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Mind Block

by ils_1231 » Tue Mar 25, 2014 5:44 am
Hi,

This is my first post to the beatthegmat forum.

I have taken the Gmat 4 times:

450
460
460
470

I don't have the offical breakdowns at the moment, but what usually happens is that my verbal is relatively okay, but my math is terrible. I have thus far self-studied, taken a kaplan course, and then enlisted a private tutor. My tutor says that my biggest issue is myself and my head. In practice I can get the score that I need -- outside of practice tests, and timing myself I do even better-- but my test anxiety gets the best of me. On the Quant last time I could feel myself not answering questions and had a mind block.

I'm at wits end. I can't get the minimum score required for my programs -- it's low-- I only need a 550. I don't know what to do to raise my quant.

Any suggestions for test anxiety?
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by David@VeritasPrep » Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:20 am
I am going to break this into a number of posts to keep it manageable.
Any suggestions for test anxiety?
Just a few!!! This is one of my favorite topics, because there is so much potential to help people.

As I recently wrote to another student with issues in this direction, the GMAT is a test taken by people, and who you are in that test center is as important as what you know.
My tutor says that my biggest issue is myself and my head. In practice I can get the score that I need -- outside of practice tests, and timing myself I do even better-- but my test anxiety gets the best of me. On the Quant last time I could feel myself not answering questions and had a mind block.
What you have is something that I refer to as "stage fright." You can remember your lines in practice, but when the audience files in and the bright lights come on and the curtain goes up the pressure gets to you!

knowledge can help lessen anxiety

First, the simple stuff, remember that you are not on stage! There is a reason that certain actors have never done live theater. In the movies you get several takes - you do not have to be perfect. The GMAT is like the movies (and not just because there are cameras in the test center to prevent cheating). The truth is that on the GMAT you get as many takes as you need! You are living proof of this. You have taken the test 4 times and number 5 is on the way.

The GMAT is not the Olympics. I remember a runner in the London games who got tripped in the 800 meters (or some similar distance track event). She lay on the track pounding her fists and crying. I thought this was the most appropriate thing I have ever seen. The Olympics are cruel. Once every four years and if anything happens your dream is gone, maybe forever.

The GMAT can be cruel, but not on that scale. You can trip and fall on the GMAT and brush yourself off and get back in their a month later. I swear to you that if you had gone into that first ever GMAT exam that you took - the 450 score - and you had said, "this is only the first of five tries so it really does not matter" you would have scored higher than you did. Maybe over 550 and then I would be responding to someone else right now and you would have been done with the GMAT long ago!

People put too much into each individual GMAT test. Yes "the GMAT" as a whole matters, but each exam does not matter more than the $250 fee and another 31 days. If you told me that I could keep shooting for my dream and it would only cost me $250 and another month for each try I would say that is worth it. You know, my own biggest dream is to be able to really sing well and harmonize with my wife, who is a great singer. That dream is much more difficult to attain than a great GMAT score. Sadly, I think it may have to wait until my next lifetime.

The best plan is this: Try to get really nervous on your practice exams, then tell yourself that the actual exam is just one of many. When you take a practice exam have some reward tied to it. If you have generous relatives or parents or friends have them offer you something, but only if you get the necessary score on the practice test. If not, be generous and offer something to yourself. "Okay you can go to that movie, sporting event, concert, etc. but only if you get a 600 on this practice exam." Try to get the nerves into the practice test and learn to deal with them there.

continued...
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by David@VeritasPrep » Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:21 am
Has your tutor helped you understand what you need to do on the Quant section to get your score?

A 550 is roughly average on the exam so if you are at or above average on the Verbal you can afford to be a little below average on the Quant. Getting about 20 questions right could get you the score you need. It depends on the difficulty level of the questions, of course, but assuming that you are able to focus enough to get the "less difficult" questions right early on then you can miss nearly half the questions and still get above the score that you require.

Perhaps you should give yourself permission to "skip" or guess at a certain number of questions. I have used this technique before with students who had a certain score that they needed to obtain (as opposed to most students who simply want "the highest possible score.)"

Giving yourself permission, in fact requiring that you guess at something like 5 questions can give you a sense of security. Perhaps in the past when you have seen a question that looked impossible you froze up with that sense of dread. Well now you can just laugh to yourself (silently, please)! You can say "Wow, someone is going to have a tough time with this one - but it won't be me! I just gained another 2 minutes that I can use on other questions AND I get to skip this thing!"

