Pardon the psychological thriller approach to what I imagine will be a long post, but my hope is that by starting at the end of my story, you'll be able to fully understand why I could never recommend taking the approach to the GMAT that I did but nonetheless appreciate the significant lessons to be learned from it. Please know that while a lot of this might seem painfully self-aggrandizing, I solemnly swear that there is an "ah-ha" waiting for you at the end.
The Summary I Wouldn't Take Notes On
October 31, 2012: 740 (Q47/V45)
I walked out of the testing center screaming my face off. I was thrilled. More importantly, I felt utterly vindicated in deciding to take the GMAT for a third time.
October 30, 2012: Did about 20 practice problems around 7:30 at night to get in at least a semi-GMAT state of mind. Had Chinese and a glass of wine for dinner at my girlfriend's apartment. Returned to my apartment to take my dog for a walk at about 10:30. Came inside, had a couple beers and played video games for a bit. Ended up going to bed at about 1:00 a.m. My test was in seven hours (I was planning on waking up in about 5 1/2 hours so I could take my dog for a walk and eat breakfast).
August 30, 2012 to October 29, 2012: Worked. Started putting business applications together. Attended MBA and business school events. Partied like I'm still college. (See--I'm not following GMAT grammar rules. Stop taking notes.). I really mean that: I went out probably three nights a week between the beginning of September and today and definitely went out on both Friday and Saturday nights the weekend before the GMAT. I actually dressed up like a bottle of ketchup on Saturday.
Things I did not do whatsoever during this time period: study.
August 29, 2012: GMAT #2. Scored a 700 (Q47/V40). Ouch. (See GMAT #1 for an explanation of "ouch").
June 17, 2012 to August 28, 2012: Studied my arse off for a second GMAT. I made a brand new set of flashcards. Reviewed all the study guides I had. Took more practice tests. Kept a very detailed account of my progress, and you better believe I was scoring 760-770 on just about every practice test. I was in a GMAT groove.
In a groove, as it was, until the week just before my second GMAT.
To make a long story short: I had a very heated argument with my parents, broke up with my girlfriend, and was losing sleep over both. I was extremely stressed. And because I was stressed, I felt like I needed to double down on my studying and really get a hold on my timing strategy to keep my confidence high going into test day. I took a few more practice tests and was doing quite a bit of studying at this point--probably 30, 40 practice questions a day in addition to the practice tests.
Surprise: I went to the testing center on the 29th feeling absolutely burnt out. I felt like I was doing okay on quant (ended up with a 47, decent I suppose but not great), but the verbal--my true forte--seemed incredibly, almost unnaturally difficult.
I clicked through to my score. I was absolutely crushed.
May 24, 2012 to June 16, 2012: Worked and went on a lot of weekend vacations. An absurdly enjoyable three weeks of my life.
May 23, 2012: GMAT #1. 720 (Q43/V46).
Got next to no sleep the night before. Kept waking up after having the "Oops, I'm late," or "Oops, I forgot to go" dreams (nightmares I guess). Felt like I really struggled through quant and would have to do superbly on verbal to come out with a 700+. Turns out I was right.
The verbal was a complete blur for me. I don't take notes on the verbal section--I just let my intuition guide me. As a caveat, I'm a law school graduate and political science undergrad who taught English in China. I should be scoring in the 99th percentile no matter what, so you can imagine how frustrating a 90th percentile verbal score was.
The reason I mention that verbal was a complete blur was because it almost seemed like my mind was "turned off"--like I wasn't thinking. I was laboring over what I knew was an incorrect answer to the last quant question, feeling almost resigned to a bad score.
But as things turned out, this was an absolutely excellent feeling to have. Why is this the case, you might ask? Because at that point, I just didn't care.
I stopped worrying and as a result my natural ability took charge. This is precisely the same approach that I took on my third test.
