Ways to improve Quant score

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alex.gellatly: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 435; Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:27 amFollowed by: 16 members; Thanked: 48 times

by alex.gellatly » Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:20 pm

So I've been studying for the GMAT for a while now (since Nov.). I have already done the entire OG (for Quant)twice and reviewed the problems. I haven't studied verbal as much, but I have still put in a lot of time. I have also read (and practiced) all eight of the Manhattan books (actually, I'm not done with Sentence Correction yet.. but almost). Anyway, I just took the first Manhattan CAT and failed, miserably. I got a 560 (Q31 V36). I'm a little upset with myself. I have been studying very diligently and have been dedicating about 2 to 3 hours a day, and about 6 on Sundays. I majored in Econ and used to be very good at math. However, I haven't used it for about 4 years. Obviously, my weakness is Quant and I'm not really sure where to go from here. Yes, I have an error log and yes I have practiced the problems over again. Yet, when faced with new problems I simply don't know how to solve it. I am taking the exam on March 24th, so I have little over a month to improve. Any advice or encouragement would be very appreciated.

Thanks

Source: Beat The GMAT — Quantitative Reasoning | Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:20 pm

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Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16206; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Mar 11, 2012 7:27 am

alex.gellatly wrote:So I've been studying for the GMAT for a while now (since Nov.). I have already done the entire OG (for Quant)twice and reviewed the problems. I haven't studied verbal as much, but I have still put in a lot of time. I have also read (and practiced) all eight of the Manhattan books (actually, I'm not done with Sentence Correction yet.. but almost). Anyway, I just took the first Manhattan CAT and failed, miserably. I got a 560 (Q31 V36). I'm a little upset with myself. I have been studying very diligently and have been dedicating about 2 to 3 hours a day, and about 6 on Sundays. I majored in Econ and used to be very good at math. However, I haven't used it for about 4 years. Obviously, my weakness is Quant and I'm not really sure where to go from here. Yes, I have an error log and yes I have practiced the problems over again. Yet, when faced with new problems I simply don't know how to solve it. I am taking the exam on March 24th, so I have little over a month to improve. Any advice or encouragement would be very appreciated.

Thanks

It sounds like you're on the right track (study-wise).
I do have one suggestion though.

The OG is a great resource for practice questions, but it is not necessarily the best resource for solutions. One of the great things about GMAT math questions is that they can typically be solved using at least 2 different approaches (one fast approach, and one or more long approaches). The OG often provides the longer (often algebraic) solution. For example, you'll never see the OG use estimation to solve a question, or plug in the answer choices, or rely on some number sense, etc..

So, look for a GMAT math resource that shows you how to solve the question correctly and quickly.

If you check out the posts in the BTG forums, you'll find all sorts of alternative solutions to consider.

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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