Cutting your losses on Quant(re:timing)

drhomler wrote:Is 2 minutes a good rule of thumb? I recently read a post on scorechase where someone mentioned that there scored in quant jumped after they started letting go of those hard to reach ones. Im wondering if that is my problem too. My last two MGMAT prep tests where 45Q and 38V and while I would like to think I can improve both before the test on the 30th and thinking I have been spending too much time on certain quant questions. Am I better off dumping the 700-800 level questions and after 2 minutes and just nailing every 600-700? Thoughts? Ruminations?

In the OG an Quant review I get almost every one right except the DS towards the end.

Basically Im getting jittery-help

The key is to pace yourself and make sure that you finish all questions in all sections--and do it in a way where you feel like you gave yourself a fair shot for each question.

I think that 2 min is a good rule of thumb for each questions (maybe slightly on the high side). I would certainly not give myself more than 2 min for any given question...

Try not to get too nervous!

This applies to math questions - timing is a little different for the various verbal questions.

Yes, give yourself a fair shot - but don't go over 2 min on most questions. Every now and then, you can go 30 sec or so over, but ONLY IF you know exactly what you're doing at the 2-min mark and you just need to finish off the calculations.

DO NOT blow a bunch of time on 700+ level questions at the expense of lower level questions. The way the algorithm works, you will lose more by getting a lower-level question wrong than you will by getting a higher-level question wrong. Recognize that the test is trying to find your limit and IT WILL. You cannot get around that - all you can do is let go when it has found your limit.