I started taking a GMAT class recently and it has really motivated me and given me a positive outlook on my business school prospects.  Time and time again, we have been reminded that the GMAT is merely a standardized test, and as such can only be designed a certain way.  Questions are very structured and become predictable, and there is a finite number of question types that are used.  While this is encouraging news, studying for the GMAT is a challenge nonetheless, since we have to get the hang of the question types until recognizing them becomes second nature.

That’s the idea anyway.  Most people don’t have enough time to get to that point of zen.  Thankfully, I have chosen to get a head start and prepare well over a year before I plan on taking the test and applying for B-school.  I feel confident that with some hard work and plenty of practice, I can get a great score.  I did stumble a bit this week though, not finding the motivation to work on problems every night like I’m supposed to.  I started off strong last week with our first homework sets, but this week I am cramming more.  After class tomorrow I’ll need to pull myself together again and get back into student mode.

The nice thing is that I kind of enjoy doing practice problems!  They can get extremely convoluted and even brain-numbing, but taking some time off and coming back to the problem helps.  Of course, I still get my fair share of answers wrong, but that’s expected, especially so early on.  I’m learning to be more patient with the learning process and not expect to get it right all the time.  I figure if I don’t beat myself up so early on, I won’t get discouraged and I’ll gradually get the hang of taking my time to learn before I challenge myself with the time limit.