Thus, my story ultimately is ultimately one of stress management. I did not study at all in between my second and third GMAT exam for one simple reason: I had already learned all the skills necessary to take the GMAT and memorized virtually every concept that the GMAT tests. Between March 2012 and my second GMAT, I probably put in about 500 hours of studying. For those of you who have taken an economics course, I'll just say this: "law of diminishing returns."
What exactly was I going to gain from studying an additional 100-200 hours between G2 and G3? Nothing. If I had continued studying in between G2 and G3, I would have seen a similarly negative result the third time around.
The one thing I fear that most people taking the GMAT underestimate, and often utterly fail to prepare for, is stress. Think of it this way: are you more likely to hit a home run in the 3rd inning of a slow pitch softball game or in the bottom of the 9th, two on, two out, 3-2 count, down 3 runs in game 7 of the world series playing for the Yankees at Fenway Park?
I legitimately believe a lot of people freak themselves out of a good score on the GMAT. They worry, beat themselves up over wrong answers, and are completely unable to let go of questions they simply will not get right.
But more than anything, people's stress and energy levels tend to travel in polar opposite directions as test day approaches. Most of us seek to validate the notion that we are going to do well on test day (understandably so given the time, energy, and money we put into something like the GMAT), and so we ramp up our study habits when in fact we should be winding them down. We get less sleep when we should be getting more (or at least the same number of hours we have been). We are more prone to frustration with friends and family for what we might see as a lack of empathy on their part. Ironically, we sap ourselves of all the energy we need on test day by working to convince ourselves that we will do well on test day.
So what was my solution to this conundrum? Treat the GMAT as if it didn't even exist.
I went about my regular routine and completely avoided studying for the GMAT. I honestly didn't even start thinking about it until I got my reminder e-mail about a week before. I didn't tell anyone I was taking it a third time because I knew that all the well-wishing and "do you feel ready?" noise would have bumped up my stress. What this "strategy" ultimately did for me was knock down all the artifical barriers between pen and paper (if you will).
Once you get over the GMAT, beating it becomes a much less daunting task. The biggest impediment to a good GMAT score is not a lack of intellectual ability but an abundance of unmanaged, unmitigated stress.
I'm not advocating that you spend hours searching for that zen state of mind, and I'm definitely not advocating that you avoid studying prior to taking the GMAT. The simple facts are that you will likely never find the former and you will likely bomb the GMAT by doing the latter. But all the studying in the world cannot adequately compensate for being completely burnt out like I was before taking the test the second time around. My energy was in the ground while my stress was through the roof. This is a deadly combination that is easily avoided by engaging in a little stress management.
For me, stress management involved living my normal life (pardon the ego): work, video games, college-esque drinking on weekends, walking my dog at the park, playing golf, watching college football, and so on and so on. I realize that this all sounds very, well, cocky. I don't mean it to be (although I suppose most cocky people don't). I recognize that not everyone has $750 to blow on three standardized tests and not everyone has the time to live so leisurely (translation: not everyone is as immature as I am).
But the lesson is clear: stress management is at least as valuable as studying. I'd bet the farm that achieving minimal stress levels is worth a solid 60-80 points on the GMAT. In any case, there is an inverse correlation between stress and test scores that is absolutely undeniable.
My suggestion: live your normal life. Have fun and enjoy all the things you usually enjoy.
I've seen a lot of posts in this particular forum where people argue vociferously for the dedicated-student approach. I strongly disagree with this approach. This is not to say that I discourage studying for the GMAT--I don't. I'm also not saying you should be out drinking every weekend like you're still a junior in college--you (probably) shouldn't be. And I'm definitely not recommending that you wing the GMAT--it might seem like I did, but I didn't. I studied very diligently last spring and perhaps too diligently last summer. I had a regimented study schedule prior to the first test that fit my lifestyle, was extremely well-organized, and was very effective for me. But you will hit a point of diminishing returns, and you will hit that point very, very quickly if you study too much, too hard, and make too many sacrifices. I made a number of sacrifices the first time around on top of the time I had already given up to study for law school finals (my last exams were two weeks before I took the GMAT).
