Time Management in the Quantitative section

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Time Management in the Quantitative section

by tomada » Sun Feb 12, 2012 11:48 am
I specified the Quantitative section because, when taking practice exams, I never find myself in "time trouble" in the Verbal section.
I also know that a myriad of people, particularly those whose scores were perfect or near-perfect, have stressed the importance of pacing oneself in either section, and to remember that an excellent raw score can be obtained without answering all questions correctly.

I'm taking the online Manhattan GMAT CATs, which I value highly since they are purported to approximate the level of difficulty of the actual examination.
A few minutes ago, I completed one of MGMAT's online CATS, and scored 730 (Q49, V41) overall. I'm happy with that, but I do recognize that this is not the actual exam. My Quant score had an "Estimated Percentile Rank" (anyone taking MGMAT's online CATs should recognize this term) of 90%.

I then analyzed my Quant score, one question at a time, which displays this "Estimated Percentile Rank" (EPR) at every juncture (question) of the exam.
I had answered the first 19 questions correctly and, understandably, the EPR was 99% at this juncture.

I answered question 20 incorrectly, and the EPR dropped to 94%. I'll spare everyone any further blow-by-blow, but I was at a 99% after Question 34. I had answered 30 out of 34 questions correctly, but did not answer the final 3 questions, as time expired.

After Question 35, which I had not answered, the EPR displayed 90%, and apparently remained so over the next two unanswered questions.
On one hand, I'm glad that the 90% did not decrease from Question 35 through Question 37 inclusive, but I'm also a bit surprised. However, I might be interpreting the final EPR incorrectly. Perhaps the final EPR of 90% does take into account all 3 unanswered questions, as opposed to dropping 9 points after Question 35, but dropping no further over the final 2 questions.

The "bottom line" (I hate that phrase, but I do work for accountants...) is that missing the final 3 questions took me from an EPR of 99% to an EPR of 90%. Of course, I may have answered all 3 questions incorrectly, but I'd certainly welcome the opportunity to try to answer them correctly. When I look back at some of the earlier questions on the test, I realize that I could've (should've?) had my "eureka!" moment substantially sooner, relatively speaking.
I'm really old, but I'll never be too old to become more educated.
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by VivianKerr » Sun Feb 12, 2012 8:00 pm
If you keep targeting your weak areas content-wise, you should be able to make up the difference. I wouldn't worry too much about "EPR" -- I've never given a thought to that. :-)

It may help you to analyze the questions more thoroughly in your practice sessions BEFORE deciding how to solve, since many GMAT Quant questions can be solved in multiple ways.

Pull out the important info first. Write down any key numbers, variables, or phrases from the question and write them down on your scratch pad. This is the step most students skip. Don't just scan the screen and start solving. Forcing yourself to slow down and process each piece of information will give your brain time to sort through it. This may lead you to find a faster way to solve!

Backsolve when there are numbers in the answer choices. Sometimes just doing the algebra will be the simplest way to the get the correct answer, but backsolving is a great strategy to check your work as you go. Go through the answer choices and plug each one into the question.

Pick Numbers as much as possible. Substituting abstracts like "x" for easy-to-worth-with integers like "2" and "3." Keep the numbers small and make sure they are allowed by the definitions in the question.

Look at your Error Logs, find your 3 weakest Quant concepts, and spend the next two weeks mastering them. Then see if your pacing improves. :-)
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by tomada » Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:19 pm
I realize that I've clicked the 'Thank' button, but I wanted to personally thank you for your suggestions, and for taking the time to respond to my post.
I'm really old, but I'll never be too old to become more educated.