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Concepts are right but scores are low - how?

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Concepts are right but scores are low - how?

by nehs » Mon Aug 30, 2010 11:56 am
I have 3 weeks to my real test and I am not doing well in the prep tests. I keep getting extremely disappointing scores of 470 or 490. I have given 2 tests till now(GMAT prep and PR).

My basic concepts of Quant and verbal are in place(thankfully!!). Some how the scores seem to be stuck. I really don't know what to do. I have seriously been studying for 1 month now. I know that 1 month of study is definitely enough for atleast a 500 - then why are my scores so low. I am confused.

Quant - I get about 40 quest right
Verbal - I get about 18 right and many RC quest tend to be wrong

In my final review,that started 2 days back, I am going through the OG(12), Manhattan GMAT books for SC and CR. In addition,I do some questions from kaplan too. The Manhattan GMAT books seem to be very good for SC and CR.

Any tips to increase my score by about 100 points? What more should I concentrate on?I have taken off from work for this whole month and hence I can definitely study for 4-5 hours a day.

P.S.:My target score is 550-580.

Please advice me with whatever you can...Thank You...
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by Brian@VeritasPrep » Mon Aug 30, 2010 2:09 pm
Hey nehs,

Great question...and, honestly, I don't think you're in too bad of shape. You're actually at the fun part of the GMAT study process. The GMAT is a test of:

Approx. 25% - content (algebra, grammar, etc.)
Approx. 75% - problem solving and analytical abilities
(my estimates on the fly...could be 20-80 or 30-70, but this should give you the idea!)

I've even heard it directly from the horse's mouth at a meeting with GMAC last fall, in which one of the higher-up reps told me "we test people on algebra and grammar because we have to make the test about something, but we're primarily concerned with higher-order thinking skills." It's necessary, but not sufficient, to know the concepts.

At this point, you need to "think about how you think". Go back to your old practice tests and homework sets and ask yourself:
  • Which mistakes are you commonly making? Careless arithmetic? Faulty assumptions? Answering a tangential question?
    How are you pacing yourself? Could you benefit by slowing down to minimize mistakes? Do you need to get faster to see more questions?
    What is your thought process on the types of questions that you're missing most? Are you narrowing the choices down to two but guessing wrong? Do the answers you select "feel right" or do you have specific reasons for choosing those / eliminating others?
If you can analyze the way that you think, you should find some reasons that you're answering incorrectly even when you know the concepts, and that can help you improve. Keep us posted on here!
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by nehs » Mon Aug 30, 2010 4:53 pm
Brian@VeritasPrep wrote: At this point, you need to "think about how you think". Go back to your old practice tests and homework sets and ask yourself:
  • Which mistakes are you commonly making? Careless arithmetic? Faulty assumptions? Answering a tangential question?
    How are you pacing yourself? Could you benefit by slowing down to minimize mistakes? Do you need to get faster to see more questions?
    What is your thought process on the types of questions that you're missing most? Are you narrowing the choices down to two but guessing wrong? Do the answers you select "feel right" or do you have specific reasons for choosing those / eliminating others?
Thanks Brian for the prompt reply. I must say that I feel a lot better now! I was constantly under pressure wondering if anything is wrong with me. Looks like I am, at the least, in the right direction :-)

Coming to the questions that you have given,
I think careless aruthmetic is a big reason for me. PAcing is ok. On both my prep tests, I had time to spare(a bad thing??) - about 10 mins
What do you mean by "do you get faster to see more questions"? I think you mean to ask me whether I get curious about the further questions on the test, as a result of which I go faster with the test. If it is this, then I must say you got me right!!! ;-) I have a nagging feeling that keeps me wondering what the next question could be/what my score would be.

Any tips here?
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by bmorgan » Mon Aug 30, 2010 8:29 pm
Brian,

If they really are primarily testing higher-order thinking, then everything makes sense except Sentence Correction. Why do they put this evil section in the GMAT? I can't find a way to reason to the answer in SC!
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by Brian@VeritasPrep » Tue Aug 31, 2010 1:15 pm
Hey bmorgan,

Glad you asked! Sentence Correction is exactly what I was talking with with the GMAT reps when they made that quote about "higher-order thinking". SC questions are a lot more similar to math questions in that:

-there's a limited scope of information that you need to know in order to answer the questions (memorizing idioms, like memorizing triangle side ratios or the quadratic formula, may help, but isn't at all necessary)

-much of that scope of information is more logical in nature than you'd think (proof below)

-much of what you're asked to do on these questions is to find ways to use those rules that you do need to know in the midst of what looks like something else


Consider the major themes that they test in Sentence Correction:

Pronoun agreement, subject-verb agreement, numerical idioms like 'less' vs. 'fewer' ---> They all come down to whether you're logically describing or replacing something that's singular or plural

Verb tense --> Comes down to finding a logical timeline for the events that take place in a sentence

Comparisons & Parallelism ---> Are you comparing like items?