But if you put the GMAT on a pedestal, how can you possibly avoid being stressed on test day and the days leading up to it?
You can't. And you won't. I guarantee it.
If you feel the need to study all the time, that really is okay, but at the point you feel like you are "gambling to win back what you lost at the blackjack table," you absolutely must shelve the study guides. In other words, if after studying for three hours you still seem stuck on one type of problem, don't spend another three hours trying to fix it. It's simply not worth it. (In reality, you're worse off for doing so). At that point, you're better off cracking open a beer and watching anything that isn't reality television. And if you truly feel you need to make some serious lifestyle changes in the time leading up to the GMAT (e.g., not go out on weekends), be willing to rescind those changes if you feel like the GMAT is driving you crazy or keeping you from friends and family. It absolutely should not do either of these things.
Here is my very statistically significant recap of the correlation between stress and test scores:
GMAT #1 (720): Stress = Moderate
GMAT #2 (700): Stress = High
GMAT #3 (740): Stress = None
Again, I'm not suggesting you will get a 740 on the GMAT specifically by not studying. But never forget that you already have everything it takes to succeed on the GMAT--and more. If you feel like you're struggling, it's because your ability is pinned down under the weight of your stress.
Other takeaways:
Business schools don't care about your preparation for the GMAT. Be economical with your study habits: past a certain point, the time and energy costs incurred by studying for one more hour vastly exceed any benefit derived. Going out with friends, watching a movie, playing with your dog--anything that brings you pleasure, really--are just as beneficial to your GMAT prep as studying because they help minimize stress. Of course, be economical with your social habits as well!
Avoid major life changes or events in the week or so prior to the GMAT.
Stress is a silent killer. You won't know what it's doing to you until it's too late--take steps to minimize it now. To quote Carter Pewterschmidt from Family Guy: not after breakfast, not after lunch, not after CSI, but NOW.
Play the GMAT like it's a game of slow pitch softball.
The bottom line: lowering stress raises your score. Stress took me down 20 points. Getting rid of stress sent my score 40 points in the right direction.
I loathe cheesy one-liners (especially ones that rhyme), but this one is worth remembering:
Drop your stress, do your best.
The Summary I Wouldn't Take Notes On
October 31, 2012: 740 (Q47/V45)
I walked out of the testing center screaming my face off. I was thrilled. More importantly, I felt utterly vindicated in deciding to take the GMAT for a third time.
October 30, 2012: Did about 20 practice problems around 7:30 at night to get in at least a semi-GMAT state of mind. Had Chinese and a glass of wine for dinner at my girlfriend's apartment. Returned to my apartment to take my dog for a walk at about 10:30. Came inside, had a couple beers and played video games for a bit. Ended up going to bed at about 1:00 a.m. My test was in seven hours (I was planning on waking up in about 5 1/2 hours so I could take my dog for a walk and eat breakfast).
August 30, 2012 to October 29, 2012: Worked. Started putting business applications together. Attended MBA and business school events. Partied like I'm still college. (See--I'm not following GMAT grammar rules. Stop taking notes.). I really mean that: I went out probably three nights a week between the beginning of September and today and definitely went out on both Friday and Saturday nights the weekend before the GMAT. I actually dressed up like a bottle of ketchup on Saturday.
Things I did not do whatsoever during this time period: study.
August 29, 2012: GMAT #2. Scored a 700 (Q47/V40). Ouch. (See GMAT #1 for an explanation of "ouch").
June 17, 2012 to August 28, 2012: Studied my arse off for a second GMAT. I made a brand new set of flashcards. Reviewed all the study guides I had. Took more practice tests. Kept a very detailed account of my progress, and you better believe I was scoring 760-770 on just about every practice test. I was in a GMAT groove.
In a groove, as it was, until the week just before my second GMAT.
