Four Hours of Stress and Anxiety Jul 29 '03 (Updated Jan 28 '06)    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet The Bottom Line The GMAT is a stressful experience, but proper preparation can go a long way toward improving your score and easing some of the tension. The GMAT, or Graduate Management Admissions Test, is a standardized test that is a prerequisite for admission to most graduate level business schools. This test, once administered on paper in a large room full of test takers, is now conducted on a computer in a testing center with just a handful of other people present. Proper preparation for the GMAT is essential if a prospective student has lofty goals for higher education admission. Let’s take a look at this test and how best to study before enduring the four- hour test- taking experience. Components of the GMAT Test: First, let’s discuss in detail what areas you will be tested on when you enter the testing center: Written Assessment- This is the first part of the GMAT and it’s a relatively new area for this test. It consists of two written assignments. One is called an Analysis of Issue Essay; the other is an Analysis of Argument Essay. You are allotted 30 minutes to complete each essay. On the computer screen, you will first be presented with an issue of some sort, asking you to choose a position and then explain why you think it’s better than the alternative. Then, on the second assessment, you will be given an argument and you will be asked to use reasoning and the evidence given to support or refute the claim. Each of these two written assignments is allotted exactly one- half hour for completion. You do not get to see the second part (the analysis of argument) until you have completed the first part. You are given nothing more than a word processor and a blank, white field to post your response. There is no spell check device or any other tool to assist you with the assignment. You have to organize a response (you can write out things on paper, if you wish) and then type it, proofread it, and submit before time expires. If you do not finish in time, the screen will automatically lock you out and you will be forced to accept whatever score you receive based on what you managed to complete. The written assessment is scored by both a human being and a computerized scoring software. The person and the computer look for structure, proper use of grammar, and good use of English to argue effectively. The actual position you take on the questions is meaningless. What matters is how effective you are at expressing yourself. When you get your scores, you will get one total grade for the two written assessments combined. The possible scores range from 0.0 to 6.0, in increments of .5. Here’s a breakdown of the percentiles for each score level: Score………………Percentile Ranking 6.0…………………………..97 5.5…………………………..90 5.0…………………………..79 4.5…………………………..62 4.0…………………………..42 3.5…………………………..24 3.0…………………………..11 2.5……………………………..5 2.0……………………………..2 0.5 to 1.5…………...............1 0.0……………………………..0 The overall average score for the written assessment is 3.9, with a median of approximately 4.2. Quantitative Section- This part of the GMAT comes next and it is designed to test your mathematical ability. There are a total of 37 questions on this part of the test, and you have 75 minutes to complete it. Out of the 37 questions, you can expect to find about 22 problem- solving questions and 15 data sufficiency questions. The problem solving questions can involve anything from basic algebra, to geometry, to computations of percentages and fractions. Here’s an example of a typical problem solving question on the GMAT: John, working alone, takes 3 hours and 20 minutes to finish painting the four walls of a room. To speed the process, he is going to be assisted by Mike, who is able to paint the same room in 2 hours and 40 minutes. How much time will it take to paint the entire room if they are working together? The data sufficiency section can get a little more tricky. It also involves the same basic knowledge of algebra, geometry, etc., but the problems work a little differently. In this section, you will be presented with a question, followed by two statements. You then have to indicate whether the first statement alone is sufficient to answer the question; the second alone is sufficient; the two statements taken together are sufficient but neither one taken alone is sufficient; either statement is sufficient all by itself; or both statements taken together are not sufficient. Here’s an example of a typical question: What is the value of the equation a + b divided by a – c? 1. a + b = 4 2. c + b = 3 From this, you have to determine which, if any, of the two statements is sufficient to properly solve the problem. Scoring for the quantitative section ranges from zero to 60, in one- point increments. Here’s a breakdown showing some of the possible scores and the percentile ranking for each: Score…………………….Percentile 51 to 60…………………..........99 50………………………………..96 45………………………………..78 40………………………………..62 35………………………………..43 30………………………………..29 25………………………………..15 20………………………………...8 15………………………………...4 10………………………………...1 0…………………………………...0 The overall average score on the quantitative section is 35, with a median of approximately 37. Verbal Section- This section is designed to test your understanding of English and it includes 41 total questions. You will have 75 minutes to complete this section. And, just like with the written assessment and the quantitative sections, you will be automatically cut off if you don’t finish in time. There are three main areas that the verbal section will cover: critical reasoning, reading comprehension, and sentence completion. There are roughly about 14 questions for each of these three areas. They are mixed around, so you have to be prepared to change quickly from one type of question to another. The critical reasoning questions present a paragraph about something real or fictitious, followed by a question about the meaning behind it. Here’s an example of a critical reasoning question on the GMAT: The increase in the number of newspaper articles exposed as fabrications serves to bolster the contention that publishers are more interested in boosting circulation