GMAT Strategy

I received a PM about this, so here it goes . . .

I don't really have much to add to David's great response, so I'll mainly reiterate some of my favorites.

First, I suggest that you spend a lot of time reviewing the responses from the Experts on this site. They model the steps you should be taking when tackling math problems.

ssk2003 wrote: 2). How can I improve my pacing in Quant, in my practice test and GMAT I had to guess on 3-4 questions, if not I would have run out of time. The only difference from the first time I took the exam and now is that I guessed strategically from the middle rather than towards the end.

Everyone struggles with timing. That's what makes the GMAT so fun!
I suggest that you use a Milestone Chart to keep you on track. This is covered in our free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244

ssk2003 wrote: b). Pacing - in general pacing has been a problem, if I increase speed I tend to make mistakes like above.

This is a common problem. I suggest ways to speed things up here, in my article, Solving Questions Faster . . . by Slowing Down (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/05/ ... owing-down)


As far as practice tests go, several of the companies on this site offer free tests. Also keep in mind that you can take the official GMATPrep tests multiple times. Yes, you will see some repeated questions, but not that many. If you're interested, I wrote an article for BTG on this topic: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/03/ ... iple-times

Cheers,
Brent

Here's my two cents...

1). What is the best way to improve my quant score from 36 to 44 in a month ?

First and formost, make sure you know all your rules backwards and forwards. Do you know your trapezoid area formula? Units digit rules? Etc. If you've improved your content knowledge but you're still stuck at that score, it may well be silly mistakes, as David said. You want to make sure that you track those mistakes. Here's another article on the subject: https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -studying/

2). How can I improve my pacing in Quant, in my practice test and GMAT I had to guess on 3-4 questions, if not I would have run out of time. The only difference from the first time I took the exam and now is that I guessed strategically from the middle rather than towards the end.

The best way to improve timing is to do less math! This may sounds counterintuitive coming from someone who teaches math for a living, but - you should try to do as little math as possible! Can you plug numbers instead of solving algebraically? Can you estimate rather than using a formula? Can you use your content knowledge to narrow it down to only a few answer choices? On DS especially, make sure you're only doing the necessary math. Don't waste any time solving something that you know is solvable!

3). What practice tests should I take to focus on improving my quant score ? I have access to the Veritas tests. What other tests will help me better prepare ?

All tests from reputable companies will be helpful. Just remember, though - you don't really learn anything by taking a test. You learn from reviewing the test in depth, thinking critically about the questions and their answers. You don't need to take a ton of practice tests to do well - you just need to do a ton of critical thinking about the tests you do take.

4). The following is what I have noticed as weaknesses in my prep:
a). making stupid calc mistakes ( missing steps, multiplication/addition mistakes etc)
b). Pacing - in general pacing has been a problem, if I increase speed I tend to make mistakes like above.
c). number properties, word problems and DS inequalities are my weak points
d). still struggling with picking the best way to solve a problems i.e I almost always do not use any of the shortcuts to solve a problem.
How can I improve the above in a month ?

a & b) See my notes on mistakes and timing above.
c) if you struggle with NPs and inequalities, it may be because you're doing too much math, and not thinking conceptually. These kinds of questions are very concept-heavy, but generally don't require much computation. Put the pen and paper down, and think about the concepts being tested.
d) Before you dive into solving any problem, you should step back and ask - what are my options? How many different ways are there of solving this? Then when you're reviewing, try to resolve using every method you can think of.

5). Study materials: I am using primarily the Veritas books and have the offical guide, the Quant and Verbal review books also. Should I get some additional quant specific books/notes ?

Don't go overboard with materials. A full set of any books will have all of the content knowledge you need. The quality of your thought process is more important than the quantity of problems done.

My biggest question for you, though... why are you only focusing on quant? If you have a pretty good verbal score, why not aim for an excellent verbal score? It will pull your overall score up quite a bit! I understand if you think you need a higher quant percentage, but the first thing schools look at is the overall score, and then they look at the breakdown. I'd recommend spending at least 20-25% of your study time on verbal to maximize your score gains.

Good luck!