Thank you for your response! I have started to target my weaknesses that I am aware of with the
MGMAT number properties (for the second time) and word translations. I know that I need to adopt a new technique of studying, because obviously with the amount of time that I have put in, I am not retaining the information. Any suggestions? Would you suggest taking as many CATs as possible, then evaluating? My problem with taking CATs is that it is hard for me to point out what the question’s topic is, as crazy as it sounds. I guess that this is because there are multiple techniques and steps in each question.
I am interested in why you think I should concentrate solely on Quant. I understand your reasoning, and I really like the idea, but, with all of my practice tests and official scores, I have scored lower on verbal and quant has remained about the same. I guess that I am nervous to only study one section. But if you think that that could significantly help improve my score I will definitely give it a try. I’m not shooting for a 700+, only a 500. Here are my scores:
MBA.com Practice test 1: 320
MBA.com Practice test 2: 440 (Q30 V21)
First Official GMAT (8/8/11): 440 (Q29 V20)
MBA.com Practice test 1 (took again): 490 (Q32 V25)
Kaplan CAT: 460 (Q31 V21)
Second Official GMAT (10/6/11): 380 (Q27 V15)
On the actual GMAT exams, I was running out of time in both quant and verbal, with around 10 questions left with 9-10 minutes. I still answered all the questions, guessing on most. My GMAT professor also advised the technique you described; taking longer on the first 10 questions or so, and I do agree that this is a crucial strategy. As far as timing goes, I never timed myself on quant when I was doing the
OG questions. Partly because it was taking me very long to figure out the questions, and retain the information after I learned it.
The
OG questions are tough for me, I feel like I understand the information in the
MGMAT books after completing the exercises, but when I go to practice in
OG questions I get completely lost. I end up having to teach myself each individual question and how to solve it. Which takes a lot of time. I have written down tips and techniques as I went, but I still don’t retain the information. This could be because I am unsure that I am actually doing the problems correctly and efficiently. I have done every question in quant at least twice. I have gotten to the point to where I remember how to do a specific question, only by memorization, but when I am presented with new questions, I have no idea where to start. I have kept an
error log and have gone over missed questions as many as three times, and I am still not able to remember how to solve them.
As far as Data Sufficiency questions go, I do not have a particular strategy. What would you suggest? For most of the questions on my GMAT exams I found myself picking C or E a lot. I don’t know if this this is because I am lacking knowledge or just being careless and anxious because of the time factor. I find myself picking numbers…for almost every question!! I don’t know if I would be better off sticking with the picking numbers strategy or trying to memorize properties or techniques with the short amount of time I have before my next GMAT… in three weeks.