This is just a wild guess, but..

Often, people with strong quant backgrounds (engineering, finance, etc.) tend to do problems the "official" way, by setting up equations, working them all the way through, and obsessing over a problem until they get it right. This isn't really the best way to approach most problems. Are you using any tricks or shortcuts? These are especially useful on harder problems where the calculations are too difficult and you need to see the theory behind the question.

That's my hunch!

Now that I think about it, I guess you are right. The only shortcut techniques I know of are backsolving and picking numbers. However, by default I use the traditional technique, will not be able to solve the problem, lose time, get demoralized and completely forget to use any other short cut techniques. I think I need a fundamental shift in the problem solving strategy, to 'think smart'. Any pointers in this direction will be greatly helpful. I have my exam on Feb 26th, would it be worth to push it by 2 weeks and give some time to learn about these techniques ?

Thanks a lot Jim.
pradeep