spk_0:   0:00
inspiration exists, but it has to find you working. Quit also. Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Dominate Test Prep podcast. I am brought Ethridge, your host, and in this episode, I'm gonna give you a behind the scenes peek at what it actually takes to dominate your standardized test. I am joined by somebody who has just dominated his standardized test. So shortly you're gonna hear from that consular. Ah, he and I have only just recently met, but he was a student of mine. He took my G Matt Prep course and he sent me an email after he got a very successful score. And he basically said, Look, I hadn't taken a math course in 11 11 years. I only had five weeks to study for the G Met, and yet I was able to increase my G Matt score by 100 20 points. Now, for those of you not taking the G Matt, that's really good. That's over 30 I think over a 33 percentile point increase. So you can kind of do the calculations and see what that might mean on your standardized test that g r e the else at The point is, he had significant improvement, and I thought to myself, I want to learn more about what he did to be successful, and you guys probably would benefit from hearing his story as well and some of what he did to prepare, especially on a fairly shortened time frame. So we're going to get into all of that. You know, I had a business mentor when I was first getting started in business is an entrepreneur. Basically tell me you find somebody who has done what you want or has what you want and do what they did, you know, And that kind of made sense, right? And so that's basically what we're doing here today that has done something that I know a lot of you guys want to do as well. I mean, plus 122 points on the G. Matt, Hey, I'll take that all day long. A similar increase on the G r E on the S a t on the l sat signed me up, right? And so let's learn and figure out kind of what what worked. Maybe what didn't work, what that might have done differently. And so again, I wanted to invite him on today to just have a little bit of a conversation so that he can share some of his story and some of the events to see if there is anything you can glean from it and apply to your own prep. So, Matt, welcome. Thanks for being on. Say hello to everybody.

spk_1:   2:21
Thanks for having me, Bratton. Excited to be here Excited. Thio share a little bit of what I got from your course looking forward. Our conversation?

spk_0:   2:28
Yeah, absolutely. And you just learned that you were actually accepted. So you did well on the G men and since then sends that initial email to me. You found out that you were actually accepted at your target business school as well, Ed. Heck, I think would be how you pronounce it. It's an acronym with a whole bunch of French words that if I'd try to pronounce, I would probably butcher, but a really reputable business school in France, in southern France. Right. So congratulations on that. And let me ask, why Why are you going across the pond for business school?

spk_1:   2:57
Yeah, that's a great question. So, um, first of all the reason that I want to do to get my MBA overseas in particular is I've always had a passion for international business. I knew that I wanted to work for a multinational corporation and have that opportunity to be able to be exposed to people from a different land and speak a different language. Um, my wife's from France and her family ended up in the United States. Her father was an expat for his company, and they've lived in Germany and in France and Canada. And now they're in the United States. And I just think it's really valuable to be able to have that kind of exposure for my family as well as be able to work with people from all over the world. So when I was looking at business schools, I knew that, um, the best thing for me with my gold toe work overseas would be to go to a business school that could help springboard to to that type of ah career. And so I chose France in particular because that's where my wife's from. We thought would be really cool exposure for, um, the two of us and for our child as well to be able to be in her homeland for a little while and B connected to some of the growing businesses that are out there. It's it's a rapidly developing country from like a tax standpoint. Um Amazon, for example, just built their European headquarters in Luxembourg, which is a neighboring country that speaks France, speaks French. Google has a pretty big office there. So a lot of opportunities out there and then also the NBA's in Europe are only one year as opposed to that conventional two year programs that they have in the United States. So I was really drawn to the idea of I'm going to a program and paying a similar tuition rate, but only having half the cost of living and doing it half the time,

spk_0:   4:33
and that's actually a very hesitate to call it a trend. But what you're saying is exactly right. It's very popular to now do on MBA in Europe in particular, but really internationally because the world is so international businesses so international, it's very helpful to have your degree and make those connections a big part of business. School, of course, is networking and connecting with people who are gonna play a part in your future career, and having that international exposure is fantastic. That's awesome. So what prompted you to want to go back to business school in the first place? Tell me a little bit more about your background. Where you currently working and why do you think business school is gonna help you get where you want to go?

