can i get some advice for quant?

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millhouse: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 10; Joined: Sun Sep 28, 2008 10:59 pm; GMAT Score:670

can i get some advice for quant?

by millhouse » Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:43 am

Hi,

I wrote the gmat a week ago got 670(38V,44Q) 85th, 83rd and 70th percentile.

I don't see my verbal increasing much more. It was my weakness and I dont see myself as having much more room for improvement.

I come from a science background and I think I can improve in the quant section. My prep consisted of princeton review cracking the gmat, og11 manhat cats and of course this wonderful website!

Any tips on how to improve my quant? gmat club? manhat math books?
what do you guys thnk of these resources?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:43 am

VP_Jim: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1223; Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 3:29 pm; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 185 times; Followed by:15 members

by VP_Jim » Fri Jan 30, 2009 2:07 pm

This is just a theory, but...

Many of my students with backgrounds in quant-heavy fields such as science, engineering, finance, etc. tend to have a little trouble getting over the 45Q hurdle because they are used to solving things "by the book" - setting up equations, writing out all work, etc.

The key to GMAT quant is instead of studying the "real way" to do everything, focus on strategies, tricks, and shortcuts to save you lots of time, mental energy, and (usually) silly mistakes.

I'd recommend going through the problems in the OG and asking yourself: is this REALLY the best way to solve this problem? Practice your problem solving abilities and mental flexibility rather than your algebra and arithmetic.

Jim S. | GMAT Instructor | Veritas Prep

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mayonnai5e: Legendary Member; Posts: 1018; Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:19 pm; Thanked: 86 times; Followed by:6 members

by mayonnai5e » Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:09 pm

I agree with Jim 100% on this one being an engineer myself. We tend to approach problems with a very specific idea of how to solve the problem, which is ingrained from years of math background with calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, etc. However, what I discovered is that the GMAT often has tricks that are hidden under "complexity" - the test writers use this to fool people into doing things the slow way, complicated way. Once I started embracing ideas such as plugging in numbers, my scores (and timing) improved greatly. See my blog for my post on quant complexity near the end.

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Bara: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 383; Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2008 5:20 pm; Location: Online Conferencing - in person in select cities.; Thanked: 55 times; Followed by:21 members

by Bara » Sun Feb 01, 2009 8:00 pm

Improving quant, I agree with my two colleagues, does involve strategy, however, I think we can go a little deeper than this.

1. Identify in all your work what kinds of questions are you getting wrong. Data Sufficiency benefits more about 'thinking out of the box' as compared to straight 'problem solving.' We believe the GMAT is a great indicator or 'snapshot' of you as a business person. As such, a way of thinking that includes standardization and efficiency, as well as calculated risk, is how one should approach the test.

2. Memorize equations and relationships (such as quadratic equations, exponent rules, group formula, statistics, etc.) This will buy you time and accuracy.

3. While 'Plugging In/Backsolving' works somewhat, it really is a technique best used on algebra and DS. It is most useful on the SAT and GRE, rather than the GMAT, where you need to leverage math skills more. So make sure you're fully flexed.

4. Our clients use a state-of-the-art adaptive online program which gives students homework (untimed), quizzes and CAT drills (timed) (about 5000 questions) which gives them an accurate reading of what you're getting wrong, and how your timing compares to the average test taker's timing.

The material also demonstrates a 360-degree exploration of how math works, ie. how absolute value works in every situation, instead of the most obvious way, which is how many books review it. Using a program like this, is an air tight way to gain mastery over the math as well as timing. Which is why all our clients use it.

And about VERBAL:

I would actually challenge you about improving your verbal score. We've work with folks like you all the time - - its about targeted, clear changes, a result of looking over your mistakes to understand WHY you continue to get certain questions right and others wrong. Then make the adaptations and changes.

Good Luck!

Bara Sapir, MA, CHt, CNLP
Founder/CEO City Test Prep
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