well on those questions.

On Quant section I get trumped on tricky DS or tough probability question.

Here is my overall plan. Please comment on it.

1. Review all sections from OG10 (since, I exhaust most of OG11, MATH REVIEW AND VERBAL REVIEW) I will also review OG-11 material next week.

2. Work on verbal weaknesses (I do not have sound strategy for it)

On RC- I am going thro' each passage under 3 mts and creating outline. I am also trying to find out main purpose of the passage, authors attitude, and overall structure of the passage or any specific detail.

3. Quant questions from GMAT Focus

4. Practice tests (I don't try to take credit for repeated question. I try to solve them as if they were new questions)

MGMAT
VERITAS PREP
KNETOWN
GMAT PREP - II
KAPLAN
GMAT CLUB

I was refering to J2EE cats and also PMP.I scored above 90% on those exams.

Again, Thank you for your help.

Vijay
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by Stacey Koprince » Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:17 am
Okay, so your score dropped a little bit in both quant and verbal but nothing too severe. Also, you've done well on other official tests in the past without a big anxiety problem, so this bolsters the idea that you just had a bad experience and need to keep your skills up to get in there again and break a 600. I would like to see you dig in a bit more, though, and raise the practice scores a little bit to give yourself more of a margin for error the next time.

You're always going to get hard questions that you can't do - that's just how the test works. So when you "get trumped" by a really hard question, all you have to do is make sure you answer it without going over the time. It doesn't matter whether you get it right or wrong; just don't lose time because that will cost you other questions later on the test. If you're going for a 600, then the test will give you 650+ questions. You don't have to get them right in order to still get your score. (Same thing if you're going for a 700; it's going to give you some 750-level questions. You don't have to get those right either.)

So the first thing is just to change that mindset. If it's too hard, just get it wrong faster. :) (I'm joking... a little. You should still give an honest shot at any question. But you shouldn't spend any extra time on a question that you feel is too hard.)

There's also a lot you can do to identify your verbal weaknesses and make them better.

Here's a post with some ideas about RC: https://www.beatthegmat.com/verbal-strategy-t14035.html

Here's something else to try with both RC and CR:

Go back to arguments / passages you're already done from OG and go over them again with your notes from when you first did these.  Now that you've done the problems, checked your answers, and generally know how things were supposed to work, go back and look at (a) what you initially wrote down on your first read-through and (b) what your understanding of the argument / passage was before you started answering questions.  How well do (a) and (b) match what you knew of the information and questions after you'd done the questions and gone back to correct your answers and analyze everything?  Probably not very well.  Where are the disconnects?  Did you misunderstand the conclusion of the argument or the main point of the passage?  Or did you understand the conclusion / main point but fall into a trap when reading the answers to the question?  Did you misunderstand some detail in the argument / passage?  Or did you concentrate on the wrong detail?  Or did you examine and understand the right detail but fall into a trap when reading the answers?  Etc.  Basically, you need to figure out WHY you got something wrong. Then you can tackle whatever that is.

As you said, it's all about the method. You're not going to see these problems on the test, but you are going to see problems that test similar lines of reasoning and similar processes.

More questions to ask yourself as you review any verbal question:
- if you got it wrong, why? what tempted you to pick the wrong answer? why is it wrong anyway? what tempted you to eliminate the right answer? why is it right anyway?
- if you spent too much time, why? specifically, which part of the problem? did that extra time help? did that extra time hurt on a later problem? (if you spent more than 30sec over, the answer is yes, even if you got this problem right) how did that extra time hurt? specifically, where did you then not have enough time?
- if you spent too little time, why? were you rushing b/c you were behind? why were you behind; on which ones did you spend too much time? or did you think the problem was easy and you didn't need that much time? how often did you make mistakes on those "easy" problems on which you felt you didn't need full time? (On problems like that, you should make almost no mistakes - 95%+ accuracy. So if it's anything lower than that, you're hurting yourself by choosing to go fast when you think a problem is really easy.)

Oh, and obviously, if you're still struggling with any specific grammar rules, you need to study those. :)

Finally, I personally would not take a practice test more than once a week, nor would I ever recommend that to my students. Most of our learning comes from analyzing questions after we've tried them for the first time and figuring out how to apply the lessons we've learned to new-but-similar problems we'll see in the future. So, a lot more focus on really analyzing and picking apart these problems, not just on doing a bunch of new problems.
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by vijshinde29 » Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:50 am
Stacy,

Thanks for the advice.

I will study hard and try to get around 700 on practice tests so I can easily break into 600+ on real GMAT test.I am going to spend more time analyzing the method than just solving more problems.

Some time I spend more time on few problems and I have to rush at the end.I will make sure that on hard problem I am not spending more that 3 mts.

Again,Thank you for your help and support.

I will keep you posted on my progress and I hope to score 600+ on the real GMAT test.
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by Stacey Koprince » Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:58 am
Remember that the average time per problem is only 2 minutes. Generally speaking, it's a good idea to limit yourself to no more than 30 extra seconds on any problem. On most problems, that means a 2m30s limit; on SC, it means a 2m limit. And that's ONLY on problems that are hard but still within your ability to do. The idea is that you actually know you need a few extra seconds because, say, the entire long sentence is underlined (SC) or there are a few extra calculations to make (quant). But you still know exactly what you're doing; it's just that the problem itself is a little longer than usual.

On problems that are too hard for you, you really don't want to go over time at all. Spending an extra 30 seconds is not a good idea if you need it to figure out what to do.

So keep that in mind when choosing the (few!) times to spend extra time on a problem.
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