anxious before my third exam

[MoriofMay]

Dear Stacey,

I have taken twice exams during a month (this is the most stupid dicision I have made in my life!). Before my first exam, I got pretty good grades in mocks (almost all above 700). The actual grade of 650 in the exam shocked me ( I can't remember my grade in verbal, I got 50 in quant), and I cancled my grade without hesitation. I took the second exam after only two weeks, as I've said, this is the most stupid dicision I have made in my life. Unsurprisingly, I got only 670, and I reported the grade, feeling exhausted. I am going to take the third exam after about one-month rest.
I plan to take exam in two weeks and feel anxious. My questions are following:
1. there are few meterials that I haven't used during my preparation, so I have nothing new to practice. So I am not sure whether my improving accuracy is because my skills and ability have improved or just because I remember the answer unconciously(especially CR).
2. how should take advantage of used materials to improve( especially CR). I have no idea how to reuse the questions I have taken.
3. when I take mocks or exams, I can't concentrate myself on the questions all the time. Is there some tips for me to keep focused?

I am glad to meet this froum during my preparation. And I appreciate that I have learned a lot of things from you and Ron.
I hope you can help me out. Thanks in advance!

[MoriofMay]

Could anyone help me about above questions?
Thanks a lot

[StaceyKoprince]

Please remember to read the forum guidelines before posting. Please, please don't "bump" your own post. We respond to all posts in order, oldest first, and the date of your post is based on the date of the last post in the thread, not the first. If you bump your own post, you will wait longer for a response (as you did this time - you put yourself 3 days later in the queue).

First, 670 is a really good score! I know you want something higher, but give yourself credit for getting that far. You should feel really good about that.

I plan to take exam in two weeks and feel anxious.

You already acknowledged that you took the exam too quickly last time around. You're still feeling anxious this time around. Are you sure you want to take the test again in 2 weeks? You may want to give yourself more time.

For the anxiety and the concentration issues, try this:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... mat-score/

How are you actually studying from the practice problems that you've been doing? Have you been doing what this article describes:
http://tinyurl.com/2ndlevelofgmat

If not, start doing that immediately. This is how you're going to get more out of questions that you've already tried before. (From what you wrote, I'm guessing that you've been focused more on doing lots and lots of problems but not so much on really diving deep to analyze those problems in the way described in the above article. If that's the case, then you need to revise how you're studying.)

Once you've done that, you could revisit that problem in a few weeks and, if you still remember the answer, switch modes. Now, you want to articulate aloud the process for arriving at the correct answer (and, if verbal, the reasoning for eliminating incorrect answers). If you do this aloud, you'll "hear" whether you're really confident in your reasoning; if you're not, then you know there's still something to learn on this problem, and you go back to the 10 questions from the 2nd Level to learn more.

Alternatively, if you have a friend with whom you can study, then you two can practice explaining problems to each other in this way.

Also, what kind of timing problems are you having on the exam? (If your answer is that your timing is fine, then you're probably wrong and you need to figure out what your timing issues are. The vast, vast majority of people have timing issues, even if they're not aware of them.)

Here's the full analysis process that I recommend all students do:
First, read these two articles:
http://tinyurl.com/executivereasoning
http://tinyurl.com/2ndlevelofgmat

Think about how what you've been doing does and doesn't match up with that and how you may need to change your approach accordingly.

Then, use the below to analyze your most recent MPrep CATs (this should take you a minimum of 1 hour):
http://tinyurl.com/analyzeyourcats

Based on all of that, figure out your strengths and weaknesses as well as any ideas you have for what you think you should do. Then come back here and tell us; we'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Your analysis should include a discussion of your buckets - you'll understand what that means when you read the last article. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)

[MoriofMay]

Hi Stacey,
First of all, sorry for that I bumped my post. I am just too eager to be replied. And this will ever happened again,
Second, thanks for all the infomation you gave me. I red each article carefully, and learned much. I only meditate when I'm stressed out, but I never konw meditation can help me stay focused. I'll try it right now.
last, following is my analysis of one of my CATs. I am not sure that I get this done correctly. If there are any problems, or more infomation is needed, please let me know.

I took GMAT prep CAT two days ago, and I got 770, IR 8. I think the score is definitely inflated, bacause I have taken some questions, especially SC problem.
And I didn’t find the detailed time management information, so I use the CAT I did in Mgmat before my last exam. The score is 710.
1. I didn’t take AWA and IR. Enverthing else is strictly followed Gmat official testing guidelines.
I’m not sure this kind of practice will show realistic scoring level for me. I know I will be much more anxious in real exam, and I got another 770 in GMAT prep CAT before I got my score of 670.
2. Any strings of 4+ questions wrong?
In quant part(score 51), the answer is no.
In vebal part(score 36), the answer is Yes. I think the reason is that the last two questions are difficult(with about 50% estimate), and I spent too much time in ealier questions.
BTW, I am not sure what the %-ile Est. means, I guess it indicateds the difficulty.
3. “Cumulative Time” vs. “Target Cumulative Time”
In this attempt, the cumulative time lags behind target about 5-7minutes until last five questions. But situation has been improved now.
4. “Time” Column
The problem of mine is that I usually answer the question in a rush.
In quant part, it usually take me 40-50 minutes to finish in practice. And I am pretty confident of accuracy.In real exam, it may take me 60 minutes.
In verbal part, I can finish ahead of time about 2 – 5 minutes in usual practice. But in real exam, I finished the last question without careful thinking, because the time is running out.
In SC problem, I may spend 30 seconds narrowing the choices down to two, but that’s end, i.e. I can’t make decision even I spend more time. In most cases, the answer I didn’t choose is the right answer.
As for CR, when I met some problem I can’t make decision, I’ll spend more time rereading the stem to dig out something I ignored in my first reading. I know this is bad, and I’m trying to stay focus in first reading and learn to give up.

