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Beating the GMAT when you've been diagnosed with ADHD

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Beating the GMAT when you've been diagnosed with ADHD

by pkaynj » Tue Feb 21, 2017 5:41 am
I've been diagnosed with ADHD since my sophomore year of college. I'm medicated and even took a neuropsychological evaluation recently to apply for extended time and an extra break for the exam. However, with less than 3 months until my test date (May 13), I'm freaking out.

I have a premium subscription to Magoosh and just completed the diagnostic test in the OG. I did way worse than I thought I would. I scored 34%. I honestly feel stupid.

It's been a little more than 2 years since I've graduated from undergrad and I retained almost nothing from my previous studies.

I'm reviewing all of the explanations now and find that if I thought things out a little better, I would've been able to solve some of them.

While I am following the 3 month study guide from Magoosh, I still feel overwhelmed.

Any tips for creating a schedule that I can stick to? What are some good study behaviors to create? Just as some background, I work your typical 9 to 5 and I'm allowed to work from home Mondays.

Thanks so much in advance!

TL;DR: Studying for GMAT when I have ADHD and I feel overwhelmed by everything. Looking for a simple schedule that I can stick to on a daily/weekly basis and good study behaviors to pick up on.
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by [email protected] » Tue Feb 21, 2017 9:14 am
Hi pkaynj,

From your post, it sounds like you might be early-on in your studies. Is that the case? Before I can offer you the specific advice that you're looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied?
2) How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

Goals:
3) What is your goal score?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

Study is normally best done in small 'chunks' throughout the week. It's also important to remember that you're not going to 'master' any individual topics in a day, so you have to respect that there will have to be repetition and review of everything that you learn. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
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by pkaynj » Tue Feb 21, 2017 9:29 am
[email protected] wrote:Hi pkaynj,

From your post, it sounds like you might be early-on in your studies. Is that the case? Before I can offer you the specific advice that you're looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied?
2) How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

Goals:
3) What is your goal score?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

Study is normally best done in small 'chunks' throughout the week. It's also important to remember that you're not going to 'master' any individual topics in a day, so you have to respect that there will have to be repetition and review of everything that you learn. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Hi Rich,

You're correct, I'm only less than a week into my studies.
For my score, are you talking about the diagnostic exam I took from using the code on the OG?

My goal score would be 600.
I finished undergrad with a 2.9 so I'm hoping that a better GMAT score will help me out during admissions.
Average scores for those applying to the part time MBA program is 583.

The application deadline is June 15 for the fall semester. However, it's looking more and more like I'll have to push back my plans to get into school for next year. I am planning on applying to Rutgers Newark as its location is most convenient between work and home.

Thanks,

Peter
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Tue Feb 21, 2017 2:26 pm
I have a premium subscription to Magoosh and just completed the diagnostic test in the OG. I did way worse than I thought I would. I scored 34%. I honestly feel stupid.
It is very important to note that the diagnostic test in the Official Guide isn't terribly useful. Because the actual test is computer adaptive, the raw number of questions you answer correctly is just one variable that the scoring algorithm will be taking into account. So start by taking an adaptive test so that you have a baseline - you may be closer to your goal score than you think. (You can find the official practice exams here: https://www.mba.com/us/the-gmat-exam/pre ... tware.aspx

Once you have that baseline, we can help you assemble a study plan.

(And as much as you can, treat this process as a game to master. Focus on small incremental gains.)
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by [email protected] » Tue Feb 21, 2017 9:14 pm
Hi pkaynj,

If you're just a week into your studies, then you have to acknowledge that this whole process will take time. You'll learn a lot in the coming months and improve your skills - but you have to stay calm and work through your studies in a diligent fashion. You're not going to master any of the concepts any time soon, so accept that you'll learn and hone your skills over time. "Review" is a big part of any organized study plan, so you should expect to revisit the concepts that you've learned over this past week.

1) Have you been granted 'accommodations' by GMAC for your Exam (and if you're waiting to hear back, when are you expected to hear back?)?

I was actually not talking about the Diagnostic Test in the OG (as that pencil-and-paper Exam does not properly 'mirror' what you'll face on Test Day. Since it sounds like you're just beginning your studies, then it would be a good idea to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT Test; you can download 2 for free from www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). That score will give us a good sense of your natural strengths and weaknesses and will help provide a basis for comparison as you continue to study. A FULL CAT takes about 4 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have those scores, you should report back here and we can talk through how best to proceed.