spk_1:   5:12
Yeah, Great question. So I graduated with my bachelors in business from Brigham Young University, Idaho, three years ago, and I got an offer from Walmart, their corporate headquarters in Bentonville, working in merchandising for Started out as an analyst for kind of a supply chain slash finance position. And I ended up moving more into a full time finance financial manager role. And I love what I do love the job. But my ultimate goal in coming to Wal Mart was to be able to have an opportunity to go overseas. That's really what I wanted. That's that's what I was seeking out. And I do know that they have those types of positions available at Walmart. But as things are becoming more globalized and we have technology like we're using right now for this podcast, um the need to send people overseas is is not as there's not as much of a demand, is there once Waas Um So I knew in order for me to get to that type of position, I would need to really have something that would separate me from everybody else. So that's what had me looking to into the international MBA. So what? My right again, I'm at Wal Mart right now, Uh, been there for about three years and they have a presence not just in United States. They have a big presence in Canada and Africa and China and Brazil. So, ideally, if things work out when I finish my graduate degree, there could be a door open to me to come back to ball. Martin potentially go into one of their other markets.

spk_0:   6:31
And obviously, having that clear vision is a big part of what you then talked about in your application essays. And so it's great to have that vision and know what you're wanting to dio as well. So let's talk about them. The G Matt piece of things. You decided you want to go, But you told me you only had a fairly short amount of time to prepare. What did you know about the Gina before starting to study for it and kind of what went through your head when you took your first practice test.

spk_1:   6:54
So it's kind of funny. I I think everybody has that go through their mind when they're applying to business school like, Oh, hey, if I put in a few months to study, I could go to Duke or Harvard. Very. I can easily get a 700 plus score. And so I took on the G mats website. I think they have a mini quiz like five questions long and I took that little quiz. I don't think I got a single one right on it. And so as soon as I took that, I was terrified. I was like, Oh, my gosh, I'm not gonna be able to go to business school. I'm gonna get a far below average score. And so what I started doing, um as I was looking at alternatives to the G. Matt from looking into the g r e. I was also looking at programs that offer G Matt waivers and the more research that I did both domestically and internationally. The more I realized that if you want to get into a good, reputable school, it's going to get you a good network. There's no way there's no getting around the G Matt, and so I I really procrastinated. I think several months like researching schools that would be repute, a ble that I could get a waiver for. And basically the conclusion I came to was, if I want to go to a great business school that I'll see in R A Y. I probably need to take the G Matt. And so I am. I found my target school and I spoke with them and they really spoke about. They really talked to me about the importance of the test and why they use it and why all business schools should use it. And that's why we should probably be a little weary of the ones that don't specifically. If if we're looking at um, having a great network from from the business school, causing a lot of people can get can get an MBA from an online school and they do wavers. But it all depends on what your goals are. So anyway, I once I knew that That's the school I wanted to do. I told my wife, I said, Look, I gotta I gotta buckle down. I got a take this test And so I had some of the Manhattan prep Manhattan prep books given to me, and I studied for about two weeks, and I was feeling pretty confident again. I hadn't taken any math classes in 11 years, and, um, but I figured I was kind of dusting off the cobwebs, and I know I felt pretty confident. So I went took a practice test, and I did terrible on it, like the official practice test times and everything absolutely terrible. And my confidence was shaken. And I remember thinking to myself, I am not going to do well on this if I'm just studying by myself going through these these Manhattan prep books. And that's actually what I came across a couple of your videos that led me to take the Dominate, the G Matt course and those your videos and your course. Really, it's not like necessary that was learning anything new. The videos did a fantastic job of helping me recall what I already knew what was already inside my brain, and then once I brought that out, it's stuck. It wasn't something that I forgot. Two days later, it just seemed to stick with me as I was taking the course.

