How do I increase Quant score?

Question

Hey guys,

I took the GMAT a month back and scored a 740 (Q48, V42) and I am going to retake it in 3 weeks because my quant score is 74th percentile.

Any tips on how I might increase my quant score from Q48 to Q51? Any particular strategy I should follow?

Thanks!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi mathez11,

First off, a 740/Q48 is an outstanding score (it's well above the 90th percentile overall and is a score that most Test Takers will never achieve in their lives), so I have to ask WHY you feel the need to retest? You already have a score that would make just about every Business School happy. Barring a few select Finance programs (that might *want* a higher score but probably don't require it), you can apply to any Schools that you like.

What Schools are you planning to apply to (and when?)?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

mathez11 · Answer

@empower

So I plan to apply to the MFE at Oxford, MIF at HEC, MIF at Yale, and the MFE at MIT the coming September

All these schools recommend at quant score in the 90th percentile. While my score is reasonable for an MBA, it doesn't quite cut it for these quant courses.

So can you recommend any plan I should follow to raise my score from Q48 to Q51 in three weeks?

Thanks

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi mathez11,

Unless the application at any of these programs specifically states that a Q51 is "required", you don't need a Q51. These are really competitive programs (obviously), and the Admissions Officers at each will look at your OVERALL APPLICATION (and nitpick it). If you applied and got rejected, it's won't likely be because of your GMAT score.

That all having been said, your missing points are not likely to be found in one category - they're going to be found in the little mistakes that you make throughout the section. Take a good look at your last CAT - of all the Quant questions that you got wrong, how many were because of a silly/little mistake and how many were because the question was just too hard? I bet more of them fall into the first category than the second. THOSE are the issues that you have to fix if you want to raise your Quant score. Usually it's an issue of 'mechanics' - you're not taking enough notes and/or you're doing too much work 'in your head.'

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

dabral · Answer

Here is a post I wrote on pushing one's score to Q50/Q51:
improving-q-from-a-50-to-a-145212.html#p1164655
improving-q-from-a-50-to-a-145212.html#p1168478
flexible-thinking-143208.html#p1149001

Cheers,
Dabral

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

There's no clear and obvious path from Q48 upward. You probably already have all the math skills you need. You may need to work on your timing and organization, and it may help to work on backup strategies such as estimation, plugging in, etc. A true test pro will use whatever tool works most efficiently for the task at hand, and even an 800-scorer occasionally has to make an educated guess.

Having said that, even very high scorers sometimes find that they have a few weak points. Whatever material you're using to study, make sure that you're getting a sense of which quant areas might need a bit of a boost, and do the work to get yourself evened out. You may also want to try our Advanced GMAT Quant book.

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