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GMAT Inequalities is a high-frequency topic in GMAT Quant, but many students struggle because the concepts behave differently from standard algebra. Understanding the right rules, patterns, and edge cases can significantly improve both speed and accuracy.- May 06
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In Episode 3 of our GMAT Ninja Critical Reasoning series, we tackle Discrepancy, Paradox, and Explain an Oddity questions. You know the feeling: the passage gives you two facts that seem completely contradictory.... - May 08
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25 Apr 2018, 01:34
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Good morning everyone,
My name is Nicolas, I'm French and currently taking some time off to study the GMAT.
I started studying about 1 month and a half ago and I've been working about 6 hours a day since.
First, I got a subscription from Magoosh, watched all their videos and did all of their questions. This took me roughly 3 weeks. At that time, my score was around 600-650. Then, I used the official GMAT guide and bought some tests from Princeton Review and Kaplan.
My mock scores were between 680-740 (on completely new exams).
My verbal was usually quite strong (at least 38 and up to 46), however, I never got more than 49 on the quant section.
Even though my quant score was not really high, I decided to give a try to the real thing. I passed the test last week and got a disappointing 640 (40 on quant and 36 on verbal I believe).
This was quite a deception, especially since it was the lowest score I've had since I started studying on the GMAT. I took a little bit of time off (mostly to regain a little bit of self-confidence) and now I'm back at it.
I've registered for another exam in a month from now (May 26th). After that, I'll be working full-time again, and, therefore, it might be harder to study for the GMAT.
Right now I'm essentially doing tests on the GMAT Club Test Center and I always underperform (my highest quant is 43 and my highest verbal is 36).
I feel I have most of the necessary theoritical knowledge to succeed on quant. My main problem on quant is that over 80% of my mistakes are related to me falling into obvious traps, making easy calculations error (forgetting a - sign...) or missing a critical part of the question. Rather than working hard (i.e. forcing myself to do more practice every day), I feel like I need techniques to get my accuracy back and I'm not sure where to start.
For the verbal section, my reading comprehension and CR skills are usually quite strong but sentence correction's are really inacurate.
Things I have access to:
- Magoosh Premium (although I have exhausted all the questions and videos, I still tend to go back to it once in a while to analyze some of my mistakes).
- GMAT Club Test Center
- Some mock exams on Princeton
- Some mock exams on Kaplan
- The math Revolution course (I have not started looking into it that much as of now).
- Some OG questions (OG 2018)
I would like to apply for B-School this year (Sep-Oct application rounds). My target schools are mostly Tuck and Columbia (2 very different b-schools I know... let's say that some personal reasons are involved). Therefore, I cannot afford to apply without a 700-ish on the GMAT.
This week, I'm trying to gather data on my mistakes and see what I need to refocus on. I have also started meditating again in order to get a razor sharp focus on the questions.
Since I have only a month (this might seem like a lot for some, but since my scores are going down I'd rather play it extra safe), I'm open to suggestions in order to improve my score.
Once I have analyzed my mistakes a little more, I'm thinking about doing the math revolution course to improve my quant and probably start a course on verbal (I've heard E-GMAT is pretty good).
Any tips, tricks or anything you would recommend for me to get the score I want?
Thank you for reading this huge text.
Nicolas
My name is Nicolas, I'm French and currently taking some time off to study the GMAT.
I started studying about 1 month and a half ago and I've been working about 6 hours a day since.
First, I got a subscription from Magoosh, watched all their videos and did all of their questions. This took me roughly 3 weeks. At that time, my score was around 600-650. Then, I used the official GMAT guide and bought some tests from Princeton Review and Kaplan.
My mock scores were between 680-740 (on completely new exams).
My verbal was usually quite strong (at least 38 and up to 46), however, I never got more than 49 on the quant section.
Even though my quant score was not really high, I decided to give a try to the real thing. I passed the test last week and got a disappointing 640 (40 on quant and 36 on verbal I believe).
This was quite a deception, especially since it was the lowest score I've had since I started studying on the GMAT. I took a little bit of time off (mostly to regain a little bit of self-confidence) and now I'm back at it.
I've registered for another exam in a month from now (May 26th). After that, I'll be working full-time again, and, therefore, it might be harder to study for the GMAT.
Right now I'm essentially doing tests on the GMAT Club Test Center and I always underperform (my highest quant is 43 and my highest verbal is 36).