Change you focus

Do not focus on the fact that you might be getting a question wrong. You will miss questions - that does not matter. What matters is getting questions right! This change in focus can make a big difference. If you can count to 20 you can probably get your score. By "count to 20" I mean start counting the questions that you took you really focused on and did a good job with and that you feel like you got right. If you can count to 20 of those you should be in good shape. You may miss a couple of questions that you counted as correct, but you will also likely get some questions right that you guess at - so it should balance out.

Remember, you have just one task. Get a reasonable number of questions right. See - knowledge can help to lessen fear!

Continued...
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by David@VeritasPrep » Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:24 am
Panic or Choking?
Now we come to an interesting distinction emphasized by Malcom Gladwell. His discussion can be found at https://gladwell.com/the-art-of-failure/

As Gladwell says "Panic, in this sense, is the opposite of choking. Choking is about thinking too much. Panic is about thinking too little. Choking is about loss of instinct. Panic is reversion to instinct. They may look the same, but they are worlds apart."

You say
my test anxiety gets the best of me. On the Quant last time I could feel myself not answering questions and had a mind block.
So it really does matter what you mean by "a mind block."

Panic

If it is panic that you are feeling you will tend to lose track of all of your techniques on the quant section, you will forget the formulas, you may even stare at the screen for a while and you will revert to whatever it is that you have learned most deeply.

For panicked swimmers what usually happens is a sort of instinctual "dog paddle" that is a desperate attempt to stay above water. This is the most inefficient use of energy and essentially does not take the swimmer anywhere (for example out of the rip current). Life guards are wary of panicked swimmers because such a person will drown a rescuer without even thinking about it.

What to do about panic on the GMAT

If this is you, if you are thinking too little and sort of reverting to a reptilian response to Quant questions, a kind of panicked grasping for anything familiar, then you need to get your brain engaged more (as compared to choking, which I will discuss in a moment, when you need to get your brain to do less "talking").

The #1 cure for panicking is confidence in your techniques. People are more likely to panic in a small boat out on the ocean than they are to panic in a cruise ship. Because they trust the cruise ship more - and the food is better.

If your techniques are not "idiot-proof." If you do not know exactly how to begin Quant problems EVERY TIME, then you set yourself up to panic.

There is a famous quote that goes "An amateur practices until he can do a thing right, a professional until he can't do it wrong." Imagine an NFL quarterback (or a soccer, rugby or cricket star if you prefer). That quarterback has very large very angry men trying to throw him to the ground and he knows that 70,000 people in the stadium are praying for that to happen.

So how do Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning ever complete a pass under those circumstances? Simple. They know what the steps are that they will follow, they trust their abilities, their teammates, and the equipment they are wearing. You just need to trust yourself, and your techniques.

Here is an article for you to read that should help you to look at your own techniques to make sure that they are reliable. In fighting panic, it is a tremendous help to know what you will be doing in the first 30 seconds of each question.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/10/ ... -handrails

Here is an article that will help you to understand that when you begin a problem by just staring at it panic may set in, but if you begin by "thinking with your pen" you can take control.

https://www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... f-the-gmat

And finally here is an article that can help you to figure out which questions you are going to want to guess on during the exam.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/04/ ... at-success

continued...
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by David@VeritasPrep » Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:27 am
Choking on the GMAT

"Choking" is the opposite of panic. Choking is something that occurs when you think too much. In the article cited above Gladwell gives the example of a tennis player who was about to win a major championship when she suddenly collapsed and started hitting everything into the net. The problem was not panic, it was not that she had ceased to think and was going on primal instinct, the problem is that she was thinking too much. Things that should have come naturally to her did not because she started to think too much about them. This does not work with a tennis swing or a basketball shot, the more you think the worse you will do!

But what about on the GMAT, this is not an athletic event, the GMAT is all about thinking. True, but the GMAT is about a certain kind of thinking - namely a sort of focused application to each problem one at a time.

Choking on the GMAT most often takes the form of negative self-talk, and self-doubt. The little voice inside you head says, "You are really blowing it today." "You might as well quit now, this is not going well." "You are so stupid." "How much time is left on the clock?" "You are behind on time, you have to go faster! Go faster! Come on now!"

Does any of that sound familiar? Can you imagine this actually being helpful? Well, it is not. That little voice, called by various people "The Inner Critic", "The Inner Roommate", and "The Inner Mother-in-law" is ready to have its say at the worst times. I have known people who were doing very well on the test basically collapse from self-doubt and negative self-talk.

So what to do with that "Inner Critic"? There are a few things to do to prevent this kind of choking - this classic "test anxiety."