than in printing the truth. Even minor publications have staffs to check such obvious fraud. The argument above assumes that: A. Newspaper stories exposed as fabrications are a recent phenomenon B.Everything that a newspaper prints must be factually verifiable C.Fact checking is more comprehensive for minor publications that for major ones D.Only recently have newspapers admitted to publishing intentionally fraudulent stories E.The publishers of newspapers are the people who decide what to print in their newspapers Reading comprehension is the next area, and it’s pretty self- explanatory. You are presented with an article, story, etc., that is several paragraphs in length. You will then be asked to answer 3 to 5 questions about the article. Sentence correction is next, and it consists of a sentence or series of sentences with one segment underlined. The underlined part is what you need to consider replacing. Listed below the sentence are five options to replace the underlined part. The first one, choice “A”, is a repeat of what is already underlined; while choices “B” through “E” are alternative choices. Here’s an example of a typical question: Records of the first 736 British convicts deported to Australia reveal convictions for crimes against property in all cases and they ranged from highway robbery to forgery Now, you need to decide how best to replace the part of the passage starting with the word “convictions” and ending with the word “ranged”. A. convictions for crimes against property in all cases and they ranged B. convictions in all cases were crimes against property and ranging C. the ranging of convictions for crimes against property in all cases D. that all were convicted of crimes against property ranging E. that all of them had convictions for crimes that were against property; the range was Scoring for the verbal section is similar to the quantitative, with a range of zero to 60, in one- point increments. But the percentile breakdown is a little different. Here’s a table of some possible scores and the percentile for each: Score………………………..Percentile 45 to 60……………………............99 40…………………………………….90 35…………………………………….76 30…………………………………….59 25…………………………………….38 20…………………………………….20 15……………………………………...7 10……………………………………...1 0………………………………………..0 The overall average score in the verbal section, among all test takers, is 27, with a median of approximately 28. Test- Taking Strategy: Many study guides and practice tests are available for the GMAT (like Kaplan, Princeton review, and others), and they all offer various bits and pieces of advice on how best to approach the test and work through the questions to achieve the best possible score. Much of the advice is obvious- you know, things like getting enough sleep the night before; eating properly; avoiding too much cramming before the beginning of the test; and other typical advice. Besides these obvious measures to take, there are some other words of advice that I can give, having already endured this test on two separate occasions. First of all, you need to understand how this new computerized test works so that you can plan your strategy around it. One of the main differences between the new computerized format and the old, paper format is that the computer format doesn’t allow you to go back and change an answer. Once you have clicked the icon to accept an answer, you are stuck with it. Also, it’s important that you answer all questions, even if you’re not sure of your answers. Skipping a question completely will count against your score more than if you answered it incorrectly. Again, this is different from the old paper version of the GMAT. On the older version, you were better off leaving an answer blank than answering it wrong. It’s not like that anymore. You need to make your best guess, if necessary, and avoid leaving any answers blank. If you notice that time is running out and you still have a few questions to answer, you should move as quickly as possible to answer all the questions, even if it means making guesses. It’s still better than no answer at all. Timing is very critical when taking a test like this one. You are, in a sense, racing against the clock. You shouldn’t allow the time to get you too stressed, but you also need to be aware of the time and make sure you don’t spend too many minutes on any one problem or question. With only 75 minutes available to answer 37 quantitative questions and 75 minutes available to answer 41 verbal questions, you have roughly about 2 minutes or less to spend on each. If you find yourself stuck on a difficult question and can’t come up with an answer, then you should probably eliminate the answers that are obviously incorrect and chose the best answer among the remaining ones. If you don’t finish in time, you will be automatically cut off, so it’s important that you manage your time effectively to get through all of the questions. How Important is the Overall Score?: Before we talk about the relevance of the overall GMAT score, let’s take a look at one more table, showing some of the possible scores. Overall scores are issued in increments of 10 and they range from zero to 800: Score………………………..Percentile 750 to 800…………………...........99 740…………………………………..98 730…………………………………..97 720…………………………………..96 710…………………………………..95 700…………………………………..93 690…………………………………..92 680…………………………………..90 670…………………………………..89 660…………………………………..87 650…………………………………..85 640…………………………………..81 630…………………………………..79 620…………………………………..77 610…………………………………..74 600…………………………………..70 550…………………………………..54 500…………………………………..37 450…………………………………..22 400…………………………………..12 350…………………………………...6 300…………………………………...2 250…………………………………...1 0 to 230………………………….......0 The average overall score, among all GMAT test takers, is 529 with a median score of 540. Speaking in general terms, a student who wishes to attend an MBA program at an average school will probably have no trouble securing admission (assuming other admission credentials are good) if his/her overall GMAT score is at least 550. Depending on the prestige and the requirements, some schools require a little more or a little less. If you are already attending a school as an undergrad and wish to remain at the same school for graduate study, then you will probably