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Struggling to get going, very discouraged

Problem Solving — algebra and arithmetic (GMAT Focus Edition)
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Struggling to get going, very discouraged

by topperdoggle » Tue Apr 02, 2013 8:25 am
Hi all,

I've a Computer Science BSc and 15 years working in computing. Whilst I rarely use maths from school in day-to-day life, I'm not thick.

I registered for a GMAT in two months' time - the two schools I'm looking at only look at the quantatitive part and require a grade of around 47.

I read the math review in the OG 13th Edition (lots of things I thought I'd left in the past there!), and got to the Problem Solving questions in the Diagnostic Test. An underwhelming 9/24 - "below average". I was absolutely gutted - maybe I thought I was better than I am.

Do I have a hope of getting to the level I need in two months? I can do around an hour / day studying, more at weekends.

I know it depends on a lot of things, but I'm looking for some concrete guidance.

Looking forward to hearing your answers.
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by hemant_rajput » Tue Apr 02, 2013 9:30 am
topperdoggle wrote:Hi all,

I've a Computer Science BSc and 15 years working in computing. Whilst I rarely use maths from school in day-to-day life, I'm not thick.

I registered for a GMAT in two months' time - the two schools I'm looking at only look at the quantatitive part and require a grade of around 47.

I read the math review in the OG 13th Edition (lots of things I thought I'd left in the past there!), and got to the Problem Solving questions in the Diagnostic Test. An underwhelming 9/24 - "below average". I was absolutely gutted - maybe I thought I was better than I am.

Do I have a hope of getting to the level I need in two months? I can do around an hour / day studying, more at weekends.

I know it depends on a lot of things, but I'm looking for some concrete guidance.

Looking forward to hearing your answers.
Don't worry too much. If you really want to crack GMAT, 2 month time is more than sufficient.

I wanted to clarify few things; you mentioned only Math score, does the schools in which you are applying doesn't require good verbal score? If that is the case then you can do more of math than verbal, however I have doubt about that scenario.

Now what you need to do is - start with 60-day BTG gmat guide, brush up you basics, make a note of your mistakes while practicing and review them until you have the clear understanding of the concept, keep track of your progress.


if you follow basics you can definitely achieve your target.
I'm no expert, just trying to work on my skills. If I've made any mistakes please bear with me.
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by topperdoggle » Tue Apr 02, 2013 10:28 am
Thanks for the encouragement. Indeed I can mostly ignore verbal, but I will brush up on it once my maths is up to scratch.

Just done 5 maths problem solving questions on Magoosh - got 3/5 right, so there is hope! 1/2 easy and 2/3 hard! Took me longer than 2 minutes / question, but at least there is hope.

Look forward to more interesting dialogue on here!
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by Brian@VeritasPrep » Wed Apr 03, 2013 9:40 am
Hey topperdoggle,

Echoing Hemant's thoughts - all is not lost! Honestly...I've always hated the idea of taking a cold practice test to "see where you stand". There are just so many reasons that you could underperform, and all of those reasons are not created equal. Some reasons for underperformance that should cause optimism:

You were just that rusty.

If you're not using fractions or algebra on a regular basis, it takes time for that to come back. But for many of us, that stuff comes back within days/weeks and not months/years. 14-year old you knew that stuff cold, forward and backward. I think of when I was a kid, I never went more than probably 48 hours without shooting a basketball. Now I may go 8 months...so the first 5-10 minutes I shoot I'm awful. But that muscle memory comes back to a pretty good degree within a short period, and if I were to get back into it daily it would come back. Math is similar for a lot of us - once you're reminded "oh, right - common denominator" you'll have it back within a few repetitions.

You fell into traps.

The GMAT isn't just a math test, it's a reasoning test. Until you start to learn its style (if they ask you to solve for y, the value for x is usually a trap answer, for example) you can almost assuredly fall into most of the traps especially if you don't know to look out for them. It's that "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" logic. You're going to get fooled your first few times out, but soon enough (if you're paying attention) you get immune to those mistakes.

The GMAT tests math differently.

There's a "language" to GMAT math - it's not as straightforward, in many cases, as high school math was (here's the problem, find the answer). The GMAT does a lot of abstraction (if xy + x is odd, which of the following must be true...) and requires you to start thinking in terms of:

-Number properties (odd vs. even, positive vs. negative, patterns in units digits, etc.)
-Prime factors and divisibility
-"Must be true" vs. "could be false"
-etc.

If you haven't solved many problems like that before, you'll struggle especially with the more-abstract types. But, again, a little repetition and you'll know the common principles you need to employ and you'll start speaking the language.


So...don't get too discouraged from an initial attempt. The GMAT is relatively unique and it's not at all uncommon for people to take their lumps the first few days they spend with it, but see rapid improvement from there.
Brian Galvin
GMAT Instructor
Chief Academic Officer
Veritas Prep

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