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Cant improve quantitative score

by DasItMayne » Sun Sep 25, 2016 12:40 am
Hi i have taken 6 practice tests.I can't seem to improve my quant score.
Scores:
Some random CAT
520 Q39 V23

GMATPrep 1
590 Q49 V23

Manhattan CAT 1
650 Q44 V35

GMATPrep 1 (repeat)
730 Q49 V 40

Veritas Prep
650 Q46 V33

Manhattan CAT 2
700 Q47 V38

Though my verbal score has improved a lot,i can't seem to improve or even maintain my quant score.I think i make too many silly mistakes(got first 3 questions wrong in MGMATCAT1 :( ).Also I can't seem to tackle harder quant problems,most of the time I don't know how to start solving them.
Are there any tips that might help to improve my score.Also,How is the MGMAT advanced quant book.Does it have any strategies as to how to tackle harder problems?Do you recommend buying it?
P.S My previous thread https://www.beatthegmat.com/2nd-practise ... tml#779641
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by [email protected] » Sun Sep 25, 2016 9:29 am
Hi DasItMayne,

Since you've been studying for a few months now, you've likely completed the original study materials that you had. Thus, investing in some new study materials is likely the logical next step. Before we can figure out exactly what you need, I have a few question about how you've taken these CATS:

1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, skip sections, take longer breaks, etc.)?
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once? Had you seen any of the questions BEFORE?

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by DasItMayne » Sun Sep 25, 2016 11:46 am
Thnx for the reply
1.Yes,except for the first one.
2.Yes
3.yes I took all CATs in the morning time,typically between 9AM to 1PM,except for the last one which I took at night time.
4.Almost never paused the CAT,though sometimes took extended breaks between sections.
5.I took GMATPrep test 1 twice.Yes,few questions got repeated.
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Sun Sep 25, 2016 4:37 pm
DasItMayne wrote:Hi i have taken 6 practice tests.I can't seem to improve my quant score.
Scores:
Some random CAT
520 Q39 V23

GMATPrep 1
590 Q49 V23

Manhattan CAT 1
650 Q44 V35

GMATPrep 1 (repeat)
730 Q49 V 40

Veritas Prep
650 Q46 V33

Manhattan CAT 2
700 Q47 V38

Though my verbal score has improved a lot,i can't seem to improve or even maintain my quant score.I think i make too many silly mistakes(got first 3 questions wrong in MGMATCAT1 :( ).Also I can't seem to tackle harder quant problems,most of the time I don't know how to start solving them.
Are there any tips that might help to improve my score.Also,How is the MGMAT advanced quant book.Does it have any strategies as to how to tackle harder problems?Do you recommend buying it?
P.S My previous thread https://www.beatthegmat.com/2nd-practise ... tml#779641
On your one official test, you scored a 49 on the quant. That's a very good score. There isn't much upside there, and the impact on your composite score of going from Q49 to, say, Q50, would be fairly limited. If your main concern is that your score hasn't been consistent, it's likely that this is partially a function of having taken tests from a variety of sources. My advice: take another official practice test. If you're at 49+, you'll want to focus most of your attention on improving your verbal score.
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by [email protected] » Sun Sep 25, 2016 6:16 pm
Hi DasItMayne,

Assuming that your score goal is still 700+, you likely know most (if not all) of what you need to know to score at that level on the Official GMAT. However, you've been taking your CATs in an inconsistent fashion, so there's some question as to which is of these scores is the most accurate reflection of your abilities. As such, I recommend that you study for the next 1-2 weeks then take a new Official CAT (with the Essay and IR sections); you should take it away from your home and take just the two 8-minute breaks that are standard on Test Day. Once you have that score result, we'll have a far more accurate assessment of your overall skills and we can discuss your studies from there.

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by DasItMayne » Tue Sep 27, 2016 10:59 am
Thanks for replying David and Rich.
Ok so I guess I will take another CAT in 2 weeks and post the score here.
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by DasItMayne » Fri Oct 07, 2016 2:02 pm
Hi,

Took GMATPrep2 and got 690 Q48 V37.
Took the entire CAT,away from home and with 8 min breaks.
I think my verbal score could have been better but I was so fatigued by the end and then got RC as the last 8 questions.
Also got most SC wrong.I could always narrow it down to like two choices but couldn't choose the best choice :(.Got all CR correct though :).
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by [email protected] » Fri Oct 07, 2016 6:03 pm
Hi DasItMayne,

Now that you have a recent, relatively realistic score assessment, you have to review this Exam and really 'nitpick' WHY you got questions wrong. Here's a simple way to assess your performance:

After reviewing each section, how many questions did you get wrong....
1) Because of a silly/little mistake?
2) Because there was some math/verbal that you just couldn't remember how to do?
3) Because the question was too hard?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
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by DasItMayne » Mon Oct 10, 2016 6:03 am
Hi,

I got 10 and 13 question wrong in quant and verbal respectively.
After reviewing,i found out that most of the answers that i got incorrect were because of silly mistakes.
I can say that i got 8 out of 10 incorrect because i made careless mistakes,and the other two because they were too hard.
In verbal second,got most incorrect answers in SC and RC.I think I can improve SC accuracy because I didn't do any SC practice questions at all and haven't finished Manhattan SC either.
Not so sure about RC,I find them somewhat hard,especially when they appear in the end.
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by [email protected] » Mon Oct 10, 2016 9:22 am
Hi DasItMayne,

If most of the questions that you got wrong were actually 'gettable' questions, then you have a really good chance to pick up some significant points and score even higher. At this point, you have to decide whether you think you can 'fix' all of these problems on your own or not. It might be that you just need to be a bit more disciplined with your work (take more notes, label your work, stop trying to do steps "in your head", etc.). However, it might also be that "your way" of answering questions creates a high possibility of silly mistakes happening. If that's the case, then you'll have to make some fundamental changes to how you 'see' (and respond to) the Test - and that might require learning and practicing new Tactics.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
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