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Quant Timing

Problem Solving — algebra and arithmetic (GMAT Focus Edition)
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Quant Timing

by gmatzub » Fri Oct 24, 2014 10:57 pm
Hey guys,

I'm having trouble with my quant score. On veritasprep practice CAT's - I'm getting about Q46, but when I do the Manhattan CAT's - I'm only getting about Q26! In both tests - I'm running out of time at about question 32. My Verbal score is about 41 so I'm not really concentrating on that much until I can get my quant sorted.

This got me thinking, is there any timing strategies that are useful? Should it take roughly 2mins for each problem or will there be "quick" questions. I find that even for "easy" questions - it still takes me about 1min 30secs to be absolutely right - perhaps I have spending too much time making 100% sure of the right answer when I should just be 90% sure?
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by [email protected] » Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:31 am
Hi gmatzub,

The difference in Quant Scaled Scores that you're reporting is rather staggering, regardless of the pacing problem you've described. Have you taken any of the Official CATs (from www.mba.com). If you have, then what were THOSE scores? If you have not, it would probably be worthwhile to take one of those CATs, in its ENTIRETY, so we can get a sense of your actual ability.

Your pacing problem is not an isolated issue, it's the result of HOW you approach the Quant section. The solution to a pacing problem is not really about learning a pacing table, it's about improving the methods that you use when approaching Quant questions. The idea that you should spend 2 minutes per question is NOT correct. Some questions can be solved relatively quickly (in under a minute) while others take 3 minutes to solve (and that's if you KNOW what you're doing).

What practice materials have you been using so far? It might be that those resources aren't helping you to learn about to approach questions in the most efficient ways possible.

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:59 am
gmatzub wrote:Hey guys,

I'm having trouble with my quant score. On veritasprep practice CAT's - I'm getting about Q46, but when I do the Manhattan CAT's - I'm only getting about Q26! In both tests - I'm running out of time at about question 32. My Verbal score is about 41 so I'm not really concentrating on that much until I can get my quant sorted.

This got me thinking, is there any timing strategies that are useful? Should it take roughly 2mins for each problem or will there be "quick" questions. I find that even for "easy" questions - it still takes me about 1min 30secs to be absolutely right - perhaps I have spending too much time making 100% sure of the right answer when I should just be 90% sure?
You have 75 minutes to answer 37 quant questions, but don't look at it as 2 minutes per question. Some questions can be answered quickly (e.g., 1 minute) and others take much longer (e.g., 3 minutes). So, I suggest that your timing strategy look at questions in groups of 5. To that end, you can use the following Milestone Charts to keep you on track:
Image
We (at GMAT Prep Now) feel that these times are easily remembered so you can quickly jot them on your noteboard on test day.

This (and more) is covered in our free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244

Also, early in one's studies, it's a good idea to use a stopwatch to help get an idea of what 2 minutes feels like. This tip and others can be found in my BTG articles on "making friends with time on the GMAT"
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/06/ ... mat-part-i
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/07/ ... at-part-ii

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by dabral » Tue Oct 28, 2014 11:59 pm
@gmatzub

The differences between the two CATs is too much. I would recommend taking one of the official GMATPrep free practice tests. The test prep CATs are all over the place and in my opinion if you do use them then only use them for general practice as opposed to assessing where you currently stand. For that it is best to use the four official CATs that are available.

As far as the timing is concerned, some questions can be done in 30 seconds and others may take three and a half minutes. This is critical if you plan to target a high score, the only way to have enough time to tackle the hard problems is by saving time on the easy ones. Of course you do have to ensure that you can do the easy ones very quickly without making any careless mistakes. A lot of that comes with practice.

Cheers,
Dabral
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