spk_0:   9:44
That's awesome. A lot of good stuff in there in that story. One thing I would say to those of you listening, I think Matt's experience is fairly common, and that is really smart people with, ah, good academic background. I'm sure, Matt, you got great grades and undergrad. You're a smart individual. Have that freak out moment when you take your first practice test. I've had engineers from, you know, Ivy League schools, start preparing for the G man and say, Wait a second. I'm supposed to be good at math. How come I can't get my head around G Matt Math or G R E math? And it's a different animal, and it doesn't mean you're not going to be successful. And so what I love about what Matt is saying here is okay. He realized that maybe there's a little bit more to it than he had previously realized. It is doable. You just have to figure out how and dust off those cobwebs like you were talking about, so So let's dive into that a little bit more than did you also need to work on the verbal side? Was that kind of an eye open auras well, and not having had a math class for 11 years? What did work? So it's one thing to say. Okay, I know I need to buckle down and study, but it's another thing to them. Do that and improved by 120 points.

spk_1:   10:55
Yeah, I know that's a great question. So I did take your entire verbal course side by side with the quantitative one and what really helped me with the verbal course. I'm a native English speaker. I really enjoy reading. I found myself just reading articles that I wasn't that interested in. I got I got in a New York Times subscription and I would mainly just read their their scientific studies articles. I found that if I was reading an article on on the N B. A or something with the economy that excites me, that wasn't really helping me get ready for the test because most of questions on the test or around things that people are people don't have interest in that. I would read articles about, um, Bird's migration patterns in the Northeast and, uh, evolution of iguanas on the car Ghost Islands. So that really helped me with the verbal is I was able to identify what, the main point. The author is trying to make some of their arguments from a scientific standpoint, So I think my big suggestion with verbal would be too read, read, read as much as you can, all sorts of different material, and make sure that it's not just basic reading that you read every day. Make sure it's something new that you're not familiar with. It's challenging you to think a little bit. That's what helped me the most with verbal, even reading out loud. For whatever reason, that helped me. I think with my sentence correction just understanding the way sentences flow. When when you say something out loud, you can you can identify if it's if it really sounds proper and sounds correct, Um, and then the answer. Your second question with the math portion. I I was a really good math student in high school, but again, the last math class I took was my junior year of high school when I was 16 and I remember when I was done with it, I told myself, Hey, look, I'll never have to take a math class again And I just forgot a lot of that math that I wouldn't need other than you know, the basic math you need in finance and counting. So what really helped me was the non standard math techniques. I found that when I'd be stumped on a problem in the test and in the practice tests. If I could just look things logically, I'd always be able to eliminate one or two answers. And then my guessing odds go from, you know, one in 5 to 2 or three and five and you a huge increase to be ableto, especially if you're guessing to be able to get the right answer. If you can eliminate just one or two of the wrong answers,

spk_0:   13:14
let me actually sees in on one of the things you said. I love what you said about kind of sentence correction for those of you taking the G. Matt and, well, actually talk a little bit more about your test day experience, I'm curious the concept of kind of saying or speaking a sentence out loud helps you kind of verbalize it and tell whether or not there might be something wrong. Did you, like, mumble under your breath out loud in the testing center?

spk_1:   13:38
No. So I didn't do that. But what I would do when I was practicing is, um and, uh, bless my wife for for dealing with this. I would read some of these really boring articles to her. And, you know, New York Times is written by a ton of very reputable authors. So in most cases, the sentences air very well written. But I did find myself when I go back to work special to be reading these articles and I type up in Eden email, I'd identify that there's sometimes that I would be there's that there were times there's a better way to say things that I was actually using, and I would look for that lie I'd be typing and I go through my email. All right. Am I saying things grammatically correct? What's the best way to say this? And I still do that? Unfortunately, I got myself into a little bit of ah kind of I don't know if you'd call it a bad habit, but that help me so that when I go into test day and I was in the sentence correction piece right away, I could usually and I actually would sometimes just quietly say it to myself. But right away, I could usually eliminate one or two of the wrong answers just by reading it out loud. Um, and then from there, you'd have to go and look at your subject verb agreement and those other principles.

