My Turn! 610 to 700, don't let anxiety get in the way!

Just got back from the test center with a 700 (90%) 46 (76%) / 40 (89%) and first I can't tell you how relieved I am. I'm more then satisfied with the score and can't speak enough about how good it feels to have this behind me.

I am a pretty quiet follower of the board, especially the inspirational stories that are posted to the 'I Just Beat the Gmat' section, so I'm happy to be a contributor. Here is my debrief...

First, here are the official scores leading up to today:

April 610 35/40 (here is my post from then https://www.beatthegmat.com/2nd-time-is- ... tml#256178)
August 620 41/35 (low point)
September 700 46/40!

On the surface, todays result looks tremendous compared to where I was. But really, I had been consistently scoring 680-720 on my practice tests ever since the mid-summer. When I took the test in August, I truly thought I would be up in the 700 range. But come test day, I was so nervous I just wasn't myself. I was nervous because I thought it was my last chance to get into a top business school. I was nervous because I had told so many people I was going to retake the test and get a better score. I was nervous because so much of my confidence had been taken away after the first test and I didn't want it to happen again.

So what happened? All that nervousness resulted in a score that was 10 points higher after four long months of studying. So I spent the last month in a pretty sad state, making 'back-up' plans for what I would do next. But I told myself I would take the test one more time since I had nothing to lose (besides another $250).

So armed with this mentality, I had a much different approach. I barely studied in the month off. I had been getting practice scores in the 680-720 range leading up to my 620, so I knew I could do it. I took two gmac practice tests this week (720/690), including one the night before. In hindsight, the night before test seemed to be a good strategy because my head was fully prepared for what four hours of testing felt like.

As for today (test day), I woke up and didn't do any practice questions. I had breakfast, read the paper and really didn't talk to anyone or give the test much thought. I knew that worrying about it would do NOTHING for me so I didn't let ANY nervous thoughts into my brain. I strolled into the exam center relaxed and ready to give it one last shot.... and that mentality was all I needed to get to where I needed to be.

So if I can add one thing to this board I would say, do NOT let yourself get very nervous on test day. Hyping yourself up or worrying about it does nothing for you. If your practice scores have been consistent, then you'll be able to pull it off on test day if you just RELAX and do it one more time. Obviously this is easier said then done (it took me 3 tries), but definitely something to consider if you're where I was after test two.

Thank you to all the contributors in this section. There is so much inspirational content here that was critical throughout the process.

Best of luck to everyone!

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