not need a very high score. In this instance, you might need only 500 or greater for admission. On the other hand, if your aspirations are higher and you hope to get accepted into a top- tier university, you will need to study harder and aim for a better than average score. To be safe, you should try to get at least an overall score of 650. This would place you in the 85th percentile, which should be good enough to satisfy the standards of most top- ranking American universities. Achieving a score this high isn’t easy, but it can be done with proper study. I recommend buying a study guide and taking the practice tests over and over again, in order to increase the chances of achieving a high score. If you’re really motivated, you might even want to consider signing up for a live GMAT tutoring study session. These seminars are conducted in University classrooms across the country and they can be quite costly, often running upwards of $1,000 or more for a comprehensive study course. They are very good and very helpful, but they should only be considered if the necessary score is very high and/or if you feel like you need the assistance of a personal tutor. If these criteria don’t apply, then it could prove to be a waste of money. Final Thoughts: Taking the GMAT can be a nerve- racking and stressful experience, especially if there’s a lot riding on your final score. I have taken the test two times, once in 1993 and once in 2002. When I took the test back in 1993, it was still administered on paper, which is very different from the new computerized version in place today. I was happy with the score I received back in 1993, when I achieved a 660 overall. This was high enough to get me into most any school of my choosing, including most all of the second tier schools and a good number of the first tier schools (out of four tiers, with the first being the most presitgious schools and the fourth being the least). Unfortunately for me, the GMAT score is good for only 5 years. After that, it expires and you have to take it over again. When I found out that I had to take the test again, I was more annoyed than anything else. I knew I would probably do fairly well. I was confident that my knowledge level was every bit as good as it was in 1993. But the thing that made me a little anxious was the fact that the test was now conducted on a computer. I got a book and used it for preparation, and I also took some on- line tests to prepare myself. I felt pretty good when I entered the testing center, but I was still apprehensive. How would things be different now, I wondered? What would it be like to take this long test on a computer screen? How stressful will the experience prove to be? Well, the first thing I noticed, before I even started the test, is that there are many more precautions that the testing center now takes before you are allowed to start and some of them are ridiculous. First of all, you have to empty your pockets out and place the contents in a locker. You then have to fill out paperwork and sit down to have your picture taken. You must show two forms of identification. You are given “official” pencils and paper to use for the test. You cannot use your own. Your every move is monitored on surveillance cameras. You are allowed a few short, five minute breaks between sections where you can get a drink or use the restroom. But you must sign out and back in, or else face the possible penalty of having your test cancelled with no possibility of a refund of the cost. After going through all of these security measures, you feel like you have entered a prison cell where your sentence, while short (about 4 hours in length), is determined and carried out by the GMAT police who are ready to pounce on you if any suspicious behavior is detected. I asked the administrators about this and why the GMAT people feel the need to go to such extremes. They told me that in the past, it wasn’t uncommon for individuals to pay others to take the test for them. Students who were desperate to achieve a certain score would hire a professional to take the test and then pay them based on the score they were able to get. GMAT added all of this extra security to prevent this type of fraud. As far as the test itself goes, the computerized version has its share of pros and cons, with the cons outnumbering the pros. On the positive side, the fact that the test can be taken in small test centers as opposed to a large gathering of students at a university (like it used to be) means that you will have many more chances to take it. In the past, there were only 2 or 3 opportunities per year to take the test. Now, there are dozens of them with multiple test centers available for your convenience. You can also choose the time, whereas in the past, you had to be there when it was scheduled to begin, since it was administered en masse. The other good point about the computerized version is that your scores are computed instantly (except for the written assessment) and you get a printout from the test administrators before you leave. With the old paper version, you had to wait for your scores to arrive in the mail. You still have to wait for the written assessment scores, but they are not as critical as the overall score, which you know just seconds after you take the test. On the negative side, though, the computerized version leaves much to be desired. My greatest complaint is the fact that you cannot go back and change your answers. When I took the test, I can recall some questions that I took too much time with and was forced to make my best guess. Later on, I remembered how to work them out, but it was too late. I couldn’t go back and make a change. On the paper version, you could just flip the pages back and rework a previous question or problem at any time. Another problem I have with the new GMAT is the fact that you cannot write on the screen. With the paper version, you could look at the full passage of a reading comprehension question, for instance, and underline key points, mark off answers that you knew could not be true, etc. You cannot do this, of course, on a computer screen. What’s worse is that the reading comprehension text takes up more than a full screen. You have to keep scrolling up and down, up