I was just browsing this Forum and ran into your post(s). You guys are getting together and talking about a common problem, which I do not share. However, I thought it might be useful to share an outsider's perspective, with the hope that it might help.
One thing that strikes me in all of the info on this forum, is that you can get swamped easily. There is a lot to absorb here, however, even after a short time on here I have noticed some trends of the top performers.
Each one of those top performer's focuses on OG and sometimes Kaplan. Fine. They tend to review ALL the answers that they got right and especially the ones that they got wrong in detail. Fine. They also tend to study for something in the range of 2-3 hours per day, and 4-5 hours per day on the weekends, for about 2-3 months on average I would say. FINE!
Well, these are just pretest strategies, that work for incredibly confident standardized test takers and/or high achievers who may not start out strong, but do gain the confidence during the study process itself, and end up scoring well. So clearly, there is an element that is key for most of these top performers that is not directly addressed for the most part. And this is usually true of many top performers in any field.
I guess what it boils down to is one word: CONFIDENCE. Once you get hammered by the GMAT a few times (eg. 5 times!), then you are bound to form patterns of thought and behavior that reinforce the failures. What needs to happen is a sort of reconditioning.
Embedded in the hardwire of our brains are unconscious patterns and associations that may very well be sabotaging the intentions of our conscious minds. I propose that some tools outside of these study forums may be more useful than any study techniques for particular individuals unable to break cycles. Our schools teach us that learning is a process of reinforcement and rote memory, but we need to start looking at learning in a different way.
Our brains process information differently than a computer does. We are open systems that must learn adapt to new inputs in order to deal with environmental changes. We are forced under these circumstances to build new neural pathways, to bypass old blockages.
So sometimes we need new tools, outside of the norm. The tools of which I speak could include any of the following: self-hypnosis, visualization, meditation, brainwave entrainment (very useful), and many other tools. So guys, I suggest having a look at what's out there besides OG and Kaplan, and follow-the-leader methodologies, as useful as they have proved to be for some individuals.
)
