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Mustbeatquant
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 10:01 am
- GMAT Score:700
I just want to preface this by saying I'd sincerely appreciate any insight or feedback you might have. Though I'm an avid reader of the Beat the GMAT forums, this is my first time posting.
Study Materials:
MGMAT class
All of the MGMAT Books
MGMAT CAT exams
Beat the GMAT forums and Questions of the Day
OG Guide 2013
Problem
I have a strong verbal score, but my quant score is low due in part to stress. 600+ level questions make me super nervous and usually throw me off my game. I tend to miss questions early on and/or miss 3 or 4 questions in a row during the exam (total score killer). My current study strategies have kept my score at a standstill.
Goal
Increase my quant score from 36-38 to 46-49 in order to balance out my overall score to around 710-730.
My Situation
I took a MGMAT class my senior fall and improved my score from a 540 to a 640. I studied diligently for 3 months and improved my verbal score from a 28 to a 42 by targeting my weaknesses, learning how to identify the 7 things the GMAT tests for, and using everyday speech and writing as practice. I was very content at my progress with verbal, but my quant score barely budged (only one or two points higher than when I started). Senior year got crazy, and I ended up taking about a year off from GMAT prep because I knew that I had plenty of time before B-school.
I'll be starting a two-year rotational program at a top company in August and would really like to have the GMAT behind me by then. I took a CAT to see where I was at and scored a 630. As expected, my verbal score was strong (>90%) and my quant score was dreadful (<50%).
My main problem areas have been Algebra, RDT, Statistics, and Exponents. I've become rather strong in most other areas and can consistently answer questions up to the 700 level. I've gone through all of the MGMAT books with a fine tooth comb and have completed almost all of the practice problems. The problem is as soon as I see too many variables or a particularly wordy question during the exam I freeze up and seemingly forget all that I've learned. When I review my CATs I often find that I made silly mistakes or allowed stress to impair my judgement.
I scheduled an official exam for June 7th so that I'm extra motivated to get this over with. Over the past two weeks I've gone back to my CATs and revisited all of the quant problems. I've kept an error log and am using StudyBlue (an online flashcard service) to keep question bank so that I can skim through questions while on the go or at home. The reason I chose to start off this way is that I feel like my quant score is stagnent because I havn't spent enough time reading actual GMAT questions. Some people have adviced me to just take as many CATs as possible and analyze them to the nth degree. I'm not sure if that's the best strategy, but at this point it's all I can come up with.
Essentially, I'd love to hear the community's thoughts on the following:
-How can I build confidence and gain constancy on the quant section when it comes to answering higher level questions?
-What strategies and/or plans are there to help people get from the 36-38 range to the 47-49 range (and how likely is it given plenty of time and effort?)
-The tricks that GMAT test makers are using to confuse test takers are totally owning me. With verbal, I can easily identify the tricks and work around them - not the case with quant. Is there a method to learn how to identify the quant tricks (or structures) and then overcome them?
I'm happy to provide more information if needed. I'll work for as long as it takes to reach my target score, but for now my focus is on getting past this hump. Thank you!!
Study Materials:
MGMAT class
All of the MGMAT Books
MGMAT CAT exams
Beat the GMAT forums and Questions of the Day
OG Guide 2013
Problem
I have a strong verbal score, but my quant score is low due in part to stress. 600+ level questions make me super nervous and usually throw me off my game. I tend to miss questions early on and/or miss 3 or 4 questions in a row during the exam (total score killer). My current study strategies have kept my score at a standstill.
Goal
Increase my quant score from 36-38 to 46-49 in order to balance out my overall score to around 710-730.
My Situation
I took a MGMAT class my senior fall and improved my score from a 540 to a 640. I studied diligently for 3 months and improved my verbal score from a 28 to a 42 by targeting my weaknesses, learning how to identify the 7 things the GMAT tests for, and using everyday speech and writing as practice. I was very content at my progress with verbal, but my quant score barely budged (only one or two points higher than when I started). Senior year got crazy, and I ended up taking about a year off from GMAT prep because I knew that I had plenty of time before B-school.
I'll be starting a two-year rotational program at a top company in August and would really like to have the GMAT behind me by then. I took a CAT to see where I was at and scored a 630. As expected, my verbal score was strong (>90%) and my quant score was dreadful (<50%).
My main problem areas have been Algebra, RDT, Statistics, and Exponents. I've become rather strong in most other areas and can consistently answer questions up to the 700 level. I've gone through all of the MGMAT books with a fine tooth comb and have completed almost all of the practice problems. The problem is as soon as I see too many variables or a particularly wordy question during the exam I freeze up and seemingly forget all that I've learned. When I review my CATs I often find that I made silly mistakes or allowed stress to impair my judgement.
I scheduled an official exam for June 7th so that I'm extra motivated to get this over with. Over the past two weeks I've gone back to my CATs and revisited all of the quant problems. I've kept an error log and am using StudyBlue (an online flashcard service) to keep question bank so that I can skim through questions while on the go or at home. The reason I chose to start off this way is that I feel like my quant score is stagnent because I havn't spent enough time reading actual GMAT questions. Some people have adviced me to just take as many CATs as possible and analyze them to the nth degree. I'm not sure if that's the best strategy, but at this point it's all I can come up with.
Essentially, I'd love to hear the community's thoughts on the following:
-How can I build confidence and gain constancy on the quant section when it comes to answering higher level questions?
-What strategies and/or plans are there to help people get from the 36-38 range to the 47-49 range (and how likely is it given plenty of time and effort?)
-The tricks that GMAT test makers are using to confuse test takers are totally owning me. With verbal, I can easily identify the tricks and work around them - not the case with quant. Is there a method to learn how to identify the quant tricks (or structures) and then overcome them?
I'm happy to provide more information if needed. I'll work for as long as it takes to reach my target score, but for now my focus is on getting past this hump. Thank you!!
