Can't finish quant section before time runs out

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toksavuln: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 10; Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2010 4:34 pm

Can't finish quant section before time runs out

by toksavuln » Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:41 pm

Hi guys. I am writing because I have trouble completing the quantitative section of the gmat in the gmap prep before time runs out. I get to about problem 27ish and then have to guess the rest of it. my final math score is 40ish.

Would I be in a better position if problems that I have a vague idea on how to solve I should instead guess and move on? The problems I have a vague idea on I often will get correct if I work at it long enough. Would my score be improved by just moving on and completing the exam in full instead of being forced to make a bunch of guesses at the end?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:41 pm

VivianKerr: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1035; Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2010 11:13 am; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 474 times; Followed by:365 members

by VivianKerr » Sun Dec 11, 2011 11:37 pm

I would definitely suggest guessing intermittently on tougher questions and completing the section confidently with a few seconds to spare. A string of incorrect questions at the end will really hurt you. It would be much better to have your incorrect answers scattered throughout the section.

QUICK TIPS
-Always avoid guessing 2 questions in a row.
-Practice CATs with a computer timer like this: https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-timer-56014.html
-Divide Quant into three chunks: 50 mins remaining = 12 questions done, 25 mins remaining = 25 questions done, and 1 min remaining = 37 questions done).

Try to "suss out" in the first few seconds whether you'll be able to reasonably solve a question in the given time. If not, guess and move on.

Vivian Kerr
GMAT Rockstar, Tutor
https://www.GMATrockstar.com
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gmat-rockstar-los-angeles

Former Kaplan and Grockit instructor, freelance GMAT content creator, now offering affordable, effective, Skype-tutoring for the GMAT at $150/hr. Contact: [email protected]

Thank you for all the "thanks" and "follows"!

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toksavuln: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 10; Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2010 4:34 pm

by toksavuln » Mon Dec 12, 2011 6:09 am

Thank you for the response. I do have a followup question.

If I do this and guess at questions that I'm not able to see how to attack and in turn complete the test in full without having to make a bunch of guesses at the end, should this result in a higher score?

Note that I am often able to answer a tougher question after thinking about it for a while and fudging with the numbers.

I have always been a slow test taker but I've always received high scores taking it slow and steady.

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thunderdan: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 72; Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2009 2:49 pm; Thanked: 4 times; GMAT Score:690

by thunderdan » Tue Dec 13, 2011 12:26 pm

I have just taken my GMAT yesterday. As a candidate that is usually strong on the math side, I would suggest the following. It is almost similar to other folks that have contributed to this topic:

1. First 10 questions - 75 mins to 50 minutes (2.5 minutes per question)
2. Next 10 questions - 50 - 30 mins (2 minutes per qn)
3. Remaining questions 17 - 30 to 1 minute (approximately 1.5 minutes each)

You can change the pace based on how you are answering in the steps 1 & 2. I was left with 10 questions at 18 minute mark and kind of semi-panicked and guessed 2-3 questions at the end of the list to finish in time. Do not panic, since the panic may carry over to the next section(verbal).

Some more suggestions:
1. Test yourself with doing the AWA along with the 2 sections, to test your stamina.
2. Try to take the breaks as it would happen in the exam.
3. I carried a sliced Pear and ate the pieces during the 2 breaks, after the nature's break in each.

KD.

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David@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2193; Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:30 pm; Location: Vermont and Boston, MA; Thanked: 1186 times; Followed by:512 members; GMAT Score:770

by David@VeritasPrep » Thu Dec 15, 2011 9:42 am

toksavuln -

To answer your question you will definitely score better if you can get a few more questions correct. According to your original post you get to about 27 questions and guess at the last 10. I had a student who guessed on the last 10 and earned a 46...but he basically got right 26 of the 27 that he worked on. So perhaps you are not getting all 27 right?

If not, find out what types of questions you are still missing despite the slow pace. It is okay to devote time to questions that you are going to get right, but to devote the time and still end up getting them wrong is not a good tradeoff. The big problem is that I guarantee that there are questions in that last 10 that you could get right and do so in a reasonable amount of time.

For example, I sat for the actual GMAT again recently as I often do. On the Quant section I was certainly behind at question 25. Luckily I was not paying much attention to such things because I did not give it much thought and here comes a string of data sufficiency questions and quick problem solving that took about 1 minute each, so that I was back on time by the end of the section. Now, in order to reach those questions that were so comfortable for me I had to guess at a few earlier on - questions that were not looking good ON THAT DAY. These were questions I could normally solve but for some reason I was not seeing it then - during the test and that is what matters. So I moved on and things turned out well with a 770 for the day despite being not being in top form (a little tired and distracted on the day).

I am sure that a wide variety of strategies have worked well for various test takers, but I cannot recommend that you treat the first 10 questions any differently than any others. Basically, the simple strategy is this "If you can get a question right in a reasonable amount of time then do so and do not worry too much about the clock. If you cannot see the finish line (in other words you are confused as to how to start a question and you are not sure if you can get to the finish) then you might want to guess and move on. This will leave time for you to see most if not all of the questions and find some that are more comfortable for you. This is true for the first 10 as well as all of the questions.

It does not make sense to have rigid time goals as these will vary depending on what you have addressed so far on the exam. Maybe you get several D.S. in the first 10 as well as other problems that are quick for you and you are done with those 10 in less than 20 minutes. This is neither good nor bad as things will average out. Just do not devote too much time to a question that you are not likely to get right anyway (even in the first 10).

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