In this attempt, I spent too much time CR and RC. I remember I couldn’t focus on what I was reading, so I spent a lot of time to reread and understanding the topics.

That’s all my analysis on the CAT I did last time. Would you please give me some advice? Or should I give more information?

[StaceyKoprince]

I got 770, IR 8. I think the score is definitely inflated, bacause I have taken some questions, especially SC problem.

How many questions had you seen before? How did you handle them - did you get them all right? Or did you get any wrong on purpose? Did you answer them very quickly, or did you spend normal time?

If you only saw a couple, or if you did get some wrong on purpose and didn't go artificially fast (thereby giving yourself extra time on other questions), then your score may not be inflated very much.

If you saw a lot, if you got them all right, and if you did so very quickly, then your score could be inflated quite a bit.

Did the 710 CAT have question repeats? If not, and if you did the whole test (including essay and IR), then that's very good. Oh, wait - sorry, I just saw that you didn't do IR and essay. So the 710 test could also be artificially inflated. Although if you scored an 8 on the GMATPrep IR and you hadn't seen those questions before, then maybe you're okay.

Yes, as you point out, the anxiety factor is hard to replicate in practice. You know it's not the real thing. Use the meditation material to help you to try to manage that as much as possible during the real test.

Also, keep reminding yourself of what this article says:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -the-gmat/

In other words, do NOT try to do everything and don't get stressed out when you let stuff go. In fact, you SHOULD be letting stuff go - that means that you're mastering the test!!

Okay, so in sum, you score 50-51 on quant and you don't need all the time. The thing you want to watch out for there is rushing so much that you make careless mistakes. Get the points that you know how to get!

In verbal part, I can finish ahead of time about 2 – 5 minutes in usual practice. But in real exam, I finished the last question without careful thinking, because the time is running out.

There are likely two factors in play here, both tied to test anxiety. First, 3+ hours of anxiety = mentally fatiguing, and that's going to slow you down during verbal (the last section of the test). Second, anxiety can cause you to agonize back and forth on your weaker areas (verbal for you), and that of course takes extra time.

So the meditation piece is important, as is that "business mindset" article that I linked - to make sure that you're cutting yourself off when you should. On verbal in general, there are three broad scenarios:
- after two passes through the answers, you have 3+ answer choices left. This one's hard. Guess and move on.
- after two passes through the answers, you have 2 answer choices left. Compare those two directly...but only ONCE. Then pick and move on. Do NOT go back and forth multiple times.
- you have 1 answer left. Pick it.

I remember I couldn’t focus on what I was reading, so I spent a lot of time to reread and understanding the topics.

This is mental fatigue. (Well, some things are just hard to understand. But if this is happening repeatedly, it's mental fatigue.)

So back to the meditation and the business mindset - those are the two major themes for you. This is how you're going to get that last 30 or so points. If you are making better decisions earlier in the test, you will be using up less mental energy, so you will still have more left by the time you get later into the verbal section.

[MoriofMay]

Dear Stacey,
Thanks for helping out.

How many questions had you seen before? How did you handle them - did you get them all right? Or did you get any wrong on purpose? Did you answer them very quickly, or did you spend normal time?

I can't quite sure how many verbal questions I've seen before. I think I saw many SC problems, and one or two CR problem. For SC problem, I didin't remember the answer, and I can find out what is tested and where to pay attention to. I answered them correctly, almostly. I didn't get any wrong on purpose. For CR problem, I just know what to S/W the question, so I can get right answer quickly. However, I didn't spend extra time on other questions. But I can't deny that the plenty of time I left makes me feel less anxious and stressed.

For the 710 CAT, I didn't take IR (I intended to take it, but I clicked the buttom too quickly). I didn't see any question before, and I'm not satisfied about the score of quantity part.

Second, anxiety can cause you to agonize back and forth on your weaker areas (verbal for you), and that of course takes extra time.

I think you are right in this part. In exam, when I was stuck in a SC problem which I left only two choices and didn't know how to decide, and finally decided one and moved on, I just can't help thincking about the former question. This will never happened in practice.

I've read the arcticle, and learned something important for me. I'll keep meditating even the exam is over. Thank you so much for being so helpful and nice.
There are only noe week left, wish me luck!
Thanks again.

Mori

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm glad the articles were helpful.

Also, keep reminding yourself of this: you only need to answer about 60% of the questions correctly. If you narrow down to two answers, you have a 50% chance of getting it right even if you have no idea which one is the right answer.

In other words, narrowing down to 2 answers is a GREAT position to be in! Feel good about that position, not bad, even if you don't know what the answer is.

When you've narrowed to 2 on any verbal problem, compare the two directly against each other, but only do this once. If you have a hunch, pick it. If you don't, just pick one and move on. Do NOT go back and forth!

Good luck!!

[MoriofMay]

Thank you so much, Stacey!
I appreciate the encouragement and help you gave me. I got so much from Mgmat forum. I love you and Ron!
I'll try my best in this exam!
Thanks again!

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm so glad! And good luck - I hope it goes well!

[MoriofMay]

I'm so glad! And good luck - I hope it goes well!

Thank you Stacey. I have done the exam, and I got a 750 (Q51, V40)
Thanks again for the kindness and help!

[StaceyKoprince]

Wow! Congratulations - that's fantastic!! I hope you celebrated after.

Good luck with applications - let us know how it goes!