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What to focus on now for quant: Time Management OR hard q's

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What to focus on now for quant: Time Management OR hard q's

by Ysabelle » Sat Jul 13, 2013 11:55 am
Hello there,
I'm looking for some advice as to how to approach the last stretch of my GMAT studying. I'm focusing 100% on quant since I'm consistently scoring 95% percentile or more on the verbal.

Quant is definitely my area of weakness, on my last GMAT prep I scored in the 21st percentile. I've studied a lot since then and I think that to a certain extent I've mastered most of the studying material.

I'm taking the test in 3 weeks and I have two areas I need to focus on.
-Hard questions on the GMAT prep software. I'm getting almost all of the questions right on easy and medium questions on the GMAT prep software however, I'm having a hard time with the Hard questions. 90% of all my errors on the test are on hard questions
-Time management. I've already improved a lot on this but I could do better also.

My question is, should I focus on getting the harder questions right or on improving time management for the easier questions? I know hitting some of the hard questions right is the only way to get high scores so I'm tempted to focus on that but would like expert opinions

Thanks a lot to this helpful community!
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Jul 14, 2013 6:14 am
The computer adaptive nature ensures that you will see questions that are difficult . . . for you.
So, if someone is scoring below the 50th percentile, he/she won't see 700-level questions. He/she won't see 300-level questions either.
If you've been scoring in the 21st percentile, then you probably shouldn't be practicing 700-level questions until you've mastered the easier questions. In fact, your quant score suggests that you might have some gaps in your math fundamentals. so you might want to go back and study some of those first.

Given that you have 3 weeks left to prepare, I suggest that you first focus on concepts that have the greatest return on investment (ROI). These are concepts that are tested frequently and require the least amount of time to learn. In my opinion, these concepts are:
- Sentence Correction
- Data Sufficiency strategies
- Percent
- Integer Properties
- Powers/roots
- Algebra
- Geometry

The best way to practice questions that are in your perfect range of difficulty is to take practice tests. Keep in mind that you can take the official GMATPrep tests (https://www.mba.com/the-gmat/download-fr ... tware.aspx) multiple times. Yes, you will see some repeated questions, but not that many. This will allow you to practice with math questions at the right level AND help you perfect your time management skills (and build endurance).

If you're interested, we have a free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by Ysabelle » Sun Jul 14, 2013 5:42 pm
Thanks Brent,

I apologize I think I might not have explained the situation properly :). I've studied a LOT since my diagnostic quant score of 21% percentile. I actually just re-took a new GMAT prep test today and scored 44 on the quant (66th percentile).

Personally I feel like I've mastered the material and I no longer need to review the basics. I see two ways of improving my score.
1) Get better at time management. I'm still having issues with this, skipping about 7/8 questions at the end because I'm running out of time. I'm confident that I can answer most of the questions I see during the test, the errors I get are because I could solve the question in 3,4 minutes (Of course I'm skipping these in the test but after review, I know I could have answered with more time).
2) When I practice on the GMAT prep software, when I am in study mode and can choose the level of questions EASY, MEDIUM or HARD, I get all of the questions easy, medium right. The questions that have the label HARD, I have issues with. Probably because they have 700+ level questions and I'm not at that level. I'm very aware that the test is CAT so the test adapts to my level but I would like to answer some hard ones right to get my score up.

So, my question is, given that I have 3 weeks left. What's the best way to concentrate my efforts. Improve my pacing on easier, medium questions so I don't run out of time OR try and get some of those 700+ questions right?

Thanks so much Brent and all other helpful GMAT wizzards!
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by AndyMann » Sun Jul 14, 2013 6:47 pm
Hi Ysabelle,

I am also a GMAT soldier like yourself. Based on my experience, I can say that if you want to score really good (49+) in quant, you have to learn to solve some of the questions conceptually. I am not sure what your quant strategy is, but if you are trying to apply formulas to most of the questions,it can really slow you down. Solving the easier/medium questions conceptually will give you few more minutes for the hard quant questions. Check this post out from Stacey:

https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... 0-seconds/

GMAT loves to combine the percentages,sets and average questions together into a hybrid question. You can solve them quickly if you can conceive them conceptually. Just using formulas is not efficient on these questions. Brent(GMAT prep now) has really nice videos on solving such questions using the double matrix method. GMAT just loves these kind of questions. The advantage of double matrix method is that it helps you to organize information properly and then solve it efficiently. The same strategy applies to rate/time, work questions. If you can conceive them conceptually, you will be able to solve them fast and efficiently.

Thinking conceptually will really accelerate your timing on DS questions, because once you have a big picture of the question, you don't need to solve it in detail. Thinking conceptually will also help you to avoid GMAT traps.

Also, whenever you get a question wrong, search the forums for the solution. There will be multiple methods to solve the same question. Everybody is different and has different strengths and weaknesses, so you have to determine the best method, which works for you.

Hope this information helps!

On a different note, I am really struggling with the verbal section. Can you share some tips that helped you to get a 95th percentile on verbal? What are the best practices you follow for SC,CR and RC?


Thanks,
Andy
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by Ysabelle » Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:35 am
Thanks Andy. Though I'm definitely not aiming for a 750 on Math (700 would make me very happy), those videos were useful. I like the idea of training myself to respond to some questions faster so I can spend more time on harder questions.

I'm also guessing that recognizing questions that will take a very long time to solve would be helpful, so I will be focusing on that.

Finally someone told me that these are the categories with the biggest payouts in order: TEST it questions, Data Sufficiency, Algebra, Math Rules questions, Math Formula questions, Geometry.

Also found that very useful because when I'm running out of time, I'm tempted to skip the DS questions that take more time, obviously that's not a good idea.

Regarding verbal, unfortunately I don't have many tips because I've barely studied the verbal. I'm not a native English speaker and I think that somehow learning English "formally" in school really helped me for the GMAT verbal. If only I could say the same for the math ;)

For the SC, however I do apply three strategies that seem to work:
1)Find what's wrong with the sentence before reading the choices. Underline on your sheet of paper the errors that are in the existing sentence so you don't forget any after reading the choices
2)Deconstruct the sentence in different parts and make sure they are all grammatically correct. The GMAT seems to make sentences very lengthy and complicated in order to make you miss major grammatical mistake
3)Don't choose another option that A, unless there is something fundamentally wrong with the initial choice. I've chosen a few times choices that just "sounded better" than the original sentence and every time I was wrong. When I'm in doubt between keeping the original and picking one that sounds better, I stick with the original.

Good luck with your studying~
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