How to Improve in Data Sufficiency??? What book to buy?

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irish200: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 25; Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 7:21 pm; Location: Ohio; Thanked: 1 times; GMAT Score:750

by irish200 » Mon May 25, 2009 7:44 pm

Hey guys,

First time posting, I just graduated from college and my employer (a consulting firm) recommends I take the GMAT now while I am still fresh out of school and have a lot of free time. I will likely apply to school in 2 or 3 years and I must be accepted to a top 20 school. (I am aiming 700+).

I took my first practice GMAT CAT with no prep whatsover in the midst of school in March (Free download software per mba.com)
....710 (94%) Q 45 (76%) V 42 (96%)

Then this month I bought and worked with the Kaplan GMAT premier program 2009 edition, and I thought the strategies were helping me with data sufficiency (apparently not). Using the paper/pencil test in the book:
....670 (91%) Q 44 (74%) V 45 (99%)

I miss almost 1/2 the data sufficiency problems every time!!! As someone who scored a 750 on SAT math and 35 ACT math, how am I now in the 70some percentile?????

I am considering buying GMAT Official Guide Quatitative Review....Is this my best option for a book to vastly improve data sufficiency??? I hear good things about the OG.[/b]

Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Mon May 25, 2009 7:44 pm

VP_Jim: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1223; Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 3:29 pmFollowed by: 15 members; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 185 times

by VP_Jim » Mon May 25, 2009 8:40 pm

You can't go wrong with the OG. It sounds to me like you have strong quant ability but just need to get used to the question format - the OG is great for that purpose since you'll have dozens of actual old GMAT questions to work with. Given your SAT math score, I don't think you have to worry too much as long as you put in the time to study.

Jim S. | GMAT Instructor | Veritas Prep

farooq: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 140; Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2009 8:51 amFollowed by: 3 members; Location: India; Thanked: 14 times

Re: How to Improve in Data Sufficiency??? What book to buy?

by farooq » Mon May 25, 2009 9:12 pm

As you mentioned, you scored 710 without referring GMAT standard books like Kaplan or OG, I believe you are strong enough in Maths and SC basic concepts and score of 750 or above will be easy to achieve.

GMAT DS questions are bit different from those of other competitive exam, therefore, it is recommend to familiarize GMAT DS standard pattern and question types.

Also read Kaplan or Princeton for DS strategies...especially for Yes or No questions.

Thanks and best of luck for your further score/test

Regards,
Farooq

Regards,
Farooq Farooqui.
London. UK

It is your Attitude, not your Aptitude, that determines your Altitude.

4score20: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 133; Joined: Thu May 21, 2009 11:28 am; Thanked: 3 times

by 4score20 » Wed May 27, 2009 2:51 pm

Try some of problems in the challenge archive of Manhattan GMAT. They are more difficult and can sharpen your skills.

...
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ManhattanReview: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 32; Joined: Tue Jan 12, 2010 11:32 amFollowed by: 1 member; Location: New York / Grand Central; Thanked: 1 times

by ManhattanReview » Sun Jan 22, 2017 11:51 pm

For everyone who is looking for a book on the topic, Manhattan Review has published a book dedicated solely to Data Sufficiency:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1629260657/

Good luck on the test!

-Tim
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Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Mon Jan 23, 2017 5:21 am

If we're reviving this old thread, I'll mention that we have a set of 16 free videos that cover everything you need to know to tackle DS questions: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-data-sufficiency

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

GMAT/MBA Expert

Bara: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 383; Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2008 5:20 pmFollowed by: 21 members; Location: Online Conferencing - in person in select cities.; Thanked: 55 times

by Bara » Wed Jan 25, 2017 12:40 am

And I'll throw into the mix here that often DS isn't about math, it's about thinking out of the box and the strategy in applying the information provided in the question set.

One fun thing to do, believe it or not, is to read anti-jokes, it can kick you out of the normal way of thinking through questions.

But that's just a fun thing to do. And only marginally relevant.

OG is a given. As are the prior OGs. Get them all.

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