Modifiers ---> Can the description logically be fitted to what it's supposed to describe?

Accuracy/Logic ---> Does the sentence describe something that actually could be true?


The application of the rules may be a little trickier than what I just wrote above, but the root of most of the grammar that they test is logical in nature, and not the kind of arbitrary I-before-E-except-after-C "there's an exception to every rule" English language that's so difficult to learn. It's a pretty responsible scope of grammar that they require you to know, and from there it's a matter of using logical reasoning and efficiency skills to break apart the sentence to determine:

-Which noun does this pronoun refer to?
-Which noun is the subject of this verb?
-Which two items are being compared?
-Etc.

If you go into the SC phase of your studies trying to memorize your way through it it will come off as horrendously arbitrary and irresponsible, but that's not the test's design. The authors give you opportunities abound to substitute problem solving skills for linguistics might...I'm living proof - I had taught the GMAT for years before I felt comfortable referring to gerunds and appositive phrases by name, but I could still explain every question in that 1000SC bootleg word document!
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by nehs » Tue Aug 31, 2010 1:19 pm
And, to add:

I plan to use the following books(4-5 hours study a day) - is a 5 hour a day study too much? :D

OG - 12
Kaplan Math work book and/or Kaplan 2011(Do I even need to use these??)
Manhattan GMAT - SC and CR
Princeton review - just for some tricks that they have covered
Any other books that are recommended? Will these books do for a 550-600 score?
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by Brian@VeritasPrep » Tue Aug 31, 2010 3:05 pm
Hey nehs,

If you have 10 minutes to spare and are making careless mistakes, you can definitely put that time to better use! See if you can determine the types of mistakes that come up most often for you so that you can make a mental (or physical, on your noteboard) note to slow down and tread carefully in those questions.

For example, I know that when I'm working quickly I often forget to distribute the negative across parentheses in algebra:

6 - (x - 2) should be 6 - 1(x - 2) = 6 - x + 2 = 8 - x, but I might only apply the negative to the x if I'm working too quickly. Knowing that, when I see parentheses and a negative nearby, I make sure to take the extra step to change the - to a -1 for multiplication purposes.

I'd suggest this drill as a way to help you determine some of your mistakes:
  • Quick First Step

    Take a set of 10 math questions (preferably of mixed types) and give yourself 30 seconds to get started on each. After 30 seconds, leave space on your notes to finish later and move on to the next one. When you're done finish the set; you should develop:

    a) a "quick first step" which can improve your pacing by making sure that you begin questions quickly and start by focusing on what you know (instead of worrying about what you don't)
    b) an understanding of the setup mistakes that you tend to make (incorrectly forming equations, making assumptions that carry throughout the problem, etc.)

    Point A allows you to build the kind of speed that will enable you to slow down when you notice that a question setup you've noticed from point B is present.
You personally probably don't need to get any faster, but since you're already rushing in a lot of instances it's probably not a bad idea to replicate that timed pressure to see which mistakes you make when setting up a problem quickly. I've always found that careless mistakes most often come in the first 30 seconds (setting it up incorrectly) or the last 30 seconds (leaving the question a step short or looking quickly at the answer choices and picking one that seems likely without finishing the work) of working on a question, so check those pressure points.

_____________________________________________________

Given that you have a month, I'd definitely say that ~4-5 hours a day is probably too much. Focus on quality time - keep records of the mistakes you're making and of your thought process and try to put in 2-3 hours of good study as opposed to 4-5 hours of "just study". At a certain point you're going to see diminishing returns. I'd say you should do a practice test every few days and then make notes on what you want to improve over the next 3-4 study sessions. Be deliberate in what you do or you'll likely just keep turning over mistakes. A "power day" of 4-5 hours once or twice a week may not be a terrible idea, but that much every day will probably get counterproductive pretty quickly.

As far as books, I'll as a co-author obviously recommend the Veritas Prep books, and I should probably allow the rest of the community to help you prioritize your current volumes and recommend others.
Brian Galvin
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by nehs » Wed Sep 01, 2010 11:58 am
Thanks Brian. That definitely makes a lot of sense. After reading your post - I ,for sure, am not going to spend more than 3 hours a day to study. And, like you have mentioned - it will be a good idea for me to track my mistakes. I commit such silly mistakes - it is unbelievable. I,once, added 8 and 5 as 12 :D

Thank You again. I hope to take a prep test in a couple of days and get with the good news of atleast 30-40 points more.
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