1)Try to be in the present moment, not only during the GMAT but in life. People who are constantly thinking of the past and worrying about the future are more susceptible to the Inner Critic. Remember, the GMAT is one question at a time. The past questions are out of reach, and because the test is adaptive, future questions have literally not be chosen yet! Your only point of influence is this moment, this question. Try to live your life in the moment you are actually in - "the perpetual now"

Here is an article that can help you to stay in the now. It is called "The most important time is now."

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/07/ ... ime-is-now

2)If you do find that your Inner Critic is talking away - just notice it. Anytime you notice that voice in your head saying something negative just realize that it is not you. If that voice says, "You will never do this, you can't make it." Realize that you have the power to silence it. Turn that voice around and make that voice say "I love you, I accept you." That is the paradox of the Inner Critic - it is not "you" yet you can control it, but in order to control it you must first realize that it is not "you."

Here is an article to help you think about how to keep that Inner Critic quiet and what to do if it starts up during the exam. It is called "Laugh your way to success on the GMAT."

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/06/ ... n-the-gmat

3)Understand that the questions on the GMAT are not "problems." They are just items on a test. Opportunities for you to get a right answer. The only problems in the test center are those that the test-takers themselves bring in (in their minds).

Here is an article called "There is a solution to every problem on the GMAT"

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/10/ ... n-the-gmat
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by David@VeritasPrep » Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:33 am
Oh, and here is part of a response that I wrote to another student who wanted to know about "the mental side of the GMAT"

This part of the response has to do with lifestyle factors that help control anxiety.

Please add "sleep" to the list below. I am writing about sleep now and will publish that soon. It turns out that sleep is very effective in relieving stress, and lack of sleep (even just 1.5 hours less than normal) can cause stress and a decline in mental function.

What you can do in your life to help yourself focus and to be able to control anxiety and frustration.

The first article is the most direct. The title is "how physical exercise can help control your GMAT test anxiety." However, the article is about much more than anxiety, it is about emotional control including frustration and other negative thoughts. It turns out that exercise is the key to controlling your emotions.

https://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2013/12 ... t-anxiety/

This next article is the first one that I wrote about exercise. It explores the link between exercise and intelligence.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/05/ ... e-the-gmat

This article contains the newest research on exercise and the brain.

https://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2013/12 ... mat-score/

The second area of concern is multi-tasking. This must be avoided! In addition to the article below I have two more articles on multi-tasking coming out soon. One of the things in the new article is that - exactly the opposite of exercise - multi-tasking causes difficulty in controlling the emotions!

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/02/ ... asking-now


Okay that is it. I hope that gives you some things to go on!

David
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by [email protected] » Wed Mar 26, 2014 12:07 am
Hi ils_1231,

How have your GMAT scores compare to your practice CAT scores?

With your score goal, you'll have opportunities to pick up those missing points in either the Quant or Verbal sections. How well do you know the content involved (math rules and formulas, grammar rules, etc.)?

When you took your GMATs, did you end up having pacing problems? If so, then how many questions did you have to guess on at the end of each section?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
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by ils_1231 » Wed Mar 26, 2014 5:45 am
Wow -- thank you so much for your response.

Both of you.

To be honest my CAT scores aren't that great either -- 530, 550, 530

I am not a great test taker -- this is something that I am trying to stop telling myself, but at the same time I need to accept it. This acceptance helps in how I view myself and my intelligence. I don't know the raw score breakdown, but my last real CAT was 13% percentile for the quant and then 60% percentile for the verbal. Each time that I have taken a real CAT I have scored a 6 for the essay and then score in between a 4-6 for the IR.

I think I need to harness the "panic" that you mention in your articles -- I need to go over them and read them in detail.

It's funny that you mention exercise, because this is something that I have started to incorporate into my life. When I get stressed I tend to shut everything out, and for this past GMAT and recently I am doing better at exercising, moving, meditating, and investing in self care.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write these posts ( both of you).
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by David@VeritasPrep » Wed Mar 26, 2014 7:20 am
You will want to get those CAT scores up a little so that you feel confident going in to the actual exam. If you CAT is 550 you will feel like you cannot make any mistakes. If it is 580 - 600 then you will feel more comfortable.

Clearly Rich has asked you the right question here! 13% on the Quant means that you need to get your knowledge, your skills, and your approach together and bring that number up!

And that needs to happen on your practice tests. No sense going back in to take the real exam if you are not able to get above 550 on a practice test or two.
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