I think i'm slow.. Pro's please advice..

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I think i'm slow.. Pro's please advice..

by hk » Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:51 am
Hello everybody,

I just started my GMAT preps and its been 2 weeks now. I have prepared a GMAT Study plan which i'm attaching below.

I took the Quant diagnostic test from the OG11. I ended up getting a result of Above average as per the OG. I scored 17/24 in PS and 16/24 in DS. The mistakes were mainly because of silly errors by not reading the question carefully (which i have decided to correct) and by getting confused and trying to go around a problem whose answer was actually pretty simple and straight forward.

I think i can improve on the above errors and do better but my main concern is Time. This was my first assessment at where i stand but to solve 48 problems i probably took around 2 1/2 to 3 hours!!!!!! Can anybody suggest me ways to solve the problems quickly. I have completed reading and practising the Quant section of Kaplan800. I thought it was great and gave me a lot of good tips. But i think it was very brief. In there any way that i can improve my speed? do you think if i keep practicing i'll be able to solve faster.. Please advice. I think it'll be better to get all the advice during the initial phase of my preps..

thanks

p.s. please comment on my study plan.. --> https://www.4shared.com/file/85851147/b7 ... _PLAN.html
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by mayonnai5e » Wed Feb 18, 2009 7:18 pm
In my opinion, you need to get your foundation down. Kaplan 800 in my opinion is an advanced book so you should not be using it if you are having such a hard time answering the questions. The large amount of time to complete just the quant section is a fairly big clue that you need to work on just getting your basics down. I recommend moving to a workbook like the Kaplan math workbook to help you remember all the little basics that you may have forgotten.
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by VP_Jim » Thu Feb 19, 2009 12:43 pm
Definitely - speed comes when you are solid with your fundamentals. Taking time to write down equations or calculations is a big problem on the quant section; on most questions, you simply don't have to time to set them up and write out all the work as you might on a math exam in school.

In addition to setting a more solid foundation, I'd recommend learning more tricks and shortcuts for math problems. Often, the "official" way of doing a problem is not the best or fastest. Any good prep guide will provide you with many such tricks.

Happy studying!
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by hk » Thu Feb 19, 2009 7:34 pm
Thanks Jim.. I am pretty good at fundamentals. Being from an Engineering back ground maths on the whole is something that i am familiar with. My problem is that i tend to write down the equations and solve it the traditional way which costs me time....
VP_Jim wrote:
In addition to setting a more solid foundation, I'd recommend learning more tricks and shortcuts for math problems. Often, the "official" way of doing a problem is not the best or fastest. Any good prep guide will provide you with many such tricks.

Happy studying!
Any suggestion on such resources, specifically the tricks and shortcuts? Do you know of any books??
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