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Raise quant score by 1-2 points

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Raise quant score by 1-2 points

by joannabanana » Sun Nov 28, 2010 11:55 pm
My quant score seems to be stuck at 48. I've gotten that score in my last 3 GMAT Prep mock tests. I have about 4 days of studying left, so very little time. I'm not too unhappy with the 48, but feel that I have potential to get 49 or 50. In the past week I've done a TON of quant problems (gone through about 2/3 of the OG quant book, and did the whole quant section in Kaplan 800). I thought this would've improved my quant score a bit, but unfortunately on my test yesterday I got another 48.

I've noticed that I always get probability questions wrong in the exams (though get them right when I go back and review them) and I always take forever on inequality DS problems. I've just downloaded the Manhattan Inequaliites book (for Kindle) so I plan on going through the inequalities sections in that over the next few days. I'll also look through some probability questions just to improve my speed and confidence on those.

Any other tips for how to improve my score by 1-2 points in such little time?

My timing is good, I just seem to panic when I see some questions and give up on them, or make mistakes while solving them. (My verbal is good too. I'll do a few verbal problems over the next few days, but don't feel that I really need too much more practice there.)
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by Geva@EconomistGMAT » Mon Nov 29, 2010 12:05 am
joannabanana wrote:My quant score seems to be stuck at 48. I've gotten that score in my last 3 GMAT Prep mock tests. I have about 4 days of studying left, so very little time. I'm not too unhappy with the 48, but feel that I have potential to get 49 or 50. In the past week I've done a TON of quant problems (gone through about 2/3 of the OG quant book, and did the whole quant section in Kaplan 800). I thought this would've improved my quant score a bit, but unfortunately on my test yesterday I got another 48.

I've noticed that I always get probability questions wrong in the exams (though get them right when I go back and review them) and I always take forever on inequality DS problems. I've just downloaded the Manhattan Inequaliites book (for Kindle) so I plan on going through the inequalities sections in that over the next few days. I'll also look through some probability questions just to improve my speed and confidence on those.

Any other tips for how to improve my score by 1-2 points in such little time?

My timing is good, I just seem to panic when I see some questions and give up on them, or make mistakes while solving them. (My verbal is good too. I'll do a few verbal problems over the next few days, but don't feel that I really need too much more practice there.)
Quick question when you say that your timing is good, what do you mean? do you reach the last question with 2 minutes to spare, no more, no less? How much time spent on the first 10 questions? how much time on the last 10? how many guesses along the way? With more info, I may have a few suggestions on tweaking your time management.
Prep-wise, You seem to be doing the right thing - diagnosing and working on your weak areas. i agree that if you can produce a 48 consistently, you can get a 49 or 50 on a good day - at these questions it's really down to a couple of questions here of there. You need a cool head, focus and some luck.
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by joannabanana » Mon Nov 29, 2010 1:37 am
I use this for my timing:
When on question 11 - should have 54min left
Q16 - 44 min
Q 21 - 34 min
Q 26 - 24 min
Q 11 - 14 min

I make myself STICK to this during the test.

I haven't really kept track of how many guesses I make... In my last test I made 1 or 2 completely random guesses to get myself back on time (this was on questions that looked really difficult or wordy), and I think I made about 4 "educated guesses" where I had a bit of an idea of how to solve the question but it was taking too long for me to get the full answer.
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by Geva@EconomistGMAT » Mon Nov 29, 2010 1:42 am
joannabanana wrote:I use this for my timing:
When on question 11 - should have 54min left
Q16 - 44 min
Q 21 - 34 min
Q 26 - 24 min
Q 11 - 14 min

I make myself STICK to this during the test.

I haven't really kept track of how many guesses I make... In my last test I made 1 or 2 completely random guesses to get myself back on time (this was on questions that looked really difficult or wordy), and I think I made about 4 "educated guesses" where I had a bit of an idea of how to solve the question but it was taking too long for me to get the full answer.
Sounds about right - very close to what I would recommend. And with this schedule you reach the last question with ~ 2 minutes?
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by joannabanana » Mon Nov 29, 2010 1:53 am
Yes, I do reach the question with ~2 minutes. Although I have to say, even when I'm on pace I almost always panic a bit on the last 2 questions because I'm really worried that I might not have time to click the answer and will get the unreached question penalty. So because of this while doing question 36 I'm constantly watching the clock - thereby not concentrating on the solution as much as I should be. On question 37 I'm usually less panicked because I first just click a random answer and then start working on the solution.
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by Geva@EconomistGMAT » Mon Nov 29, 2010 2:14 am
joannabanana wrote:Yes, I do reach the question with ~2 minutes. Although I have to say, even when I'm on pace I almost always panic a bit on the last 2 questions because I'm really worried that I might not have time to click the answer and will get the unreached question penalty. So because of this while doing question 36 I'm constantly watching the clock - thereby not concentrating on the solution as much as I should be. On question 37 I'm usually less panicked because I first just click a random answer and then start working on the solution.
I wouldn't worry about it too much. I think if you ignored the clock and focused just on solving the question, counting on your internal clock to tell you IF it's getting late, you would actually find yourself solving Q36 within parameters and leaving ample time to work on Q37. Having said that, I'm also not sure that Q36 alone would make the difference between a 48 and a 49 - though it might.

all in all, it sounds like you're doing the right things. Work on problem areas, get a good night's sleep before the exam, bring a few easy questions to solve before the test and get your brain into math mode. Stay positive - 1-2 points either way is definitely within the room for statistical error.
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by joannabanana » Mon Nov 29, 2010 2:36 am
Cool, thanks for the reinforcement and encouragement :)

And yeah, I know the score doesn't depend on q 36 &37, but I still dont get why i've been stuck at the same score for so long. It seems that whether my practice tests feel terrible or feel great I still end up with a 48.
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