Use Your Emotions to Your Advantage When Studying for the GMAT

Neuroscientist and Nobel Laureate Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934) said: “Any man could, if he were so inclined, be the sculptor of his own brain.”  What we learn, and even more so, what we do every day, shapes who we are.  The implications for the whole of human life are many.

The right emotions are the biggest aid when studying for the GMAT

In the specific realm of studying for the GMAT, the goal is to shape one’s brain into an efficient test-taking machine.  There are many content-related factoids we need to remember for the test – math formulas, grammar rules, etc.  A lot to remember! To help you overcome this hurdle when studying for the GMAT, I am going to make a paradoxical recommendation: remember, but don't memorize.

What do I mean by this?

First of all, a huge and vastly unappreciated part of studying for the GMAT involves your emotions.  When we view material as flat, dull, emotionally vacant, and rote, it’s exceedingly difficult to encode facts in deep memory.  We need emotions and the involvement of the amygdala (a powerhouse of the brain’s emotional center, the limbic system) in order to encode powerful memories while studying for the GMAT. 

If you view the GMAT as an arbitrary hurdle you need to clear to get to where you want to go, nothing you have to learn about it is going to be very exciting.  To engage your emotions, you need to recognize that every skill the GMAT demands, the math and verbal skills as well as the stress-reduction, time-management, and other strategies, are similar to or identical to skills you will need in your day-to-day life as a manager, once your have your MBA. 

If you are excited about the career you are pursuing, then you need to translate that excitement to each and every step you take to prepare for the GMAT.  If you are not excited at all about the life you are pursuing, that at least raises the important question: why are you pursuing it? People who pursue lives they consider boring become boring people!

Don’t memorize, use context!

Furthermore, we remember more deeply when there is context.  For example, one set of math factoids you will need for the GMAT are the properties of the 30-60-90 triangle, including the ratios of the sides.  If you memorize those ratios as isolated facts, they probably never will stick in your head.  By contrast, if you start with the context of an equilateral triangle with sides = 2 and divide the triangle in half, using the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of the midline, you will reproduce the argument that leads to those ratios, and you will remember them all much more deeply.  It’s very helpful to find GMAT flashcards that reinforce the context and ‘why’ questions behind the mathematical factoids.

Even with the GMAT AWA, I would advise against trying to memorize essay responses to the prompts.  Instead, I would recommend that you read widely.  Read high quality newspapers and journals, such as The Economist.  Pay attention to those arguments, using your GMAT CR skills.  Through long-term exposure to real world arguments, you will develop a keen sense of the kinds of evidence that people use, and this will allow to present a much more intelligent response when it comes time to write your essay.

Through infusing your studies with excitement and learning facts in context, you can use the properties of the human brain itself to encode deeper memories.  Be diligent in this approach, and you will craft a brain that is an unstoppable GMAT-conquering beast!

About Mike McGarry

Mike McGarry is a resident expert at Magoosh, a leader in GMAT prep. For more advice on taking the GMAT, check out Magoosh’s GMAT blog.