spk_0:   14:44
So let's talk about a day in the life You obviously have my course to help guide you in videos and so forth. Yeah, you were reading extra reading, reading The New York Times, reading these scientific articles. Kind of What was What was a day in the life were a week in the life like what was the balance between learning content strategies, practice problems, practice tests? What did you do? I know you worked full time as well. So how did you juggle a wife in a full time job and studying for the G? Matt, give us a sense of kind of a week in the life

spk_1:   15:16
down. The one thing that really helps with registering for the Dominate that. Gee, Matt class is where the courses that you kind of lay out a schedule on how much you should be studying and how much you should be reading. You kind of do that. You kind of do that for us beforehand. So really, it was taking my current schedule and morphing it too. The plan that you guys had written it dominated. Gee, Matt course had written down. So for me, I'm a working professional. Work about 50 hours a week, 7 30 to 5 30 job I I have a one year old. My wife stays at home with him. And so what I would do is I get up in the morning and the first thing I do when I would wake up is I would immediately read in New York Times article. That would always be the first thing I do. I'd get up and I'd read an article, sometimes two of them, depending on how long they were, and I get ready and I go to work. And then I would work up until lunch. And then during my lunchtime, I go find a huddle room at our office, and I would study for usually about an hour to an hour and 20 minutes. That's when I did your verbal course. Um, and I did do some practice problems during that time. I mainly just focused on the rubric, and then when I get home, I d dinner. Put my son down at about seven o'clock, and then I'd study for about an hour and 1/2. And that's when I do my quantitative studying. That's pretty much how every week went then, usually on the weekends, I would take a practice test. That would be what I do on Saturdays. I would, um, my wife. We need you either take our child out for a walk, but I would close the door to our office and I tried to. I tried my best to simulate the test day environment. I would actually take the brakes that they would give. Um, I made sure to not get on my phone or watch anything or go outside. I really tried to simulate what the test would be like, and then once I get my results, usually Saturday evening, I'd go back through and see which ones I got right in which ones I got wrong. And I always want to make sure that the questions that I got wrong that by the time I was done studying Saturday evening, I at least knew how to get the right answer on that specific question. And I said, And then I take Sunday off. I wouldn't study it all on Sunday, and I'd start the cycle all over again on Monday.

spk_0:   17:20
What? I know it's hard to pinpoint one exact thing, but which of all of that? And I love that you mentioned an era log. It sounds like you kept track at least, or at least went through to figure out what you got wrong. Why you got it wrong. Then you go back and remedy that to make sure that you're able to get those questions right in the future. What of all of that, would you say kind of the biggest impact in your mind? Which of the resource is that you used? What helped you the most? Would you say, if you if you can point to one or two of those things?

spk_1:   17:47
One thing that really helped me was the worksheets on the course you have some dominate the G Mad day. There's 12 worksheets, 10 to 12 practice problems for each section. I would go through and I would study those problems. Of course, after I'd watch the videos that would study those problems, and I go through and watch the video to see if I got it right. So that was one thing that I really helped, you know, the video. I would learn the principal. But then it was in the videos and those practice problems that it really became ingrained. Um, so that was one thing that helped. And then the second thing that really helped us, I got a I just bought one little journal. Um, it was strictly for the G man. And one of my goals is Hey, we're not. By the time I'm ready to go take this test. I want this 150 page journal notebook to come be completely filled with notes. That was one of my goals. As I was taking notes during all your videos, I was taking notes on during sentence correction that during the pressure after the practice tests, and so that that's probably two things that really helped me was having having that notebook and then the practice problems as well.

spk_0:   18:48
Now I have talked on this podcast and in blogger posts about how do you know when you're ready to take the real thing? In your case, Matt, you had a hard and fast deadline off when you had to take the G men. And I know others of you listening. Maybe in a similar situation where I need to take the G Matt in time for an application deadline. Let's talk about your test experience in your mind set going into it. So you've done the prep you've put in the work. You've done practice questions, practice tests. Were your practice test training in the right direction and were you confident? Like, what was your mindset going into test day?

