So pay attention to some important points below.
You are not terrible at math! 🙂 You are here to learn how to do well on the GRE math. Thus the negative attitude is most likely based on a different kind of math. In high school, you could mostly rely on memorizing the formula. And believe it or not, even formulas are just a piece of the puzzle. Ultimately, the whole bad at math thing is ironic: the GRE math is not your high school math. Instead the refrain should be “I missed that problem…I’m going to understand why so that I will get it the next time around.” And especially if it is tough math question, your attitude should be, “I’m not the only one who got that one wrong.” It is self-defeating, and doesn’t help students improve. My belief is that, for the most part, the “I’m terrible in math” shtick is nothing more than an attitude. Even those students who end up doing better on the quantitative section than the verbal section say this (and some continue to say this, even once they’ve scored in the top 20% on quant). Mind you, I hear this not only from students who haven’t seen an equilateral triangle in 20 years. It usually doesn’t take more than the first session for a new student/tutee to look over me and confide sheepishly, “I need help with GRE math. Sometimes we all need a little GRE math help. This is the sister post to I’m Terrible at GRE Verbal! Help! 🙂
