GMAT Math

I finally took the GMAT for my first time after a lot of studying and taking the Manhattan GMAT course for my 2nd time (work got in the way of studying and I had to start all over again). Unfortunately I did not get the score I was aiming for (700+). I got a 620 with a 31 Quant (27th %) and a 45 (99th %) Verbal.

I'm obviously very happy with Verbal. I jumped from 80th percentile on my last 3 MGMAT CATs to 99th, so hopefully I can maintain my score when I retake the exam.

I'm hoping the quant score was a fluke and that I can improve it significantly next time I take the test. The past 3 CATs I've averaged 65th % and have done a lot of studying since then, so I was expecting to jump into the 70s or 80s. I've always been pretty good at math (Finance major, TA for Statistics I & II, heavy quant jobs, etc.) which is why my struggle with it is so perplexing. During the exam I felt lost on how to effectively tackle a number of problems as if I'd never seen a similar problem type before. I also noticed I had much worse time management than on the practice tests. I went way too quickly at the beginning and had a huge time reserve built up that I used to spend 5-8 minutes on a couple problems.

I've now done all the Official Guide problems multiple times (random timed sets and topic specific) and I've done pretty well on them in terms of time and accuracy. My main problem is with careless errors (answering wrong question, copying something wrong, arithmetic) and the fact that I'm VERY slow arithmetic. I've also redone the Manhattan GMAT In Action problems several times and re-read problem topic chapters a number of times. In terms of time, I've been studying non-stop for the past 3+ months, cramming all day on weekends, and putting in 30-60 minutes when possible during the week.

For the most part, I feel like I have a decent understanding of all but the most challenging problems. However, for some reason, I seem to freeze up, even on practice CATs, and my knowledge goes out the window as I come up with something on the fly to solve a problem.

Any suggestions on how to tackle this issue so I can improve my quant and get a 700+ level on the next exam? I'd like to take it again within a month or two. Now that I've done all the Official Guide problems, I have the official Quant Review book, Total GMAT Math, and GMAT Hacks Challenge sets that I haven't used yet. Which one(s) of these should I focus on to improve my score? My main problem areas are Number Properties, Primes & Divisibility, Exponents & Roots, and Fractions if one of these sources happen to be better for those areas.

Also, even if I get there, will a 27th percentile math on the 1st exam hurt my application?

Thanks!

I have a similar story, my background is in engineering and I do quant work everyday. Cannot get above 50th percentile on quant.

mport1 wrote:I finally took the GMAT for my first time after a lot of studying and taking the Manhattan GMAT course for my 2nd time (work got in the way of studying and I had to start all over again). Unfortunately I did not get the score I was aiming for (700+). I got a 620 with a 31 Quant (27th %) and a 45 (99th %) Verbal.

I'm obviously very happy with Verbal. I jumped from 80th percentile on my last 3 MGMAT CATs to 99th, so hopefully I can maintain my score when I retake the exam.

I'm hoping the quant score was a fluke and that I can improve it significantly next time I take the test. The past 3 CATs I've averaged 65th % and have done a lot of studying since then, so I was expecting to jump into the 70s or 80s. I've always been pretty good at math (Finance major, TA for Statistics I & II, heavy quant jobs, etc.) which is why my struggle with it is so perplexing. During the exam I felt lost on how to effectively tackle a number of problems as if I'd never seen a similar problem type before. I also noticed I had much worse time management than on the practice tests. I went way too quickly at the beginning and had a huge time reserve built up that I used to spend 5-8 minutes on a couple problems.

I've now done all the Official Guide problems multiple times (random timed sets and topic specific) and I've done pretty well on them in terms of time and accuracy. My main problem is with careless errors (answering wrong question, copying something wrong, arithmetic) and the fact that I'm VERY slow arithmetic. I've also redone the Manhattan GMAT In Action problems several times and re-read problem topic chapters a number of times. In terms of time, I've been studying non-stop for the past 3+ months, cramming all day on weekends, and putting in 30-60 minutes when possible during the week.

For the most part, I feel like I have a decent understanding of all but the most challenging problems. However, for some reason, I seem to freeze up, even on practice CATs, and my knowledge goes out the window as I come up with something on the fly to solve a problem.

Any suggestions on how to tackle this issue so I can improve my quant and get a 700+ level on the next exam? I'd like to take it again within a month or two. Now that I've done all the Official Guide problems, I have the official Quant Review book, Total GMAT Math, and GMAT Hacks Challenge sets that I haven't used yet. Which one(s) of these should I focus on to improve my score? My main problem areas are Number Properties, Primes & Divisibility, Exponents & Roots, and Fractions if one of these sources happen to be better for those areas.

Also, even if I get there, will a 27th percentile math on the 1st exam hurt my application?

Thanks!

Since you said you made a lot of careless mistakes, I'd suggest that you spend more time studying quant strategy and working on your time management. A string of careless mistakes will quickly drop your score, especially if it causes you to get easier questions wrong.

Also, do you think that the mistakes you were making were caused by test day anxiety? A lot of people score higher the second time they take the GMAT simply because there are no surprises, if you've done it once, then you already know exactly what to expect.

Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely make sure to focus some energy to working on time management and different ways to avoid careless mistakes.

Some might have been due to test day anxiety. However, on practice tests I also make quite a few careless errors. I've calculated anywhere from 30-50% of the errors I make on the quant section to be due to careless errors and not lack of understanding of the material.

Careless mistakes occur when you do not have a firm grasp of the fundamentals. Understanding something and being able to quickly recall it and use it, are 2 entirely different things. You have to have 100% confidence in the material.