spk_1:   19:20
Yeah. So every every practice test that I took, I did better than the last one. And so I could I could kind of feel like, Hey, I have I'm only halfway through his quantitative course, and I'm already up 40 points on my quantitative piece like that is going good. And then I took my last practice test two or three days before I took the actual exam. And I didn't get a good score on my last practice test, so that that scared me a little bit. But one thing that helped me was the day before the test. Um, I watched you have you have a video? It's on YouTube as well. That has. It's like five tests, test day tips to take right before you go into the test. I mean, I would love to talk about those a little bit because I think that of almost all the things that I did studying and preparing for the test watching that video and really knowing those five principles really helped me go in and just take the test with the utmost confidence.

spk_0:   20:13
Yeah. Please. Please. D'oh!

spk_1:   20:15
So that the first point was, know thy enemy. You've pulled that out of a soon sue book and really, that points is all about having a test, a strategy, understanding what the registrations gonna be like knowing what time I should arrive. Um, am I gonna wear the headphones that they're going to give me? They had little headphones in there. Well, I use my brakes. What I do during my breaks, what order will I take the test in having having a plan in place before I got to the test center. At first I thought that was a little cheesy. But once I once I had it down, that really unloaded a lot of the stress of showing up and waiting in line and having them scan your forms of I D. Um, so that's one thing that really helped in the 2nd 1 was definitely dressed for success. I I wore a suit with a tie. Um, my wife gave me a haircut the day that I took the test. That morning, she gave me a haircut. I took a clean. I had a clean, close skin. Shave II was made sure that I wanted to look my best when I took that test, That's all. And that's, um, that's something that really have helped really helped me out. As you mentioned the video, there's a ton of of studies that actually show how that commensurately help you prepare. That was huge. Um, let's see. Having perspective, making sure to put the test in perspective. I'm one of those people that I could be a doomsday air. I, I, um, tend to look at things and assume that Murphy's Law, what can go wrong will go wrong. And what is my worst case scenario gonna be? And I think that was important. Me for me to look at and say like, Okay, what is the worst case scenario that's gonna happen here? Worst case scenarios. I'm out 250 bucks and I have to take the test again like I'm not. You know, I'm still gonna have my family. I'm still gonna have my job. I've got a roof over my head and running water. There's a lot worse things that could happen in the world. Been doing bad on the G man. Um, So I think just knowing that if I walk out of there with a terrible score, that worst case, I'm just got to take it again. That's really not that bad. That's that's not a terrible thing. Um, and then the one of the other. I think the last thing that you had said was to trust your test prep, And I went to ah, religious school from my university, and we would say prayers at the beginning of each class, and, you know, of course, some students would be kind of smart and say, like, Please bless us, that we can do good on this test But I remember there was there was one professor that said a prayer before a final and they and he said, Lord, bless these students that they will do as good as they've prepared for a man. And I really like that because at the end of the day I had studied for five weeks. I took your full course. I filled my little notebook to the brim. I took all the practice tests. I knew the material. I knew I'm not going to get everything right. But But I knew the material. There's no reason that I shouldn't do good on this test, Um, and so that that those principles really just gave me the confidence going into the test. And when I sat down and officially began the exam, I, uh, a lot of that stress just washed away, and it was just me against the test at that point.

spk_0:   23:15
So now let's get to the good part. What what went through your mind when your score popped up on the screen? So the great thing about the G. Matt is because it's a computer based test. You actually get your score right at the end, and I know that could be a little bit nerve wracking unless it's a good score. So talk us through that and kind of what your post exam celebration was like,

