{"id":3061,"date":"2010-04-30T13:49:56","date_gmt":"2010-04-30T21:49:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=3061"},"modified":"2010-07-24T22:02:15","modified_gmt":"2010-07-25T06:02:15","slug":"veritas-prep-gmat-tips-handling-speed-intelligently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/veritas-prep-gmat-tips-handling-speed-intelligently\/","title":{"rendered":"Veritas Prep GMAT Tips: Handling Speed Intelligently"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Brian Galvin is the Director of Academic Programs at Veritas Prep, where he oversees all of the company\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.veritasprep.com\/s\/gmat\/syllabus\/\">GMAT preparation courses<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Pacing on the GMAT is crucial \u2013 many students report that they can answer most questions correctly\u2026only eventually.\u00a0 Within an average of two minutes per question, the questions get harder, stress levels get higher, and the GMAT authors achieve their goal of creating a difficult test.\u00a0 Accordingly, most examinees need to build more speed with GMAT concepts and questions, and in doing so cannot afford to sacrifice much (if any) accuracy.<\/p>\n<p>How does one go about building speed?\u00a0 Take lesson from those who have the most to gain or lose from pure speed \u2013 track and field athletes.\u00a0 Even athletes competing at endurance distances \u2013 10,000 meters, marathon, etc. \u2013 incorporate healthy doses of sprint-based interval training in their workouts to build the fast-twitch muscle fibers that are so instrumental in increasing one\u2019s speed.<\/p>\n<p>The same can be done for your GMAT preparation.\u00a0 As you attempt to solve problems more quickly, you\u2019ll likely need to develop a \u201cquick first step\u201d akin to the bursts of speed that runners seek.\u00a0 The single-greatest place for test-takers to lose time is at the beginning of a question, at which point they\u2019ll often:<\/p>\n<p>1) Read the entire question<\/p>\n<p>2) Get to the end and think \u201cwhoa\u2026that looks tough\u201d<\/p>\n<p>3) Go back to the start of the question and debate how to begin<\/p>\n<p>4) Realize that they\u2019ve wasted time getting started and begin to panic (optional)<\/p>\n<p>This process takes time \u2013 if you spend 30 seconds of your ~two-minute allotment per question without making any progress, you\u2019ve spent 25% of your time with nothing to show for it.<\/p>\n<p>The key to getting faster on GMAT problems is to use those first 30 seconds on each problem productively by actively reading the problem.\u00a0 In that time, you should:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify known quantities and jot them down (e.g. \u201cThe end price to the customer is $100, so $100 = \u2026\u201d)<\/li>\n<li>Begin building relationships between what you know and what you need (e.g. \u201cThat $100 will be made up of the retailer\u2019s revenue plus the tax, so $100 = R + T, and the tax rate is 10%, so T = R\/10\u201d)<\/li>\n<li>Think about the parameters of the problem to begin thinking of efficient methods\u00a0 (e.g. \u201cthe answer choices are all spread apart by $10, so I may be able to test one number and get away with an estimate\u201d)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you simply have something to show for those first 30 seconds \u2013 an initial equation, the assignment of variables, an eliminated answer choice \u2013 your confidence level will increase, and you\u2019ll use the next minute-plus much more efficiently, as well.\u00a0 To paraphrase Newton, a test-taker in motion will stay in motion.<\/p>\n<p>To better increase your speed using track-and-field methodology, consider this \u201cinterval training\u201d drill:<\/p>\n<p>1) Select a set of 10 quant problems<\/p>\n<p>2) Give yourself 30 seconds to get started on each problem, and move on immediately when that 30 seconds is up (use a watch with a lap timer, or a computer equivalent to set up these intervals)<\/p>\n<p>3) Once the set is done, go back and finish each problem based on the point at which you left off<\/p>\n<p>This drill will help to accomplish a few goals:<\/p>\n<p>1) You\u2019ll learn to start each problem more quickly by reading actively and building relationships while you read.<\/p>\n<p>2) You\u2019ll determine the types of mistakes you tend to make at the beginning of problems, and you can focus on fixing them.\u00a0 People often find that they have bad reflex habits when it comes to particular equation or problem setups, and this drill will help to exacerbate them.<\/p>\n<p>3) You\u2019ll break the monotony of simply \u201cdoing problems\u201d.\u00a0 One of the unsung benefits of interval training for athletics is that you accomplish a fairly high level of overall training (mileage for runners; yardage for swimmers; etc.) without having to simply slog through that distance \u2013 the interval training is more interesting, or at least gives you a specific goal to accomplish.\u00a0 Interval training for the GMAT can help you spice up your study routine while also attacking specific objectives.<\/p>\n<p>Read more GMAT advice on the Veritas Prep <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.veritasprep.com\/\">blog<\/a>. Ready to sign up for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.veritasprep.com\/s\/gmat\/gmat-prep-course-overview\/\">GMAT course<\/a>? Enroll through GMAT Club and save up to $180 (use discount code GMATC10)!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3062\" src=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/Veritas-New-Logo5.jpg\" alt=\"Veritas New Logo\" width=\"260\" height=\"40\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brian Galvin is the Director of Academic Programs at Veritas Prep, where he oversees all of the company\u2019s GMAT preparation courses. Pacing on the GMAT is crucial \u2013 many students&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3061"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3877,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3061\/revisions\/3877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}