When GRE students do the tasks I’ve already discussed in this article but still can’t obtain their target GRE scores, I generally point to one thing: anxiety.

Increased heart rate, shallow breathing, racing thoughts — many people suffer from test anxiety. This anxiety can become especially pronounced during a high-stakes test such as the GRE. After all, a lot is riding on your GRE performance!

Of course, a little bit of test anxiety is natural and expected for even the most well-prepared GRE-taker. However, too much anxiety related to the GRE can be a distraction, causing you to lose focus and limiting your ability to achieve a score that reflects your actual GRE skills. Consequently, if you can get a handle on your test anxiety, you’ll be one step closer to breaking through your GRE score ceiling.

There are numerous proven techniques for managing test anxiety, from visualization and breathing exercises to transforming anxiety into excitement. Such techniques are worth exploring if you feel that test anxiety has been holding back your GRE score improvement.

The most overlooked technique for combating test anxiety is knowing the material backward and forward. The better you know the material, the more relaxed you’ll be when you’re tested on it. Consider a 40-question math test on basic multiplication and division, for example. Would you be particularly nervous about taking that test? Chances are, you’re quite comfortable with multiplication and division because you’ve been practicing those operations for many years. In other words, you’d be so well-prepared for a test on multiplication and division that you’d have no reason to be nervous about performing well on it.

So, even if you think you are well-prepared to tackle GRE questions on test day, prepare some more! Be so prepared that the material is no longer anxiety-provoking. Here is a great strategy for getting comfortable with GRE content: Don’t practice until you can get questions right; practice so much that you can’t get questions wrong.

The bottom line is that if you can get rid of most of your test anxiety, your GRE score should improve.

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep