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drewbear24
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:14 am
Hey guys,
I could really use some advice on my GMAT studying tactics for Quant... and probably in general.
A little background of my situation:
1.Completed a Veritas class in mid October of this year. While I did learn about the test and some tips to guessing and etc, I felt like the majority of my time during those class weeks was spent on trying to prepare for each class lesson as opposed to practicing enough questions from the strategies I learned in class.
2.After the class, I took my first practice test and received a 510 (35Q/25V). I only took the Quant and Verbal portions ( I know I need to take the full tests to get the endurance). I felt like the poor results were because I didn't practice enough problems, my pacing was horrible, and I didn't review enough of the core math concepts.
3. I continued to study only Quant based on a plan I developed which entailed reviewing Veritas' books for a couple days and practicing the problems for each section. I then took another test 13 days later and got the exact same overall score, 510 (33Q/27V). Since I was only studying Quant during those 13 days, I expected my Verbal score to stay around the same while my Quant improved. After reviewing my test results, I had a couple takeaways: 1)I made careless mistakes, 2) I still needed to review core concepts, 3) My pacing improved (I was timing myself when doing practice problems throughout the 13 days), and 4) I studied too much on the same day I took the 2nd test (i.e. 3+ hours earlier in the morning).
4. I realized I needed a more structured plan, so I pushed back my test date to January 8th and stumbled upon BEATtheGMAT platform and enrolled in the 60-day study plan. While I have enjoyed this plan, I have found it difficult to complete all the videos and practice problems each day with a full-time job. I find myself taking 3+ hours to finish the videos alone (I like to take a lot of notes to help learn the concepts). Currently, I'm supposed to be on day 27, but I just finished day 22 which is the 2nd attempt of the GMATPrep Practice Exam #1. Just an FYI, my social life is on pause and all I do is work and study.
5. On day 22 of the study plan, you are supposed to reattempt the 1st practice exam. The focus is to see if there has been improvement in your Quant score. After taking ONLY the Quant section of the second attempt for Test 1, I scored a sad 35Q.
6. While reviewing the results for Quant section of the test, I noticed several things: 1) I have difficulty understanding what the questions are asking me and I think this is largely because of the timed aspect of the test. I find myself rereading the question multiple times. When I reviewed the questions after the test, I was able to answer almost all of them correctly. It seems like it takes me around 1-2 minutes to understand what the questions are asking me to do and then I can solve them. There are still concepts that I need to practice and master.
I feel like I need to move forward with the verbal portion of my study plan, however, I am no way satisfied with my Quant score. I'm putting in 3+ hours of studying a day, but I just can't seem to get over this huge challenge of understanding what the questions are asking me in the timed setting.
Help and advice from anyone would greatly be appreciated as I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to see a 700+ score (I'm shooting for a 730). Would my situation call for a 1-on-1 tutor?
-Thanks
Andrew
I could really use some advice on my GMAT studying tactics for Quant... and probably in general.
A little background of my situation:
1.Completed a Veritas class in mid October of this year. While I did learn about the test and some tips to guessing and etc, I felt like the majority of my time during those class weeks was spent on trying to prepare for each class lesson as opposed to practicing enough questions from the strategies I learned in class.
2.After the class, I took my first practice test and received a 510 (35Q/25V). I only took the Quant and Verbal portions ( I know I need to take the full tests to get the endurance). I felt like the poor results were because I didn't practice enough problems, my pacing was horrible, and I didn't review enough of the core math concepts.
3. I continued to study only Quant based on a plan I developed which entailed reviewing Veritas' books for a couple days and practicing the problems for each section. I then took another test 13 days later and got the exact same overall score, 510 (33Q/27V). Since I was only studying Quant during those 13 days, I expected my Verbal score to stay around the same while my Quant improved. After reviewing my test results, I had a couple takeaways: 1)I made careless mistakes, 2) I still needed to review core concepts, 3) My pacing improved (I was timing myself when doing practice problems throughout the 13 days), and 4) I studied too much on the same day I took the 2nd test (i.e. 3+ hours earlier in the morning).
4. I realized I needed a more structured plan, so I pushed back my test date to January 8th and stumbled upon BEATtheGMAT platform and enrolled in the 60-day study plan. While I have enjoyed this plan, I have found it difficult to complete all the videos and practice problems each day with a full-time job. I find myself taking 3+ hours to finish the videos alone (I like to take a lot of notes to help learn the concepts). Currently, I'm supposed to be on day 27, but I just finished day 22 which is the 2nd attempt of the GMATPrep Practice Exam #1. Just an FYI, my social life is on pause and all I do is work and study.
5. On day 22 of the study plan, you are supposed to reattempt the 1st practice exam. The focus is to see if there has been improvement in your Quant score. After taking ONLY the Quant section of the second attempt for Test 1, I scored a sad 35Q.
6. While reviewing the results for Quant section of the test, I noticed several things: 1) I have difficulty understanding what the questions are asking me and I think this is largely because of the timed aspect of the test. I find myself rereading the question multiple times. When I reviewed the questions after the test, I was able to answer almost all of them correctly. It seems like it takes me around 1-2 minutes to understand what the questions are asking me to do and then I can solve them. There are still concepts that I need to practice and master.
I feel like I need to move forward with the verbal portion of my study plan, however, I am no way satisfied with my Quant score. I'm putting in 3+ hours of studying a day, but I just can't seem to get over this huge challenge of understanding what the questions are asking me in the timed setting.
Help and advice from anyone would greatly be appreciated as I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to see a 700+ score (I'm shooting for a 730). Would my situation call for a 1-on-1 tutor?
-Thanks
Andrew
