660...AGAIN!!!

ens137 · Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 6:52 am Post subject: 660...AGAIN!!!

I just took the GMAT for my second try. Want a 700!!!!
In June I score a 660-35v/45q...yesterday I got a 660-40v/39q

On my gmat practice exams my q scores in time(april to aug) order were
42,43,44,45,45

So basically I feel that the first 6 or 7 questions went great then I tried to solve a few problems that were well beyond my level. I ended up wasting ALOT of time on 2 or 3 questions then I had to scramble and got thrown off my game.

I need advice on how to get my Q up by being more proficient with my time. IDEAS??????

Thanks

Stacey Koprince · Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 9:39 am Post subject:

It sounds like you already know what your issue is: you can't get so sucked into one or a few questions that it costs you time (and points) towards the end.

Part of this is just psychological: you've got to get yourself to let go.

Part of this is practice. Here are some ideas:

Know how long 1 min is without looking at the clock. You can train yourself to do this by buying a stopwatch with lap capability. Do a set of problems. Turn the stopwatch over (so you can't see the time) but know which button is the lap button. Every time you think 1 min has gone by, push the button. When you're done, review the data and see how good you are. Chances are you'll consistently skew one way or the other (most people skew too high). Keep training yourself until you can get pretty consistently within 15 seconds on either side (that is, 45sec to 1min15sec).

Now, if you don't know what you're doing by the 1 min mark, then it's extremely unlikely that you're going to both figure out what to do AND have time to do it during the second minute. You've already used up half your time and you're not on track. At that point, you need to move on to making an educated guess.

So, next, you also need to study how to make educated guesses. "Educated guessing" is just a fancy term for "find some wrong answers and eliminate them." Often, when we don't know the right way to do something, we still know the wrong way to do it! Or we can estimate or use logic to get rid of some choices. Etc. The way in which you make an educated guess is specific to both question type (DS, PS) and content area (rates & work, probability, inequalities, geometry). And you actually need to study how to make educated guesses - you aren't going to figure out how to make them during the test itself. It's easiest to study how to make educated guesses on problems that are right in your range - not too easy and not too hard for you. Learn the process on these ones that you understand, and apply that process to problems of the same type when you can't do the actual math.

Finally, of course, you can get faster at the actual math itself. When studying problems, look for shortcuts (again, by both question type and content area). Know how to recognize those shortcuts - how are you going to know that you can use this shortcut again on a new problem in the future? During the real test, you have to recognize shortcuts, not figure them out from scratch; by the time you've figured them out from scratch, you've used up the time you would've saved by using the shortcut! Once again, it's easier to study shortcuts on problems that are right in your range right now. Find them and study how to recognize them from problems you can do, and then apply those lessons to problems of the same type that are taking you too long.

Good luck!

lunarpower · Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 9:15 pm Post subject: Re: 660...AGAIN!!!

ens137 · Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 10:11 am Post subject:

This is great. I appreciate you input. I will try to incorporate your suggestions into my studies over the next few weeks and repost the results. Thank you very much.

E

emrahercan · Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 4:08 pm Post subject: Re: 660...AGAIN!!!

Great advice lunar power. What would you recommend for verbal question ?

Regards../EE