How to stop rushing through my quantitative!

Problem Solving — algebra and arithmetic (GMAT Focus Edition)
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I really hope someone who is reading this can offer advice =)

I took the GMAT in December and scored in the 73rd percentile in Verbal and didn't even make it to the last 5 questions.
I score in the 49th percentile in Quant - yikes - with 10 minutes to spare at the end of the quant section!!! I just rushed through it I guess and then when I realized that my pace was too quick and I was getting the easiest questions ever, the quant section was just plain over. Damage done.

Since then, I've been using a timer and really trying to pace myself to spend 2 minutes per question. I always write notes, plug numbers, think through positive/negative cases, is it an integer, is it a right triangle? All the traps etc. When I think I know it and am done with it and it's only been a minute, I take the time to review the question.

I rarely change my answer after the review.

But you guessed it - somehow I end up with time to spare and I'm still scoring at the 49th percentile. I'm a freak.

I had 6 weeks to study before I took it the first time; I crammed for 4 weeks before I started a new job, and then planned to do practice tests the last two weeks but only managed one practice test. So now I'm focusing more on pacing and practice tests. I used the Kaplan Premier to study originally and then bought the OG Quant Review to raise my quant score. I have the Manhattan GMAT flash cards, my own flashcards but now I'm just using GMAT Hack's notes for my flashcards.

I've gone through all the questions and am following GMAT Hacks's advice to never do more than 37 quant problems in one sitting.

I take my test in a week and a half. Took a personal day on Feb 3rd to take it. Everyone is writing about how they don't have time during quant, and I feel like if I took the time I actually HAVE I would get the score I want (ideally 70-75th percentile for Quant as well).

What am I doing wrong? Please help!

Thx
S.
Source: — Quantitative Reasoning |

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by Osirus@VeritasPrep » Tue Jan 26, 2010 6:15 am
I have never bought into that use of a timer and only spending two minutes per question. The questions you know how to do well you will probably do faster than in two minutes, the problems you can figure out will probably take a little longer than 2 minutes. What I try to do is if I read a problem and instantly know that there is a very small chance I will be able to figure it out, I determine if there is anything I can solve for that would allow me to make a better guess. If not, I guess and go. This way, you don't waste any time on the problems you will probably get wrong anyway, and you give yourself more time on the problems that you can do. One thing to consider is that it may not be a timing issue alone, you may need to develop a better understanding of the material. The better you understand the material, the faster you will solve the problems.

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by Brian@VeritasPrep » Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:26 am
Hi S.,

First off, congratulations on having some additional time on the quant section that you can put to good use - that in itself is a pretty nice asset that most do not have!

My advice - you say that you take time at the end of each question to look for "all the traps", and from what I read from that you're looking for "all the traps" that you've read about or been told about, but not necessarily all the traps that may give you trouble. I'd suggest that you go back through your last 2-3 practice tests and jot down a few keywords for each of the questions that you got wrong. Some may be: "forgot about negative" or "assumed integer", but others may be "didn't distribute negative" or "wrote 4 to look like 9" - you may find patterns in your mistakes that aren't part of the general dialogue on this board or in your books, but are still recurring errors that you'll want to check.

One other thought - on your next practice test or 37-question homework set, try to slow yourself down by articulating to yourself WHY you're making each step in calculation, and WHY you know you're able to do so: "Now I'll multiply both sides by x to eliminate the denominator, which I know I can do because x is positive so the inequality sign won't flip". You may catch yourself making quick calculation decisions that are incorrect (if x weren't known to be positive, for example, you wouldn't be able to multiply out the denominator in an inequality), whereas if you're working quickly, you'll just move on to the next step without pausing.

I hope that helps...
Brian Galvin
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Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

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