Current Student
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 1212
Schools:Chicago Booth '11
Re: advice for bringing a 43 on quant to a 49+
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29 Feb 2008, 13:05
get the fundamentals down, you know you have them down if after you do question sets there is not something that totally baffles you or you think, Oh I didn't know that.
Once you are at that level, all it is is practice and luck. Being able to identify question types and in the back of your mind trying to deduce the right "trick" to attack the problem. It is kind of like the line in boiler room, only paraphrased:
A trick happens on every question, either you get tricked by the way the question is worded and select a wrong answer, or you figure out the trick and select the right answer
Always think logically and always be aware of the extremes in DS and the 0's and fractions. Also knowing when to give up on a Q and give an educated guess is a great way to bump you score. If an answer looks too easy, it probably is wrong so look for another solution.
Knowing how to translate questions into variables is probably in my opinion is probably one the most important skills in quant. So practice doing this on every question you encounter. Become flawless in this.
Think of how a laypesron would answer a problem and make sure not to answer it that way.
I think PR calls him Joe Bloggs.
Think logically. That is how you attack the oddball questions. The GMAT Q are not designed for heavy calculation so if u find yourself doing a lot of that, you went at the Q the wrong way.
Practice the challenges. They will make you more focused and you won't freak out when you see hard Q's.