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Academy Hills

2009年05月12日

I write this posting from the 49th floor or Academy Hills, the great facility at Roppongi Hills. The view is amazing, including Tokyo Tower and the bay. There is wireless LAN, dozens of meeting rooms, hundreds of comfortable seats, and thousands of books. They even have two cafes. It is a really great place to work, study, or just read for pleasure. I walked past a few quiet study rooms, and saw several very studious people. They all had their noses buried in various study books. I didn’t take a close look, but I am sure that many of them were studying GMAT or TOEFL. My clients have told me that many MBA candidates study here. Now I know why.

Regarding GMAT and the fact that many smart people struggle to get high scores, even when they do really well in practices tests, I believe I have a possible explanation. I think they are over analyzing each question. In other words, because GMAT is a progressive test–if you answer a question correctly the next question is harder, while it is easier if you answer incorrectly–these smart people are probably wasting time analyzing each new question to determine if it is harder or easier than the previous one. By doing this, they think they can know how they did on the previous question. Or, they may wonder if a question is one of the trial questions that don’t affect their scores. But by wasting time and brain power worrying about how they are doing, they are actually making it harder on themselves. To be a good GMAT taker, one needs to quickly forget about the previous question and focus 100% on the question at hand. This takes discipline, which is why it is important to practice GMAT, and TOEFL iBT, in a manner that simulates the real test. This means taking the full test within the prescribed time. By doing this, you will condition your mind and body for the grueling 4-hour tests. Perhaps the folks I saw in the Academy Hills study rooms were doing just that.