What you need clearly is reworking the fundamentals, this time under a good tutor guidance. It seems that you have very non-uniform coverage of the material - who has problem with fractions if he/she claims to be in the 65%?

If the tutor is good, he/she will provide you with long problem sets, at least 100+ problems per topic to hit it from different angles that may happen on the exam.

The last stage of your preparation should be practicing CAT's under timed conditions: GMATPrep, GMATFocus, GMATClub exams.

Unfortunately, with the little study time you spend per week, you will need several months to reach a good quant score.

So, as I've continued my studying, I have reworked a ton of the Official Guide problems I've missed with the Manhattan GMAT explanations. I've also completed the Official Quantitative Review and gone over their (sometimes poor) explanations. I'm using the Manhattan "Archer" tool to track my timing and problem areas.

I began to do Total GMAT Math and GMAT Hacks Challenge sets, but I did not like many of his answer explanations or how the books were laid out in general.

What resources would you suggest I use from here until my retake (August 4th)? Would it be beneficial to keep reworking OG problems with the Manhattan explanations? I've done most of the ones I've had issues with 5+ times, so I feel like if I get the answer correct, it is just because I remember how to do that specific problem.

Should I give the GMAT Hacks materials another try, or are there different materials you would suggest for my situation?

At this point, as long as I can ensure I have the fundamentals down (skipping some of the 700-800 problems), I think I'll be able to get the 700+ I need. Unfortunately, I'm still struggling with a lot of my previous issues - careless mistakes, slow/wrong arithmetic, Number Properties, Primes & Divisibility, Exponents & Roots, and Fractions. Something is just not clicking with me since I continue to make the same types of mistakes.

Thanks!

Repeating problems does not help because you simply repeat the memorized solution/answer and you learn nothing new. You can do the problems in the Princeton Review 1037 GMAT problems book. They are close to style to the official ones and the level is from fundamentals to very messy ones requiring plugging in numbers. The bad news is that this book has more typos than necessary but not as many as some reviews on Amazon claim. The second bad news is that the solutions give preference to plugging in numbers vs simple algebra which in my opinion is not the best approach for easy algebra problems but is an excellent approach for tough problems not amenable to a simple algebraic solution.

Try to solve every problem under timer because that is way different from solving it with unlimited time. Try some other CAT's like GMATClub, GMATPrep, GMATFocus.

Mindless solving of problems will not be helpful unless you learn from your mistakes. When you solve a problem and get it wrong because of some trap, try to extract the trap and make a list of traps in which you fall into. In the future, look out for red flags that indicate the problem may have a trap in it. That will help you avoid it.

Thanks tutorphd, that was very helpful advice. I'll try to get a hold of that Princeton book and do some of those CATs.

I just took another practice test today and it is clear whatever I'm doing isn't working. I've seen virtually no improvement in my scores despite countless hours of studying. Here is my practice test history:

June 2011: 630 (Diagnostic exam before I even started studying. Finished each sections in 30-35 minutes.)
April 2012: 640
April 2012: 660
May 2012: 640
July 2012: 650

I forgot to update this post after my retake. I figure it is worth updating to show people with some hard work, it is possible to really boost your score.

After getting the 620, I got back to work, primarily just doing a lot of problems, taking lots of notes on my common mistakes, and doing some more practice tests. After a few more months of heavy studying, I scored a 750 (46Q, 47V). While I still think I could have done better on my quant, I'm obviously very happy with the score.

mport1 wrote:I forgot to update this post after my retake. I figure it is worth updating to show people with some hard work, it is possible to really boost your score.

After getting the 620, I got back to work, primarily just doing a lot of problems, taking lots of notes on my common mistakes, and doing some more practice tests. After a few more months of heavy studying, I scored a 750 (46Q, 47V). While I still think I could have done better on my quant, I'm obviously very happy with the score.

what did you do? how'd you improve so drastically?

fourteenstix wrote:

mport1 wrote:I forgot to update this post after my retake. I figure it is worth updating to show people with some hard work, it is possible to really boost your score.

After getting the 620, I got back to work, primarily just doing a lot of problems, taking lots of notes on my common mistakes, and doing some more practice tests. After a few more months of heavy studying, I scored a 750 (46Q, 47V). While I still think I could have done better on my quant, I'm obviously very happy with the score.

what did you do? how'd you improve so drastically?

I pretty much kept doing the same stuff, but really focused on understanding where my weak points were and kept hitting them over and over again with problems.

i'm sorry... i'm lost. you score 620-650 over the course of 4 months. then with two weeks to go, you pull out a 750? that seems to have come from nowhere.

what materials did you use? do you have an error log you can show? how much time did you spend a day? details man!!!

fourteenstix wrote:i'm sorry... i'm lost. you score 620-650 over the course of 4 months. then with two weeks to go, you pull out a 750? that seems to have come from nowhere.

what materials did you use? do you have an error log you can show? how much time did you spend a day? details man!!!

Like I said, it was mostly doing the same thing I'd done in the past, but really focusing on doing problems over and over again until I understood them and my common mistakes. I made sure to take extensive notes on my weak areas so I could review them frequently. I kept track of the problems I continuously missed and focused on repeating them until I understood them (Official Guide and Manhattan GMAT were the only materials I used).

I wanted to make sure I still did well on Verbal, so I spent maybe 25% of my time on that. Luckily I upped my score by 2 points on the exam. I found "Thursdays with Ron" videos from Manhattan GMAT to be very helpful for verbal.