Can some one plzz help!!

Question

Hi

I have been preparing for GMAT for last 1 month though i have given the gmat before but couldn't score high, anyways thats an different issue. My problem now is that I am consistently hitting the 45 mark in Quant section in gmat prep.
Can someone or the GMAT gurus suggest me how to increase the Quant score from 45 to 50+.

I am clear with all the concepts but identified few areas that have troubled me in the past
i.e coordinate geometry, probabilty(though i am not too bad at it) and sometimes absolute values.

I also tend to do lot of silly mistakes.
Materials I have used till now..
OG 10
OG11
OG 12
Kaplan premier
Kaplan 800 (still to attempt the book)
GMAT Prep

I don't find kaplan CAT's usefull since maths is way too easy and is for sure unrepresentative of the type of questions which we get in the real gmat or gmat prep.

Waiting for a quick and early response
Thanksss.....

bigoyal · Answer

This is where error log helps

. At the end of each attempt of a CAT test or OG questions prepare an error log - mark your answer, correct answer, related area etc etc. At the end list down all the areas in which you have been making mistakes. Now target the top problem areas. As you mentioned you have already identified some of the areas, try to work more on those areas. You can pick your high school maths book to get some extra practice on problematic areas. You can also try GMAT Club quant tests for practicing tough quant questions. Since you are an old member and have more than 200 posts, I guess you would get free access to these tests.

gurpreet07 · Answer

Oh thanku very much.
I have taken a note of it and would certainly maintain an error log and this time i would try to do better.
will also try those test, as mentioned by you
thanks again.
I Appreciate your response.

JoshKnewton · Answer

One thing that you might want to work on, oddly enough, are the easy questions. Are you spending too much time on them? The questions that you need to answer correctly in order to break the 45 mark on the quant section are going to be difficult, even for people who are math whizzes. They will take a lot of time. Try timing yourself on a set of easier questions that you have not seen before, and observe what your average time per question is. Then, as best as you can, REMEMBER the path of your thoughts while you were doing these questions. Were you always on point? Did your thoughts drift? Even if you can reduce your time per question on the first half of the test an average of just 7 seconds per question, you will gain roughly 17 × 7 = 119 extra seconds for the later questions on the test. If you're averaging 2 minutes per question (as you should be doing), 119 seconds translates into one more question answered correctly. One more question answered correctly WILL raise your score, especially if it is one of the challenging questions that you get at the end.

Cheers,
Josh@Knewton

Cheers,
Josh@Knewton

gurpreet07 · Answer

Yea I think you are right i actually start very slow cross checking answers for even simpler questions.

mikeCoolBoy · Answer

what are your percentages of correct answers in the OG? do you know average time per question? Do you have trouble with a particular type of problem?

I agree that Kaplan problems are easier than the ones on GMATPrep. If you have enough time till your next exam MGMAT materials are pretty good for quant. Their problems are tougher than those in GMAT prep and the explanations are good.

The GMAT club challenges are also a really good resource. The problems and the explanations are very good too.

Good luck on your studying.

gurpreet07 · Answer

Thank you Mike..for the response..For OG maths problem my hit rate is 90%. yes for some questions i do exceed the time limit, i mean generaly 3 mins, but other problems are solved in one half or 2 mins max. I have found out one more issue with myself if i am not able to get the answer within let say 2.5 or even 3 mins. my ego comes in between and i tend to waste time on that specific question, thus hurting myself in later questions.

I think i have to learn some educated guessing techniques..

bigoyal · Answer

Hi gurpreet07, timing is very very important in both verbal and quant. If by the end of the test you are generally left with little time and have to guess a few question, it would surely impact your score.

I would suggest you to practice few tests in the timed env. In my case I used to keep the following scale with me:
Time left-Questions done
75mins - 0
60mins - 8
40mins - 16
20mins - 26
10mins - 32
00mins - 37

During the exam, I used my time-scale to periodically check how much I was lagging behind. For example, when 40 mins left, I should have already attempted 16 quant questions. I have kept less time for first few questions, i.e. 8 questions in 1st 15 mins since initial questions in quant are lot easier. The next 10-15 questions are generally time consuming.

If I was lagging behind by just 1-2 questions I tried to speed up the things, and guess 2-3 questions (if required) randomly in the last 20 mins. But this guess-work was also scattered instead of panicking in the end and concentrating all the guesses in the last few questions.

One more tip, try to nail some of the most difficult questions which GMAT will start throwing after around 15 mins. This will shoot your score. But again towards the end you'll start getting easier questions.

gurpreet07 · Answer

Point noted down sirrr..

I will be attemptinng full length test from next week.. Do you suggest going thru all the theory part again.... Because I think i have already done OG 3 times...most of the questions have been hard wired into my brain. I just remember the answer with the right ssolution obviously.

bigoyal · Answer

Don't go through the whole theory part again. Just concentrate on your weak areas. You can get a OG Quant supplement for extra practice.

gurpreet07 · Answer

Do we have MGMAT materials available in india..
that too in new delhi...

bigoyal · Answer

Have you been to Nai Sadak in Old Delhi. You'll find all the MGMAT books and that also at very cheap price.

gurpreet07 · Answer

Oh I have been there but never searched for Manhattan books
by the way thanks.
I will definitely get my copy.

yangsta8 · Answer

Hey gurpreet. I was sitting around mid 40's and now can consistently score around 47-49 in my practice tests. The keys for me were:

1) Eliminate silly errors especially by identify traps
2) Go through error log - specifically redo questions, don't just read them.
3) GMATClub Challenges have a LOT of traps and tricks that you can learn. Utilise them.

All the best

gurpreet07 · Answer

Thanku yangsta for suggestion.
yes i will definitely use the error log and the club challenges which i haven't done before.
my exam date is 25th dec. would try to complete everything before the D-Day.

klusener · Answer

Hello Biigoyal ,

"One more tip, try to nail some of the most difficult questions which GMAT will start throwing after around 15 mins. This will shoot your score. But again towards the end you'll start getting easier questions."

So if we are getting the tough questions correct ( which as you say are around the 15 minute marker ) then towards the end we will see easier questions ?

i thought the test will throw you harder questions if you are getting questions right

thanks,

Economist · Answer

Hi Klusener,
Best strategy is to keep yourself calm...dont assume anything about the difficulty of the questions..just take it one by one..give it your best try..not more than 2.5 minutes...its worthless to worry about the difficulty of questions

Good luck with your preps.

gurpreet07 · Answer

Yes rightly said by economist..
even if we do worry, we can't predict the difficulty level of that questions
may be according to us a question would be 600 level but according to GMAT it might be above that level
it all depends upon once ability and way to think analyticaly.

klusener · Answer

thanks guys , the advice is sound .

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Can some one plzz help!!

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