spk_1:   23:35
Yeah, so I you know, like he said, the score pops up on the screen right afterward, and when I saw it, it was it was 20 points higher than what I had gotten on any of the practice tests. And so I kind of had to keep doing a double take. Like, Wait, did I really could do that? Get that squirrel on that. I mean, I didn't think that I did, Um, but then once it's settled in, I went out. I was really excited. My wife was right there outside testing center. We went, got some great Mexican food. And, you know, then one thing that I just want to say is that some advice said I'd love to share with people who are maybe in a tight situation with the G matter. Don't feel like they're doing well. Once you're done with the test and you get the score you want, you're done. You don't have to think about it again. Um, I know it sounds simple when I'm saying that, but that was huge for me. Like all the stress of studying for those five weeks and reading those articles, that was all done. Um, I could now focus on my applications. I could worry about other things in my life volunteering like the G. Matt is just a portion of our life that when you're done with it, you're done with it. You don't have to worry about anymore. It's gone. It's in the rear view mirror. Um,

spk_0:   24:41
and I think that mindset I think that minds that really helps with the motivation piece than on the front end. To know that this is only for a season, that whether that season is five weeks, two weeks, two months, it's worth buckling down to do it right, because the last thing you want to do is have it drag out for a year or two years and so forth. And so, yeah, I love that

spk_1:   25:06
awesome yet, and it was really good, you know, like I said, I have Ah, I have a family with Ah, young child. And I remember sitting down when I was getting ready to start doing all its test prep. But I told my wife, Look, this is gonna be at least five weeks where we don't get to spend very much time together. I'll be in the house, but I won't get to spend much time with you. And we had We had a line to that and we knew that if I get this score that I want most 1st 5 weeks, great. If not, I'll take it again another four weeks later. But we were both prepared. Um, we kind of blocked out pretty much a 9 to 12 week window to get this right. And like you said it, you just gotta buckle down and take it. And then when you're done with that, um, it's done. You can You can worry about all the other things, you know, wording your essays on your applications, right where you're gonna go to school, the more exciting things,

spk_0:   25:52
thinking back to the beginning. Is there anything else? Is we kind of think about any parting additional parting advice? Is there anything you may be? Wish you had known on the front end that you now know and might have been helpful for you.

spk_1:   26:07
Well, I mean, going all the way back to high school, I wish I would have known I wouldn't have been done with math. I kind of put all that stuff in a mental drawer. Um, but I would say what I have just mentioned about knowing that it's gonna be done when it's over, and then also knowing that if you can get your target score, it's absolutely worth it. I'm looking back at you know, I was considering alternative options and doing ah g Matt waivers and schools that offer that. I'm looking back now that I'm into the school I wanted to get into. If I wouldn't have taken those five weeks, I don't really know where I'd be what I'd be going to a business school that is worth the investment. Um, I think that what I would tell people who going back in my advice for people who are just getting starting on this journey is I'm just gonna repeat Nike's slogan. Just do it, you know, just really buckle down, study it. It's There's no reason that this as you said brother. This should drag out for 2 to 3 years. This should be a 2 to 3 months process, even for, you know, for someone like me, it's a terrible standard. Tests standardized test taker and never was good at that. And I hadn't taken a math class in a long time. You could do this. All the information you need to know is in those videos, they have practice questions. There's a ton of resource is out there. Just make sure that you're using all those resource is. Make sure that you're reading your reading all the time and, um, constantly reading books and articles and watching videos. Um, sharing on one thing that I also is there. I knew some other people studying for the G Matt. We would do little study groups together where we would talk about a problem and how we each came to to the answer. And there's there's different ways to get to the right answer and sometimes want some ways work for other people. Um, other ways don't for me. I'm not somebody that can look at everything. Algebraic Lee. I noticed that when I was searching for questions online are for answers online to practice questions. I would usually find that there's a lot of people who would say, Oh, hey, I got the right answer I got a 7 80 on the G Matt and they would list how they did it algebraic Aly and it would just go over my head. Um, what what helped with me was using, you know, non standard math techniques and being able to look at things logically that I would just say Use your resource is find the right way to study that works for you and just go for it.

spk_0:   28:17
I think that's a great way to end it. I guess the one final question might be the most important question. What's your favorite favorite? French food and what's your favorite kind of wine?