I feel I have most of the necessary theoritical knowledge to succeed on quant. My main problem on quant is that over 80% of my mistakes are related to me falling into obvious traps, making easy calculations error (forgetting a - sign...) or missing a critical part of the question. Rather than working hard (i.e. forcing myself to do more practice every day), I feel like I need techniques to get my accuracy back and I'm not sure where to start.
For the verbal section, my reading comprehension and CR skills are usually quite strong but sentence correction's are really inacurate.
Things I have access to:
- Magoosh Premium (although I have exhausted all the questions and videos, I still tend to go back to it once in a while to analyze some of my mistakes).
- GMAT Club Test Center
- Some mock exams on Princeton
- Some mock exams on Kaplan
- The math Revolution course (I have not started looking into it that much as of now).
- Some OG questions (OG 2018)
I would like to apply for B-School this year (Sep-Oct application rounds). My target schools are mostly Tuck and Columbia (2 very different b-schools I know... let's say that some personal reasons are involved). Therefore, I cannot afford to apply without a 700-ish on the GMAT.
This week, I'm trying to gather data on my mistakes and see what I need to refocus on. I have also started meditating again in order to get a razor sharp focus on the questions.
Since I have only a month (this might seem like a lot for some, but since my scores are going down I'd rather play it extra safe), I'm open to suggestions in order to improve my score.
Once I have analyzed my mistakes a little more, I'm thinking about doing the math revolution course to improve my quant and probably start a course on verbal (I've heard E-GMAT is pretty good).
Any tips, tricks or anything you would recommend for me to get the score I want?
Thank you for reading this huge text.
Nicolas
29 Apr 2018, 15:40
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hurry624
Hi Nicolas,
It sounds like you're doing everything right, so keep up all the good work!
To bump up your quant score the last few points, given that you don't feel that there's a big gap in your understanding of the concepts, there are three main things that you should work on. First is reviewing your past errors, which it sounds like you're already doing, so keep that up! Second is ensuring that you aren't making careless calculation errors. This is a big reason that scores don't always reflect students' understanding of the material -- since the GMAT always contains trap answers, a small calculation error can totally throw you off, even if you understand how to solve the problem.
If you notice this happening (go back through your error log), first ask yourself where the error happened. Was it at the end of the problem or at the beginning of a problem? Many times I see students make errors right at the end of the problem. This is a natural human tendency that we have to fight. How many times have we seen a team winning an entire game only to lose in the final minutes or a runner ahead in the race who loses in the final stretch? This all comes from the same tendency: we drop our guard when we see the finish line. We relax. We drop our focus. We rush. All of which does not help us to succeed. So the first rule: when you see the finish line, when you are nearing the end of the problem, focus even more. Don't rush. Don't drop your guard. Know that everyone has the tendency to slack off near the end. Don't be that person.
Second, are you tired when you make these errors? Have you had a power session of studying? If so, taking a short break to stretch, move around, and drink water might be all that you need to refocus. Obviously you won't be able to take a stretch break in the middle of the test, but you should absolutely do so during your study periods. For every hour of study, let your mind drift off to somewhere else for 5 minutes. Then return to answering problems. As for test day, closing your eyes momentarily can offer a nice break. Keep them closed and count to 10 or 20. Try to push all thoughts out of your mind and just focus on taking long, purposeful breaths. This will help to fight off any exhaustion.
I would also recommend reading the following blog post about how to stay focused during the test. It's written for the GRE, but applies just as well to the GMAT
And finally, read through this post about Careless Mistakes on GMAT Math.
The third main thing to work on is advanced practice problems. In order to boost your score, you need to work on those really tricky problems, which may not always come up in your regular practice. To do that, I'd recommend looking through the posts here, and searching for words like "challenge" and "advanced". By learning the more advanced strategies, you'll be able to really rock the quant section on the GMAT
I hope this is helpful!
-Carolyn
30 Apr 2018, 02:03
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Carolyn,
Thanks a lot for the great tips and the articles.
Indeed, I feel that the understanding of the concepts is not what is preventing me from achieving my target score. Rather, it is related to my capacity to focus for an extended period of time and keep on applying the right strategies.
All the best,
Nicolas
Thanks a lot for the great tips and the articles.
Indeed, I feel that the understanding of the concepts is not what is preventing me from achieving my target score. Rather, it is related to my capacity to focus for an extended period of time and keep on applying the right strategies.
All the best,
Nicolas
