Everybody Relax!

I’ve seen it happen before, and it ain’t pretty. A GMAT student hits the books, learns the strategies, builds his confidence. He knows he knows what he needs to know. Then test day approaches. Pressure builds. Anxiety sets in. He becomes convinced that he’s not quite ready. So what does he do? He becomes a GMAT maniac, doing practice question after practice question until he sees GMAT in his sleep. While this may be normal for an instructor like myself, for a student it is a sign of a serious disorder-- testivitis. There is no surer way to sink your score than to fall prey to this terrifying disease. Other symptoms include: inability to have fun, obsessive fantasizing about test-day disasters, and sudden unexplained fixations on pocket protectors and Star Trek. But the worst effect of this disease isn’t apparent until the student is actually taking the test. After doing nothing but GMAT for days, suddenly he finds that is all he remembers: nothing. His mind is completely blank, and he struggles to get a mediocre score.

The good news is that there is a cure, and the cure is simple: relax. The day before the test, don’t do any new problems. Spend a short amount of time reviewing old questions and formulas, or – do nothing at all. Chill. Watch a movie. Go for a hike. Hang out with friends. Get a massage. Trust me. This works. Invariably the students who are the most relaxed perform the best on the test. In fact, take things a step further and plan out your studying so that you can taper off as the test gets closer, particularly for the last 2 or 3 days.

You may be skeptical about this suggestion. You may be thinking, Why should I slack off now that I’m so close to the finish line? I have lots of energy – I WANT to study more. I was always great at cramming for tests in school; why shouldn’t I go with what works? The answer: this test is different. The GMAT isn’t designed simply to test your knowledge; it’s also meant to test your ability to NOTICE things and to find creative solutions. If all you’ve been doing is studying for hours and days on end, your mind won’t be fresh on test day. Even if you FEEL alert on a conscious level, subconsciously you’ll be thinking, I’ve seen all this already. I’ve done all this already. I don’t really care about you, GMAT. I’m over you. Then mistakes happen. You’ll forget about negative values. You’ll assume all numbers are integers. You won’t be able to follow the logic of a Critical Reasoning stimulus. You’ll be trying just to get through it, to fit everything into easy boxes, and won’t be alert to the traps and tricks they try to throw at you.

Though it may seem counter-intuitive, relaxing as the test approaches is essential. If you’ve done things right, you’ve been studying for 2-3 months already. By now, you know what you’re gonna know. The most important thing at this stage is having the right mindset – relaxed and focused at the same time. Zen on, baby.