How to Proactively Adjust Your GMAT Prep Mindset
Many test-takers have asked Dustin a question: “You got a great score, so you must be very smart! You must have excelled in university! Your CV must be impressive!”
In fact, it’s not like that at all. I was neither an academic achiever nor a popular student or a top scholar. Without further ado, here are my overall university grades for four years. (See attached image)
These grades look better if you read them backward. If calculated by Percentile, it’s a level of <50th. If calculated by Verbal score, it’s less than 20. But how did preparing for the GMAT lead to such a transformation? Honestly, I didn’t know at first—after finishing the last question, I closed my eyes, opened them again, and saw 760.
Alright, this article ends here. Thanks for reading.
…Of course, it won’t be that useless.
After the exam, regaining my composure, constantly recalling, and discussing with classmates over the years, I gradually found some key mindsets that helped me overcome the test at that time. Here, for your reference:
1. Unreasonable training is a form of tempering.
It’s a lie to say you’re not nervous. As long as you care about the score, you’ll definitely be nervous. Telling yourself “don’t be nervous” actually makes you more nervous. At this point, there’s only one solution:
If the test has 36 questions, practice by doing 62 questions at once! If the test has 4 RC passages, practice by doing 6-8 passages consecutively!
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There’s a saying, “The more you do, the more at ease you become.” For example, you might be nervous making your first call to a client. But when you need to make fifty or a hundred calls a day, you won’t be so focused on the outcome of each call, and things will just flow naturally.
2. Leave a small expectation for yourself every day.
At the time, as a full-time test-taker, I was actually still a homebody with an esports dream. So, every evening, I’d study until about 7 PM, then reserve two hours to play at an internet cafe. When I got home, my mom thought I was diligently studying until 9 PM.
Give yourself a small expectation every day, like opening a calendar window each day before Christmas in Europe and America. Even if it’s just buying a drink, listening to music, watching a movie, or going for a run, these are all good ways to relieve stress.
3. Don’t think about getting a high score
“Dustin, why are you so pessimistic?” This might be the first thought that comes to mind. But the interpretation of this statement should be “don’t think about the score,” and instead focus on whether you’re absorbing the questions in front of you and the knowledge you’re currently studying, just like clearing a level in a game. Don’t think about the final score; just focus on whether you’re making progress step by step in the moment. The same principle applies during the exam—don’t think about whether you’re already in the high-score zone or still in the low-score zone. Just concentrate on solving that one question in the present moment.
4. Practice RC/CR/Q/DI every day.
The GMAT Verbal section is a test that emphasizes both logical thinking and the “feel” for solving questions. At one point, I tried doing only CR and SC for a day, and RC every other day. I found that even with just one day between RC sessions, my eyes weren’t enough, and I completely lost my touch (the same happened with CR). So, eventually, I insisted on practicing all three sections every day, even when I was short on time. During my busiest times, with only 3 hours a day, I still made sure to practice 5-10 questions for each section.
5. Adapt yourself to various environments.
Dustin mentioned in a previous video that I knew I wasn’t naturally gifted, so I had to train myself under conditions more rigorous than the actual test environment. This way, even if I performed below par during the exam, I could still stay within a normal range. There’s a proverb that says, “Aim for the highest, and you’ll achieve the middle.” To get an athlete who can only jump 160 to jump 180, the coach first sets the bar at 200. By challenging an impossibly difficult goal, the athlete unknowingly surpasses their original target. So, when I studied, I deliberately chose different environments. The places I’ve studied are listed below for your reference:
– NTU Main Library
– Old Law and Social Sciences Library at NTU Xuzhou Road Campus (where I spent the most time, because its dilapidated state helped me focus)
– Dante Coffee (very noisy, but chosen deliberately, because once I got used to it, the test center felt relatively quiet)
– On the bus or MRT (doing SC or CR questions using a mobile app)
– Small park near Taipei Main Station (because I love sunshine, and on nice days I liked to study outdoors in the sun)
When you can adapt to any environment, the test center under the Keelung Road overpass will be a piece of cake for you.
