Last Updated on April 24, 2023
Far too frequently, GRE test-takers fall short of their full potential on the exam because they give up too early in the study process. Preparing for the GRE is a testament to perseverance. When you continue to work hard and study smart as your competition calls it quits, you position yourself to earn a GRE score that is much higher than the scores of your peers.
In my nearly 15 years of teaching the GRE, I have seen perseverance be the number one predictor of which students earn top GRE scores and which students settle for scores that are much lower than the scores they had the potential to earn.
As it turns out, the link between perseverance and success has been well-researched. For instance, math teacher turned psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth studied public school students, cadets at West Point Military Academy, National Spelling Bee contestants, teachers, and salespeople to find the shared predictors of success among them.
Surprisingly, the single characteristic that the most successful people in these varied groups had in common was not IQ but grit.
Grit is the motivation to stick to a goal no matter what. Grit also means viewing success as a marathon, not a sprint. This is a valuable concept to consider when devising (or recalibrating) your GRE strategy.
The road to a high GRE score may be long and rocky, and you can’t rely on “being smart” alone to deliver you to the finish line. Even the smartest students may be unwilling to pick themselves up, dust off, and try again when they don’t perform as well as they expected to.
Grit is the motivation to stick to a goal no matter what.
This is also an essential point for test-takers who are concerned that their grasp of GRE concepts is not up to snuff. Anyone can learn concepts if they work long enough and hard enough.
The key is to keep going and to see setbacks as stepping stones rather than as walls. Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck calls this way of thinking a “growth mindset.” Cultivating this mindset can make reaching your goal more likely.
The key is to keep going and to see setbacks as stepping stones rather than as walls.
So, I want you to check out this Ted Talks video.
Then keep going!!
Scott
