30 day strategy - Emphasis on Quant

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wied81: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 10; Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2012 8:03 am; Thanked: 1 times

by wied81 » Wed May 02, 2012 6:45 am

Hi all,

I took the GMAT last week and scored a disappointing 510. I scored well in Verbal but only 18th percentile in Quantitative.

I am taking the GMAT again on May 31st and really want to boost my math scores as they are my most glaring weakness. I have been going through OG #13 religiously working on practice problems and recording my errors, however, I would love to hear your guys opinions on what my approach should be seeing as I have a little less than a month left to study.

I have taken the GMATPrep practice test 1 (460 - before any prep), GMATPrep practice test 2 (570 - after a month of prep), and PowerPrep test 1 (560 - this past weekend). Any other practice tests, specifically ones that will hone my quantitative skills, would be great.

Would sincerely appreciate any insight.

Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Wed May 02, 2012 6:45 am

tpr-becky: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 509; Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 1:08 pmFollowed by: 85 members; Location: Irvine, CA; Thanked: 199 times; GMAT Score:750

by tpr-becky » Wed May 02, 2012 10:26 am

For quant it is important to focus on basics before you start working too many OG problems. If you don't understand how to manipulate an algebraic equation, how to use factoring to complete complex math or the formulas for concepts such as percent change, rate and ratio then you should not focus your study on the OG.

Instead you should focus on learning a consistent approach to each of the question types the GMAT tests, you can find many category lists online or in materials.

Once you have that foundation knowledge you can apply the problem solving, logic and reading skills necessary to apply the basic math concepts to a complex thinking problem and the problems become much more instructive in how to better take the test overall.

Best of Luck

Becky
Master GMAT Instructor
The Princeton Review
Irvine, CA

GMAT/MBA Expert

Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed May 02, 2012 12:02 pm

The OG books are great, but they're not big on showing you GMAT-specific strategies for solving questions. By "GMAT-specific," I mean "fast and effective."
For example, an OG math solution will not recommend estimation, and it will not suggest plugging in the answer choices. Instead, the OG often demonstrates longer, algebraic solutions.

To boost your math score, you need to learn the fastest approaches. So, in addition to using the OG to see one approach to a question, be sure to check the BTG forums for additional (faster) approaches.

Cheers,
Brent

PS: For more practice tests, check the right-hand-side of this webpage. Some of the sponsors offer free tests.

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