and down, over and over as you try to read. Watching a screen for so many hours can cause some real strain, too. When I finished the test, my neck was sore, my eyes hurt, and my head was pounding. I left and went straight home and opened up the refrigerator for a nice, calming glass of brew. There’s another aspect of the new computerized format that some people will not like at all, but there’s nothing you can do about it. The way this test works now, the questions that are presented are designed in the program to “adjust” themselves after each correct or incorrect answer. If you get an answer wrong, the computer responds with an easier question. If you get an answer correct, it responds with a more difficult question. By doing this, the program attempts to “zero- in” on an appropriate score for you. What this means, of course, is that no two people take the same test and the final score that you get isn’t based solely on the number of correct answers. It’s based instead on the difficulty level of the correct answers. This is why the program cannot handle allowing test takers to go back and change answers. This isn’t possible, with this type of programming system that adjusts questions based on the answer to the previous question. I received an overall score in the upper 600’s on the GMAT when I took it in 2002, which placed me in the top 10 percent, and I scored a perfect 6.0 on the written assessment (who says writing for Epinions isn’t without its merits?). But even though my score on the test was high, I still have my reservations about this computerized format, and my attitude surprises many people. “Bryan”, they will say to me, “you got a much higher score than the average. You should be singing the praises of the GMAT, not cutting it down with excessive criticism”. They have a good point, but I still have several complaints about the new GMAT, the administration of it, and some of the quirks that you must endure when you take it on a computer. I don’t like the prison- camp atmosphere when you enter the testing center. I realize they do this to prevent fraud, but I still don’t like it. This, coupled with the surveillance cameras, adds additional tension to what is already a very stressful situation. And I don’t like the fact that every person takes a different test, with the questions changing every time you answer a question. This is supposed to be a standardized test but in a way, it’s really not because each person experiences questions and problems that are completely different. In this respect, it’s basically a non- standardized, standardized test. Will this format ever change and go back to paper? It’s highly unlikely, given the convenience of taking the tests at the centers. I learned that the only way you can take the test on paper now is if you can prove that it’s necessary for medical reasons. So, unless you can claim to have attention deficit disorder or some other disease that prevents you from looking at a computer screen for an extended period of time, you will be stuck taking the test on the computer terminal. The GMAT test is a stressful undertaking, especially if you need a high score (650 or more) to improve your chances for admission to graduate school. If you don’t need a high score, then don’t sweat it- you should have no problem scoring at least 500 with a minimal amount of studying. But if you need to score in the 85th percentile or better, then my advice is to start studying as soon as possible. Buy a GMAT study guide, read through the advice on how to quickly answer the questions, take on- line tests, and read over the explanations for the questions you answered incorrectly. Practice makes perfect with the GMAT, and you don’t want to get shut out of the school of your choice over a missed opportunity on an admission test. If you’re not happy with your score, you can take the test again. The GMAT folks will keep both scores on file, though, which means that when you submit your scores to the university of your choosing, the selection committee at each school will see both of them- not just the highest or most recent score. They usually take an average when this happens. That means that if you take the test over and your score declines, it will lower your average and you cannot eliminate it. You will be out a couple hundred dollars (the cost of the test) and your chances for getting into the school of your choice will be lessened. The key to a successful GMAT test score is to study and take practice tests over and over again. It’s not good to let it overwhelm you. Your GMAT test score is, after all, only one component of your overall admission credentials. But it’s still a very important component, especially if you are trying to get accepted into a high- ranking university. So study hard, read manuals, and take on- line tests. Then head to that testing center and tackle the GMAT test with vigor and determination. With the right preparation, you will be well on your way to getting the score you need for graduate admission into the school of your dreams! For More Educational Reading, Click on the Links Below: Advice on College Admissions: Choosing a College or University How to Help Your Child Choose a College How to Apply to College Should I Transfer Schools? Should I Take Time Off? Should I Go to Grad School? Advice on College Life: College Survival Tips What is College Really Like? What I Should Know About Dealing with College Roommates What Should I Know About Greek Life in College? What I Should Know About Alcohol Abuse in College What I Should Know About Spring Break Planning What Should I Bring to School How Can I Succeed in College Academics? How to Manage Your Time How Should I Deal With Tough Times in School? How Should I Prepare for Life After Graduation? Advice on College Finances: Should I Take a Part Time Job? How to Pay Off Student Loans How to Manage Your Budget How to Negotiate Financial Aid Packages How to Apply for Financial Aid Reviews of Test Prep Materials, Services, and “How To”: 800Score.com How to Take the GRE What is the GRE? Kaplan GMAT On- Line Course Princeton Review GMAT On- Line Course Reviews of Specific Universities: Wright State University University of Dayton

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