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Good books for Math??

Problem Solving — algebra and arithmetic (GMAT Focus Edition)
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Good books for Math??

by kpeg » Sun Oct 09, 2016 6:51 am
I've been enrolled in a Kaplan course since May and finally took my GMAT yesterday. I was at a 620 5 years ago and unfortunately only got a 630 on this past test after all that studying. I'm taking the GMAT to apply for PHD programs and this quant score simply won't cut it.

IR: 7 | 82 percentile
Quant: 40 | 43 percentile
Verbal: 36 | 81 percentile

I honestly don't know what happened in quant. My quant score was the lowest I've ever gotten (took all 9 CATs, never got lower than 47 percentile, as high as 66 percentile). I understand the math concepts otherwise I couldn't have gotten a 7 on IR.

I also literally did every single math problem available in the Kaplan course and went over every problem I got wrong. I guess I just need to keep studying. Does anyone have any books to recommend to help me practice more? I'm extending my Kaplan course to retake the classes again too.

Thank you!
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by [email protected] » Sun Oct 09, 2016 12:11 pm
Hi kpeg,

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you're looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours did you study each week, on average? You say that you've been in a Course since May, but that would be 4-5 months and I don't think that you were actually in a Course that whole time.
2) Did you use any study materials besides that Course?
3) How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?
4) Did you take the FULL CAT each time (with the Essay and IR sections)?
5) What were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores when you took the GMAT 5 years ago?

Goals:
6) What is your goal score?
7) What application deadlines are you facing?

As an aside, IR has a lot more in common with Verbal CR than it does with the Quant section, so your IR score makes a certain amount of sense relative to your Verbal Scaled Score.

With a Q40, you likely did fairly well on many of the 'math questions' that you faced, but you would have made a number of little mistakes throughout the section and you missed out on lots of 'strategy-based' points. To score at a significantly higher level in the Quant section, you will need to focus more on Quant Tactics, pattern-matching, etc. and you would likely benefit from investing in some new GMAT materials. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by kpeg » Sun Oct 09, 2016 1:43 pm
HI Rich,

1. My Kaplan course was actually June - July (sorry I registered in May), with two classes per week usually, for about 6 weeks. So I'd say in that timeframe per week, I did the classes T/R 3 hour classes, spend 2 hours on homework M/W and studied Saturday/Sunday about 2 hours each day. I normally took Fridays off. When the course ended in mid July, I had a 2 week lull because I switched jobs where I didn't get to study as much. Since about July 15, I've been studying about 3 hours every day per week, with CATs spread out. I've extended my course twice, mostly to increase study frequency (vs. just being in a class) and to accommodate my 2 week lull.

2. I only used Kaplan materials. Book + classes + quiz bank heavily + smart report videos

3. CATs were as follows:
1. Diagnostic (600) - Jun 5 - Quant 40, Verbal 32
2. 600 - July 8 - Quant 40, Verbal 32
3. 610 - July 20 - Quant 41, Verbal 32
4. 610 - July 28 - Quant 41, Verbal 32
5. 660 - Sept 5 - Quant 46, Verbal 34
6. 610 - Sept 18 - Quant 42, Verbal 32
7. 680 - Sept 25 - Quant 44, Verbal 39
8. 650 - Oct 1 - Quant 45, Verbal 34
9. 650 - Oct 4 - Quant 42, Verbal 37
Actual test: 630 - Oct 8 - Quant 40, Verbal 36

4. Yes, I took every single full CAT each time. Wrote every essay and tried on every single IR. I also took them in a setting similar to test day, with the exception of CAT 9 which I took at night after work because I didn't want to take it back to back from CAT 8. CAT 8 was at a testing center.

5. Scores 5 years ago was - 620: Quant 39 , Verbal 36

Goal: 680-700
Deadlines: Earliest is Dec. 15, 2016. Latest is Jan 15, 2017. I am planning to retake this test on Nov. 5, 2016.

As for GMAT strategy resources, do you have any you would recommend? Thank you so much for your advice!
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by [email protected] » Sun Oct 09, 2016 7:25 pm
Hi kpeg,

Your recent Official score is almost identical to your score from 5 years ago - and they're fairly close to most of your practice CAT scores. GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your various score results show that you essentially performed the same each time (+/- a few points) - and your current ability level is in the low-600s. You've studied for many hours over the last several months and you've worked through lots of practice questions, but you keep treating the Test in the exact same way that you did 5 years ago. That consistency is good in that you do certainly things consistently well; however, it's also bad in that you keep making the same general mistakes again and again. Continuing to work in the same ways, and with the same study materials, will likely NOT lead to the improvement that you're looking for.

Thankfully, your score goal is realistic and attainable, but you're likely going to need another 2 months of consistent, guided study to consistently score at that higher level. The application deadlines you've mentioned allow for that amount of study time, but you will likely have to work on your applications while you study. Based on everything that you've described, I think that you would find the EMPOWERgmat Total Score Booster to be quite helpful. Most of our clients complete that Study Plan in well under 2 months, so that would fit your timeframe. We have a variety of free resources on our site (www.empowergmat.com), so you can 'test out' the Course before setting up an Account.

If you have any additional questions, then just let me know.

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Rich
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by ceilidh.erickson » Mon Oct 31, 2016 7:12 am
Several things that I would strongly recommend:

1) Use some version of the Official Guide to do practice problems from. Every prep company does its best to recreate the style of the real test, but there's no substitute for using REAL questions to study from. Do timed sets to make sure you're practicing accuracy and timing at the same time.

2) Review by TOPIC. After you've done a practice exam or a timed set of questions, do targeted review by topic. Look at all the exponent questions you've done, for example. Ask yourself the following:
- Were there patterns in the kinds of mistakes you made on this topic?
- Were there patterns in the ways that the GMAT asked those questions?
- What structures / traps / tricks might you expect on future questions in that topic?
- Do you know the topic AND the GMAT's style of asking questions about that topic well enough that you could write your own questions?

3) REVIEW DEEPLY. This is usually the #1 thing students are missing if their scores haven't improved.
- Never simply read the answer explanation! Redo the problem and try to figure it out yourself, then use the explanation to confirm only.
- Keep an obsessive record of every mistake that you make, noting the kind of mistake, what you should improve about your technique to fix that mistake, and general takeaways you've learned about the test. More here: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -studying/
- Make sure you're also deeply reviewing your RIGHT answers as well as your wrong ones - they're opportunities to learn about the test writers and their objectives.

Good luck!
Ceilidh Erickson
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Harvard Graduate School of Education
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by Matt@VeritasPrep » Fri Nov 11, 2016 1:25 pm
And if you feel rusty in math, USE NON GMAT RESOURCES TOO! There are so many excellent books and websites covering basic algebra and arithmetic that there's no excuse for not finding one that you like and can learn from - just be relentless about trying new resources until you find the one that clicks.
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