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Rich
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by Bara » Tue Feb 21, 2017 9:58 pm
Have you/had you worked with folks at your university to support your study efforts? What non-medical interventions do you engage in to help you get into the testing mindset ordinarily? Hypnosis, NLP and EFT are all very effective with ADHD.
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by pkaynj » Wed Feb 22, 2017 5:59 am
[email protected] wrote:Hi pkaynj,

If you're just a week into your studies, then you have to acknowledge that this whole process will take time. You'll learn a lot in the coming months and improve your skills - but you have to stay calm and work through your studies in a diligent fashion. You're not going to master any of the concepts any time soon, so accept that you'll learn and hone your skills over time. "Review" is a big part of any organized study plan, so you should expect to revisit the concepts that you've learned over this past week.

1) Have you been granted 'accommodations' by GMAC for your Exam (and if you're waiting to hear back, when are you expected to hear back?)?

I was actually not talking about the Diagnostic Test in the OG (as that pencil-and-paper Exam does not properly 'mirror' what you'll face on Test Day. Since it sounds like you're just beginning your studies, then it would be a good idea to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT Test; you can download 2 for free from www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). That score will give us a good sense of your natural strengths and weaknesses and will help provide a basis for comparison as you continue to study. A FULL CAT takes about 4 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have those scores, you should report back here and we can talk through how best to proceed.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Yes, I have been granted accommodations. I'll message back after completing the test this weekend. Thanks!
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by pkaynj » Wed Feb 22, 2017 6:05 am
Bara wrote:Have you/had you worked with folks at your university to support your study efforts? What non-medical interventions do you engage in to help you get into the testing mindset ordinarily? Hypnosis, NLP and EFT are all very effective with ADHD.
I've never worked with anyone at my undergrad school for help with ADHD.
I actually didn't even know at the time I could get testing accommodations because of my diagnosis so I got through all four years of my studies without any extra time or help.
I go to therapy sessions on a monthly basis.
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by pkaynj » Sat Feb 25, 2017 9:12 am
[email protected] wrote:Hi pkaynj,

If you're just a week into your studies, then you have to acknowledge that this whole process will take time. You'll learn a lot in the coming months and improve your skills - but you have to stay calm and work through your studies in a diligent fashion. You're not going to master any of the concepts any time soon, so accept that you'll learn and hone your skills over time. "Review" is a big part of any organized study plan, so you should expect to revisit the concepts that you've learned over this past week.

1) Have you been granted 'accommodations' by GMAC for your Exam (and if you're waiting to hear back, when are you expected to hear back?)?

I was actually not talking about the Diagnostic Test in the OG (as that pencil-and-paper Exam does not properly 'mirror' what you'll face on Test Day. Since it sounds like you're just beginning your studies, then it would be a good idea to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT Test; you can download 2 for free from www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). That score will give us a good sense of your natural strengths and weaknesses and will help provide a basis for comparison as you continue to study. A FULL CAT takes about 4 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have those scores, you should report back here and we can talk through how best to proceed.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Hi Rich,

I've received a score of 350 on the CAT.
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by [email protected] » Sat Feb 25, 2017 10:47 am
Hi Peter,

After taking each CAT, it's important to review the entire experience and try to define WHY you got questions wrong. While some products offer a formal process for that type of review (a Mistake Tracker or Error Log, for example), even if you don't have one of those you can still analyze your results in an organized fashion.

After reviewing each section, how many questions did you get wrong....
1) Because of a silly/little mistake?
2) Because there was some math/verbal that you just could not remember how to do?
3) Because the question was too hard?
4) Because you were low on time and had to guess?

With your score goal, it's important to note that you do NOT need to correctly answer ANY questions that you think are too hard or too weird - so the best choice you can make when dealing with those types of questions is the quickly 'dump' them (just take a guess and move on). By dumping those hard questions, you'll save lots of time (which you can then spend on the 'gettable' questions) and you'll reduce your overall stress levels. It's a tough concept for many Test Takers to accept, but it will play a key role in helping you achieve your score goal.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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