Students looking forward to getting admission into top B-schools are plagued by several doubts and confusions both about the GMAT test and their subsequent applications. Despite giving their best to studying the intricacies of the test and practicing mock tests, students often fall prey to stress and commit blunders on the exam day that wash out all the labor and planning that was put into the preparation.
A good training course is one that trains test takers to acquire not only academic prowess but also test taking skills. Such a course, imparted by an experienced faculty, is what test takers should seek to find. Good mentors are the single most effective tool for taking on the GMAT. When a trained faculty gives you tried and tested tips, doubts vanish and things go smooth!
Here are the some tips that trainers should focus on inculcating in test takers.
A good training course is one that trains test takers to acquire not only academic prowess but also test taking skills. Such a course, imparted by an experienced faculty, is what test takers should seek to find. Good mentors are the single most effective tool for taking on the GMAT. When a trained faculty gives you tried and tested tips, doubts vanish and things go smooth!
Here are the some tips that trainers should focus on inculcating in test takers.
1. Focus on getting the question in front of you right.
When you are writing the GMAT test, it is no use spending your time and energy in guessing the difficulty level of the question. Some students tend to do this; they simply waste time in trying to determine how difficult the question is and contemplate the loss or gain involved. This is very clearly a futile effort and a time consuming one too. Besides, it doesn’t really help and increases anxiety levels.
So, the tip here is to simply focus on the question in terms of doing it right. Don’t worry if the question looks difficult or terrifies you; simply be sure to give your BEST answer for it! And remember, an odd wrong answer releases the presure off the test! It acts as a safety valve and stops your questions level from spiralling out of control. In fact, when a test taker keeps doing all the questions right he can sense the difficulty level of the questions rising and becoming unmanageable. So relax and do not punish yourself to get everything right.
2. Pay equal attention to each section on the test
There are students who are really good at certain sections; they are confident about attempting some questions but dread handling others. If you are one of these students, it’s time to change the way you approach the test. Start practicing those sections more where your “FEAR FACTOR” is working on you!
Remember – speeding through the sections or trying to skip out certain questions or simply clicking through the sections, just to do better in that particular section in which you’re comfortable will reflect in your score. Doing your best in every section will yield an impressive score sheet that will have a better impact on your application’s competitiveness.
So, the tip here is – do not speed through portions of the test just to do well in your favourite sections. Spend equal time in dealing with each of the sections and do not write the test with any biases.
3. Start practicing to improve your pace for finishing the exam on time.
At the start of GMAT preparation, it is common to aim at just gathering as much information about the test as possible and on getting familiar with the contents of each section of the test but not on improving your skills and acquiring the right attitude for the exam. However, with time it becomes important that you start focusing on cultivating skills, attitude and pace. If you aren’t fast enough to handle the questions on your test, you’ll not be able to finish the test on time, which will obviously lower your scores. It is fine to understand the question types and practice to handle them for a while but on the long run especially when the D-DAY – the test - is near, say a month away, it is always advisable to focus on improving your pace. This is considerably acquired through knowledge, exposure to question types, and being resourceful.
The tip here is – do not spend a whole lot of time in trying to understand a particular question in case you get stuck on it during the test. It is better to take educated guesses and move on to questions that can be cracked quickly and that can boost your scores. In other words, avoid getting into the common ego trap! Do not insist to yourself that a particular question is not beyond you; there are questions on the GMAT that can be really tricky even for the most adept test taker.
On a happier note, here’s some good news for you - the GMAT exam works on an adaptive algorithm; so, even if you guess wrong, it will adjust accordingly!
Happy and productive learning!
