GMAT Strategy

Hi All ,


I have been focussing on timing while taking the full length test .The below is the time split for Quant to keep track of the speed :-

Time left - question number [QUANT]
65 - 5
55 - 10
45 - 15
35 - 20
25 - 25
15 - 30
5 - 35

Can some one provide the best time split for Verbal section ? I need to improve on verbal specifially on CR and RC , any tips would be most welcome .

Practice b/g - Scoring 650 - 700 in manhattan practice tests [These are inflated ones as i get some repeated questions as well , or i know the question coz read at forums ]

Looking forward for your guidance.I need to take GMAT within 20 days .How can i keep my performance at decent levels of 680 + .. ?I have exhausted my practice tests , how to gauge my abilities , as i dnt want to waste the GMAT Prep as of now .


Waiting for replies .

there are so many free practice tests available - take them to get a sense for where you stand and to practice your timing on the test

Frankly, I think that you are checking the time too much on the Quant. I have definitely noticed that different questions take different amounts of time. Some questions can be done in 1 minute to 90 seconds by most people. Other questions really are three minutes. If you are checking after only 5 questions you may not have gotten a representative sample. What if you had all 5 problem solving and all five long questions. And say that you are three minutes behind your time standard - now what do you do? Start to hurry? Save a few seconds per question? That is exactly the wrong thing to do. Rushing through a question = an unacceptable risk of missing that question.

Instead of so many time standards you should learn to recognize when a question is going to have your running around in circles. If you can avoid the questions that will take you more than three minutes the other things will even out.

I would prefer to see people checking there time only about 3 times on the Quant. You could check after 15 questions to see how you are doing (should be around 45 minutes left) then after 25 questions (should be 25 minutes left) and then just see where you are when you get down to last 5 questions are so (32 questions done).

I mean I understand that time standards are really for reassurance, but I have found that very few people have a real strategy in place to use when they get their feedback...what is your strategy if you are behind by a few minutes early in the test? Have you thought about what to do with the information?

As to the Verbal side I would personally say that practice until you know what you pace is and then check after you have completed about have of the test. At question 20 you have about 40 minutes remaining. You can check again with 10 questions left and between 15 and 20 minutes remaining.

There are some thoughts!

Good Luck!

Thanks,David for your insights. Really very helpful!

Thanks a lot David . Yeah i agree there has been lot time checking in quant , although i dnt do that many times in test , you are absolutely right to check on 3 times at max . I was bothering too much actually because i m not improving on performance as considered overall . I have made some observations :-

-- First of all after gruelling quant section , i get exhausted a bit and so commit more mistakes in RC and CR as they need more intense focus .

-- I tried practicing CR and RC offline (under timed condition but not in any test , simply choosing a set of questions from some good source) , i need laser sharp focus while doing RC to achieve 80 - 100% correct and thats energy draining , i m trying to improve my stamina .

-- Key to better performance in verbal is to save time from Sc and some CRs(not all coz some do take time , especially when stuck with two choices) and devote that extra time to RC.

Please kindly rectify me if my attempts are going in wrong directions . Any more tips to improve are most welcome .