To make a long story short: I had a very heated argument with my parents, broke up with my girlfriend, and was losing sleep over both. I was extremely stressed. And because I was stressed, I felt like I needed to double down on my studying and really get a hold on my timing strategy to keep my confidence high going into test day. I took a few more practice tests and was doing quite a bit of studying at this point--probably 30, 40 practice questions a day in addition to the practice tests.
Surprise: I went to the testing center on the 29th feeling absolutely burnt out. I felt like I was doing okay on quant (ended up with a 47, decent I suppose but not great), but the verbal--my true forte--seemed incredibly, almost unnaturally difficult.
I clicked through to my score. I was absolutely crushed.
May 24, 2012 to June 16, 2012: Worked and went on a lot of weekend vacations. An absurdly enjoyable three weeks of my life.
May 23, 2012: GMAT #1. 720 (Q43/V46).
Got next to no sleep the night before. Kept waking up after having the "Oops, I'm late," or "Oops, I forgot to go" dreams (nightmares I guess). Felt like I really struggled through quant and would have to do superbly on verbal to come out with a 700+. Turns out I was right.
The verbal was a complete blur for me. I don't take notes on the verbal section--I just let my intuition guide me. As a caveat, I'm a law school graduate and political science undergrad who taught English in China. I should be scoring in the 99th percentile no matter what, so you can imagine how frustrating a 90th percentile verbal score was.
The reason I mention that verbal was a complete blur was because it almost seemed like my mind was "turned off"--like I wasn't thinking. I was laboring over what I knew was an incorrect answer to the last quant question, feeling almost resigned to a bad score.
But as things turned out, this was an absolutely excellent feeling to have. Why is this the case, you might ask? Because at that point, I just didn't care.
I stopped worrying and as a result my natural ability took charge. This is precisely the same approach that I took on my third test.
Thus, my story ultimately is ultimately one of stress management. I did not study at all in between my second and third GMAT exam for one simple reason: I had already learned all the skills necessary to take the GMAT and memorized virtually every concept that the GMAT tests. Between March 2012 and my second GMAT, I probably put in about 500 hours of studying. For those of you who have taken an economics course, I'll just say this: "law of diminishing returns."
What exactly was I going to gain from studying an additional 100-200 hours between G2 and G3? Nothing. If I had continued studying in between G2 and G3, I would have seen a similarly negative result the third time around.
The one thing I fear that most people taking the GMAT underestimate, and often utterly fail to prepare for, is stress. Think of it this way: are you more likely to hit a home run in the 3rd inning of a slow pitch softball game or in the bottom of the 9th, two on, two out, 3-2 count, down 3 runs in game 7 of the world series playing for the Yankees at Fenway Park?
I legitimately believe a lot of people freak themselves out of a good score on the GMAT. They worry, beat themselves up over wrong answers, and are completely unable to let go of questions they simply will not get right.
But more than anything, people's stress and energy levels tend to travel in polar opposite directions as test day approaches. Most of us seek to validate the notion that we are going to do well on test day (understandably so given the time, energy, and money we put into something like the GMAT), and so we ramp up our study habits when in fact we should be winding them down. We get less sleep when we should be getting more (or at least the same number of hours we have been). We are more prone to frustration with friends and family for what we might see as a lack of empathy on their part. Ironically, we sap ourselves of all the energy we need on test day by working to convince ourselves that we will do well on test day.
So what was my solution to this conundrum? Treat the GMAT as if it didn't even exist.
I went about my regular routine and completely avoided studying for the GMAT. I honestly didn't even start thinking about it until I got my reminder e-mail about a week before. I didn't tell anyone I was taking it a third time because I knew that all the well-wishing and "do you feel ready?" noise would have bumped up my stress. What this "strategy" ultimately did for me was knock down all the artifical barriers between pen and paper (if you will).
Once you get over the GMAT, beating it becomes a much less daunting task. The biggest impediment to a good GMAT score is not a lack of intellectual ability but an abundance of unmanaged, unmitigated stress.
I'm not advocating that you spend hours searching for that zen state of mind, and I'm definitely not advocating that you avoid studying prior to taking the GMAT. The simple facts are that you will likely never find the former and you will likely bomb the GMAT by doing the latter. But all the studying in the world cannot adequately compensate for being completely burnt out like I was before taking the test the second time around. My energy was in the ground while my stress was through the roof. This is a deadly combination that is easily avoided by engaging in a little stress management.
For me, stress management involved living my normal life (pardon the ego): work, video games, college-esque drinking on weekends, walking my dog at the park, playing golf, watching college football, and so on and so on. I realize that this all sounds very, well, cocky. I don't mean it to be (although I suppose most cocky people don't). I recognize that not everyone has $750 to blow on three standardized tests and not everyone has the time to live so leisurely (translation: not everyone is as immature as I am).
But the lesson is clear: stress management is at least as valuable as studying. I'd bet the farm that achieving minimal stress levels is worth a solid 60-80 points on the GMAT. In any case, there is an inverse correlation between stress and test scores that is absolutely undeniable.
My suggestion: live your normal life. Have fun and enjoy all the things you usually enjoy.
I've seen a lot of posts in this particular forum where people argue vociferously for the dedicated-student approach. I strongly disagree with this approach. This is not to say that I discourage studying for the GMAT--I don't. I'm also not saying you should be out drinking every weekend like you're still a junior in college--you (probably) shouldn't be. And I'm definitely not recommending that you wing the GMAT--it might seem like I did, but I didn't. I studied very diligently last spring and perhaps too diligently last summer. I had a regimented study schedule prior to the first test that fit my lifestyle, was extremely well-organized, and was very effective for me. But you will hit a point of diminishing returns, and you will hit that point very, very quickly if you study too much, too hard, and make too many sacrifices. I made a number of sacrifices the first time around on top of the time I had already given up to study for law school finals (my last exams were two weeks before I took the GMAT).
But if you put the GMAT on a pedestal, how can you possibly avoid being stressed on test day and the days leading up to it?
You can't. And you won't. I guarantee it.
If you feel the need to study all the time, that really is okay, but at the point you feel like you are "gambling to win back what you lost at the blackjack table," you absolutely must shelve the study guides. In other words, if after studying for three hours you still seem stuck on one type of problem, don't spend another three hours trying to fix it. It's simply not worth it. (In reality, you're worse off for doing so). At that point, you're better off cracking open a beer and watching anything that isn't reality television. And if you truly feel you need to make some serious lifestyle changes in the time leading up to the GMAT (e.g., not go out on weekends), be willing to rescind those changes if you feel like the GMAT is driving you crazy or keeping you from friends and family. It absolutely should not do either of these things.
Here is my very statistically significant recap of the correlation between stress and test scores:
GMAT #1 (720): Stress = Moderate
GMAT #2 (700): Stress = High
GMAT #3 (740): Stress = None
Again, I'm not suggesting you will get a 740 on the GMAT specifically by not studying. But never forget that you already have everything it takes to succeed on the GMAT--and more. If you feel like you're struggling, it's because your ability is pinned down under the weight of your stress.
Other takeaways:
Business schools don't care about your preparation for the GMAT. Be economical with your study habits: past a certain point, the time and energy costs incurred by studying for one more hour vastly exceed any benefit derived. Going out with friends, watching a movie, playing with your dog--anything that brings you pleasure, really--are just as beneficial to your GMAT prep as studying because they help minimize stress. Of course, be economical with your social habits as well!
Avoid major life changes or events in the week or so prior to the GMAT.
Stress is a silent killer. You won't know what it's doing to you until it's too late--take steps to minimize it now. To quote Carter Pewterschmidt from Family Guy: not after breakfast, not after lunch, not after CSI, but NOW.
Play the GMAT like it's a game of slow pitch softball.
The bottom line: lowering stress raises your score. Stress took me down 20 points. Getting rid of stress sent my score 40 points in the right direction.
I loathe cheesy one-liners (especially ones that rhyme), but this one is worth remembering:
Drop your stress, do your best.