spk_1:   28:28
Okay, um, I would have to say my favorite kind of French food is the cheese is in the bread. I know it's a very broad answer, but I love to soft cheeses that they have in France, and I'm looking forward to eating those many times, hopefully multiple times a day, Um, need to keep my weight down the ah, and then I'm I'm not a drinker. I I don't drink wine, so I'll be missing out on that. But, um, looking forward to the deserts and the foods and the beautiful countrysides and then also just being in an awesome international environment with young professionals from all over the world, it's gonna be it's gonna be an awesome experience

spk_0:   29:06
and well deserved. Well earned. Congratulations on your success on the G. Matt Getting into the business school of your choice. Please stay in touch this next year. I guess starting next year is you go through your business school journey and life beyond Thanks for sharing your wisdom with all of the listeners. Hopefully, you guys have gleaned something that will be helpful for you as you prepare for your standardized test that you can go out and dominate it. So again, Matt, thank you very much. This week's from the mailbag question comes from Andrea. Andrea sent me the following email. She says, quote. I did not do very well on the second half of the math, so I was wondering if you might be able to provide any suggestions about how to stay in the right mindset and keep from flagging so Obviously she's taking an exam where there are multiple sections, a second math section. Even if you're taking a test where that's not the case, I guess the broader question would be how do you stay mentally locked in and focused at the end of the exam when you've already been grinding mentally for hours? At that point, how do you stay locked in and to use her? Words keep from flagging and I have two thoughts for you. The first is you can actually train yourself to be able to concentrate for longer periods of time, just like you can train your muscles. To be able to run run longer distances, you might be able to train yourself to run a marathon, for example. Likewise, you can train your brain to be able to concentrate for longer periods of time by concentrating for longer periods of time. And I know that might sound weird, but here's what I mean by that schedule. Some longer study sessions, if you usually just sit down and maybe do practice problems for 30 minutes, your brain gets used to kind of shutting down and flagging after 30 minutes. So, no, it's no wonder that at the end of a two and 1/2 hour exam or three hour exam, and you're on that final math section, you no longer have that mental stamina, so you can definitely train your mental stamina. But here's a tip for you on test day itself, and that is feed your brain. Fuel your brain by snacking during your breaks, maybe drinking a sugary beverage like a Gatorade or something to give you that quick energy that your brain needs to work right. Your brain consumes carbohydrates, largely sugar. It runs off of blood sugar, and so you need to get your blood sugar up. Use those brakes to your advantage on test day by getting that blood sugar up snacking, maybe a Snickers bar. You know that's not the best health advice to do long term, but in the short run, when you just need to be able to concentrate for a couple hours at a time, that quick energy to get your blood sugar up should help you concentrate at the end of your exam as well. Okay, here we are at the end of another episode, and time flies when you're having fun, and I think we had a lot of fun today. I really enjoyed our conversation with Matt, hopeful you gain something valuable from it. And one of the things he said is the spark for today's action item. He talked about how, when he was preparing every single morning when he woke up, the first thing he did for the 1st 15 minutes, Waas read something, and specifically he read The New York Times Science section. But that's my action item for you. Go find something that you can read and start to read more of it. Whether it's the very first thing you do when you wake up in the morning, that definitely gets it out of the way. You know you have banked some extra reading time. Or maybe it's the last thing you do before you go to bed at night. You have heard me say on this podcast already numerous times. That one thing you can absolutely control is the amount that you're reading increased the amount you're reading between now and test A will pay dividends. And so that absolutely confirm that I loved it when he talked about that and said that I loved his specific prescription, which is Hey, you know, get the New York Times. Subscribe to The New York Times. The science section has those dense passages. So whether you do the New York Times or National Geographic or just something, maybe you already subscribed to whatever that is. Figure out what that is. Don't put it off plan for tomorrow to get started with that practice. Do it every day between now and test day, and I know it will serve you well, All right, so that is it. Have a fantastic week. I will talk with you guys again next week on the Dominate test prep podcast. In the meantime, you know where to find me. Contact information will be in the show notes, and I'll leave you guys to get back to studying so that you can go out and dominate your test.