Maybe a Nice, Relaxed Approach to the GMAT Is a Good Idea?

Yeah, I know: your GMAT score is really important to your personal and professional goals, and your test date is written on your calendar in huge red letters. Right now, you’re planning your entire life with that date in mind. You’re taking it extremely seriously.

That makes perfect sense. But let me tell you a story about not taking the GMAT seriously anyway.

Relax… It’s Just the GMAT

Once upon a time, there was a New Yorker named Mr. FP who was studying for the GMAT. (In case you’re curious, “FP” stands for “fat pants,” because he used that term in one of the most entertaining, and ultimately successful, MBA application essays I’ve ever read.) At the time, Mr. FP worked in a demanding finance job, and he struggled to find time for his GMAT studies. He scheduled his first GMAT test date for late December, but he wasn’t able to do quite as much studying as he had hoped.

Still, Mr. FP took two official, mba.com GMAT practice exams in the week leading up to his test date, despite the fact that he didn’t feel 100% ready for the exam. On his first official practice test, he scored a 680 (about a 625 on the current scale). Not bad, right? That was a pleasant surprise, considering Mr. FP’s lack of preparation and difficulties with some of the homework.

A few days before his exam, Mr. FP took the second official practice test and only scored a 640 (a 595 today). Not spectacular, especially since his goal was a 700 (645 today).

At that point, it was clear that Mr. FP didn’t have a very good shot at getting that. He’s a brilliant guy, but we agreed that he had specific GMAT weaknesses, and his practice tests weren’t going terribly well. But Mr. FP is a pretty laid-back fellow, and he took the situation in stride.

“Whatever dude,” he said, in our final GMAT tutoring session before his exam, “It’s my first time taking the test, and it’s too late to get my money back. So I’ll just take it as a practice test, and maybe I’ll learn something or whatever.”

And with that attitude, he stepped into the test center.

Sheer Luck, or a Great Approach to the GMAT?

Two days later, Mr. FP called me immediately after he left his GMAT exam, laughing so hard that he couldn’t even tell me what happened. Eventually, he spit out the news: he got a 720 (675 today). And he thought it was absolutely hilarious.

By all reasonable predictions, Mr. FP shouldn’t have gotten that score. He hadn’t studied enough for a score like that, and his practice test scores pointed towards a far lower score. Neither of us would have guessed that he would surpass his own (relatively lofty) goal.

The moral of the story? I’m not certain that there is one.

Maybe Mr. FP is just a really, really lucky man. Or maybe he performed incredibly well because he was relaxed and didn’t take the GMAT overly seriously that day. We know that even the most prepared students can have catastrophic scores if they overthink everything due to stress. It’s even happened to some of our smartest tutors.

Whenever Mr. FP got rough questions, he didn’t let them rattle him. He just shrugged, made his best guess, and calmly moved on. Whatever he did that day, it worked.

You know that I’m in awe of the work ethic of many of our GMAT students. But maybe some of you try a little bit too hard sometimes. Just some food for thought.

Just How Lucky Was Mr. Fat Pants on the GMAT?

If you want to learn more about the probabilities underneath Mr. FP’s good fortune, check out this thoroughly nerdy post on the likelihood that you’ll get lucky on your own GMAT test day.