Maus,

Haha, don't panic. You have plenty of time, and it sounds like you have some good options for changing your studying mechanics going forward as well.

I don't know why people always recommend doing tons of practice problems. I have over 1000 hours teaching the GMAT, and I have only seen that strategy work for people who already know the techniques and simply need execution practice.

Here are some important things for you to do:

(1) Slow down. Review your problems deeply and act like a detective. Whey did I get this wrong? What could I have done differently? Did I identify the problem correctly? If I saw this problem again, would I get it right?

(2) Make sure you are using a single comprehensive methodology for studying content. I am partial to ManhattanGMAT (but I work there.) What ever you use, it's important to stick with a single brand. The methods don't mix and match well.

(3) I encourage you to divide all quant problems into three stages: (A) categorizing the problem type, (B) picking an appropriate strategy, and (C) executing that strategy.

(4) Figure out which stage is causing you trouble, and then drill that stage only until you feel comfortable with it.


It sounds like you are having trouble with stages A and B. I suggest that you try drilling stage A. Go until you are able to categorize problems efficiently. That is, don't do the problem, just read it and try to figure out what category it fits into. When you are killing stage A, then drill on stage B. Do you have a strategy and back-up strategy for every type of problem? You should. Try writing down your personal methodology. Only after you master stages A and B does it make sense to really start drilling lots of problems for execution.

(When done correctly, this should only take a couple of days. Maybe a week?)

Ask me again when you get to stage C and I'll give you some great tips on how to get better quickly there as well.

-Tom Rose
www.TheMBAShow.com

Full Disclosure: I work for ManhattanGMAT