When people find themselves in stressful situations such as taking the GRE, they often revert to old habits that they were able to keep at bay when the pressure wasn’t quite so great (for instance, during practice tests). Rushing through questions, worried about the questions to come, attempting math calculations in your head — these are just some of the old habits that may reemerge on test day. Even if you walk into the GRE with ultimate confidence in your skills, if you fall back into your comfort zone when the going gets tough, you could see a drop in your GRE score.

To ensure that bad habits don’t get the best of you on test day, first off, make sure that you’ve eliminated such habits well before you sit for your GRE. Each time you take a practice test, practice good habits: work methodically and efficiently through each problem, concentrate on just the question in front of you; don’t rely on mental math.

When taking the actual GRE, try to maintain an awareness of how you’re moving through the test. If you feel the urge to speed through a question or start calculating wildly in your head, take a deep breath and do a quick “reset.” Be aware of what your bad habits are, so you can make a conscious effort to avoid them. You DO have the power to catch yourself if you’re sliding into old habits.

Problem: You reverted to old habits, such as rushing through questions, thinking about what questions will come next, or performing mental math.
Solution: Work to eliminate your bad habits well before test day, and if you catch yourself falling back on them, take a deep breath and do a quick “reset.”

Happy Studying! ✨

Warmest regards,
Scott