-
Target Test Prep 20% Off Flash Sale is on! Code: FLASH20
Redeem
Top 5 GMAT Anxieties, and How to Avoid Them
Written by Christina Yu.
No matter how prepared they are, all GMAT students have concerns going into test day. Here are some of the top anxieties about taking the GMAT -- and what you can do to address them.
1. You'll get thrown a curveball on test day
Youve got rates and probability down, sentence correction seems intuitive, and the essay is a matter of putting your hands on the keyboard. But maybe you have a peculiar inability to visualize spatial situations described in math problems. What do you do then, if question #4 on the quant section looks like a cross between a diagonal-of-a-cube problem andan Escher drawing? In some alternate universe, youre happily zipping toward the 700 you deserve, but now this one indecipherable question is standing in your way.
Prepare for a Non-Ideal Situation: Understand you wont get the perfect test on exam day. No matter how much you study, the real GMAT will somehow be different than your practice tests -- anti-climactic, weird, or just plain hard. So prepare for those stressful situations where you might have sunk 90 seconds into a question only to find that your answer doesnt match any of the choices. As our GMAT teacher Rich advises, every test-taker should know when to move on. Don't let a curveball question derail the rest of the section.
2. You'll mix up the protocol
In your quest for the perfect GMAT score, maybe youve developed some unorthodox test behaviors like reading the question aloud to yourself, pointing to the screen while doing a math problem (and underlining the occasional phrase with a marker), using the bathroom several times an hour, consulting the dictionary during reading comp, or going through reams of scratch paper. Youve told yourself to start prepping for the real thing, but how will you react when the stringent restrictions of exam day kick in?
Do It Right: Start following the official test center rules now. No dictionaries, notes, excessive breaks, phone calls, or music. As you get closer to exam day, your GMAT practice should start to look more and more like the real thing. You want to be pleasantly surprised when you get to the test center, not disappointed.
3. Your greatest weakness will be exposed
Your deepest fear is that the GMAT will draw your deficiencies into relief. Maybe you chose your undergraduate institution solely because it didnt require that you take English. Data Sufficiency you have down (those are awesome because you dont have to solve half the time) and Reading Comp you can deal with because the answers are right there in front of you (thank God vocab isnt an issue; words like demur and tincture refuse to stay put in your head). But what the heck is a participial phrase? And why, of all times, does this have to come back and haunt you?
Time to Face the Music: No way around this one: Attack your trouble areas now. Start by using practice tests to assess your strengths and weaknesses. Over time, you might realize they're not weaknesses at all. Some students struggle endlessly with writing English papers and yet ace grammar questions because they're precise and logical. GMAT performance is a matter of mastering the peculiar idiosyncrasies of the exam -- not necessarily the entire subject (Reading, Writing, Math) as you remember it from school.
4. You can't handle the stress
You know your stuff, but sometimes you cant perform. Under pressure, you nail permutations but the most basic conversion problems put your head in knots. Something about exponent rules also makes you dizzy when time is ticking. When do you add exponents again??
Yes, It Is A Stress Test: Stress is part of the point. Stress is to a test what pain is to athletics. The GMAT wouldnt be a test unless you were somehow required to perform, to channel your energy and make it happen. Understand that the GMAT involves physical and mental endurance, so eat and sleep as if youre prepping your body for an athletic competition.
Make sure to grasp the basics -- like the rules for rate problems, right triangles, and parallel lines -- because pressure has a way of heightening any fuzziness in your general knowledge. Also, the difficult problems can sometimes involve several layers of understanding. For instance, even if you're not looking at a textbook "conversion" question, you might need to convert between units to get to the answer. To avoid getting stumped, make sure every math and verbal rule is second nature to you but that you also understand the rules actively and thoroughly to avoid sudden memory blips.
5. You won't get the score you're supposed to
Maybe you think you dont have time for prep, or people assume you dont need it. You have a 3.7 from college, your boss considers you his protege, and your essays are so polished they reflect light. Anyway, youve heard the GMAT is just like the SAT in terms of percentile and scoring. Your friends assure you its about how you score in relation to others. Since you rocked the SAT (760 on both math and verbal), that means you should get a 760 (give or take 30 points) on the GMAT, right?You cant be bothered by the tiny fact that.... um, you havent actually taken it yet.
Except You Do Have To Take it (If You Want An MBA): Yes, youre awesome, and youre busy, but you need this score to round-out your profile. A stellar GPA and top-notch SAT score donot necessarily mean that you'll ace the GMAT on your first go-round. Don't count on coasting through the test; shift your priorities so that you have time to prep. You can thank yourself later - when you're at the b-school of your dreams.
Recent Articles
Archive
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009