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Need a good starting point, very weak in math...

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Need a good starting point, very weak in math...

by Bens4vcobra » Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:16 pm
I am planning on taking the GMAT next summer and I need a good strategic template to get started.

It has been about 10 years since I have taken a math class. The highest level was Cal 1 in undergrad. I found some sample quant. problems from another GMAT website and I have to be honest, scared the beejeebus out of me.

I know I can do this but I have to implement the correct strategy going forward. I am willing to implement any and all methods necessary. I have read on other GMAT sites that if you do not have a solid basic foundational understanding of algebra & geometry, don't even bother with test prep. I believe this to be my current dilemma. It's not as if I never learned the concepts, I certainly did. It's that I am afraid a "re-learning" is in order. What is the best way to go about this? I am willing to hire a tutor, take a review course, disguise myself as a 12 year old and sneak into a middle school math class undetected. You know, anything.

Certainly I am not the only one who has been in this situation. My goal is not to be a GMAT superstar like many of you. A score in the 580-600 range would be ideal for me.

Ideas/suggestions?
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by wmapes » Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:35 am
Bump. I'd like some input on a proposed strategy as well.
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by Artus » Fri Nov 06, 2009 6:58 am
Hi,

the free flash card on this website are really useful for both quant and verbal. You should take a look at them.

Hope that will help you.


https://www.beatthegmat.com/a/free-gmat- ... 8d4c958a06
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by Bens4vcobra » Fri Nov 06, 2009 7:40 am
Thanks, I'll certainly take a look at those.


Anyone else have any other suggestions? Ideally, I'd like to hear from someone who maybe doesn't have a math/science/engineering background that has gotten a good GMAT score. Someone who needed more than a brief refresher before test prepping.

Surely I'm not the only arts & sciences major to attempt to tackle the GMAT.
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by Artus » Fri Nov 06, 2009 8:11 am
What score do you need?

Maybe a low 40's in quant and a high 40's in verbal may be a could target to reach a 700+ score.

I am from a B-school major in corporate finance, but the math required for the gmat are more of a high school level (talking about french high school, I don't know the other system so I can't judge them).

I haven't done proba, geometry for a 4 years before I start working on the Gmat and I still got a 44 in quant basically thanks to the flash card, my high school math books and a lot of practise with the OG and the gmatprep tests and questions.

you need to identify the different types of question (like inequalities, speed question, ...), find a method to solve them and stick to it but you will need a minimum of basic algebric and geometric knowledge but, a lot can be "learnt by heart" so even if you "suck" at math you CAN do it.

Then try gmatprep test to have an idea of your quant score, if it is enough for you then just keep doing OG quant question to keep stamina and focus on the verbal point that might be your strenght.

Good luck and good work :wink:
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by JasLamba » Fri Nov 06, 2009 4:47 pm
Hi,

Perhaps you could start of with some basic Arithmetic material - percents, decimals, fractions, geometry. I found learningexpress material very helpful.

- I recommend:
1001 math problems
501 word problems
- going on to youtube and looking for conceptual videos
- working thru www.khanacademy.org for some concepts such as: exponents, algebra, linear equations, geometry, and anything else you hear about in this forum might be useful.
i had decent math skills but i really wanted to start from the bottom to have space to really detect my weaknesses.

if you also take a look at the Quantative Review Official guide there is a list of all the tested subjects in the categories of arithmetic, wordproblems, geometry and so on. If you can go topic by topic mastering each of the subject at a basic level can help.

these are very basic tips, you should also let the pros (people scoring above 650) address your questions as they will have more knowledge perhaps.
best of luck!
Jas

with this you should be able to fine tune your comprehension, logic and arithmetic skills. from there you can start identifying your weaknesses in the basic fundaments.
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by Bens4vcobra » Mon Nov 09, 2009 12:54 pm
Great responses, I'll check out those materials.

I also found a book called "The Ultimate Math Refresher for GRE, GMAT and SAT."

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Math-Ref ... 0967759404

Has anyone used this and if so, did it help? Was it worth it?
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