100pt score jump

[xcise_science]

Hi,
(I'm not sure if this is the right forum, but let me if not)

Which 100pt score jump do you think is 'easier' to achieve:
a-going from a low/mid 500 to something in the 600 range OR
b-going from 600 to something in the 700 range?

(I say its B)

Also, in terms of the types of questions you might get if you're in the 700 range, do you think those questions require slightly different skills/approaches or way of thinking?

Because at that level, I don't think the test is really testing generic math skills anymore (which may be so if you're a low scorer). At that level, its basically how quickly can you realize/determine in a FEW steps how to solve the problem.

[beatthegmat]

Hi,
(I'm not sure if this is the right forum, but let me if not)

Which 100pt score jump do you think is 'easier' to achieve:
a-going from a low/mid 500 to something in the 600 range OR
b-going from 600 to something in the 700 range?

(I say its B)

Also, in terms of the types of questions you might get if you're in the 700 range, do you think those questions require slightly different skills/approaches or way of thinking?

Because at that level, I don't think the test is really testing generic math skills anymore (which may be so if you're a low scorer). At that level, its basically how quickly can you realize/determine in a FEW steps how to solve the problem.

Personally I think it's easier to jump from 500 to 600--the difficulty level of questions is easier than what you would find in the 600-700 range. Also, in the 600-700 range, the questions tend to feature more traps.

Can you explain your theory some more as to why you think the 600-700 jump is easier?

[xcise_science]

'cuse me, I meant to say the 500-600 jump is easier.

And I agree with kbot, at the high 600-700 level, pacing is definitely more crucial as well as having a solid grasp of the material. At that level, the questions might even be worded differently.

That is my main problem. I don't understand the questions well enough to consistently get me to the that 700 level.

Another interesting point: I took the test with little studying earlier this year and scored in the 92nd percentile on my verbal (I knew the quant would be a disaster and I wasn't surprised).
NOW, however I'm no where near the 90th on my verbal! I don't know what happened. My theory is that before, I think I relied more on what made sense (CR) or sounded right (SC) and the RC was relatively easy because I just liked reading.
But now, I think I'm just soo overwhelmed at all the things I have to memorize (i.e: idioms, figuring out assumption/inference, verb-agreement, etc..) that I'm thinking too much about the verbal questions.

How should I address this? I need to push my verbal back to the top considering the verbal score actually carries more weight towards your overall score (or so I've heard).

Thanks

[mayonnai5e]

When in doubt, go with your gut. This especially if you are a native english speaker, which it sounds like you are. You can learn all the techniques and strategies, but spending too much time applying what you've learned can sometimes bring your score down because you can end up in a place where you try to apply everything you've learned to determine which of two choices is the correct answer. The problem is that this often is very time consuming.

Thinking too much = thinking too long.

Be wary.