Got it. I stick by my point that studying 1000 questions is never necessary (or even a good idea), though!
Here are some specific ideas, if your issue is getting the math to 'stick':
- Try putting together 'cheat sheets' for specific content areas based on the problems you've done. Go through all of (for example) the exponents/roots problems you've already done, and work out what the most important, simple, general skills are for that problem type. Then try to condense all of that knowledge into just one or two pages. Reread it periodically, and if you ever do a problem and run into something that isn't on the sheet already, add it in!
- Make a 'when I see this, do this' spreadsheet (or flashcards). Article is from our GRE blog, but it's applicable to GMAT too:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gre/blog/2 ... e-problem/- In general, flashcards are great for this situation! You have a few options. One, make flashcards of specific full problems and study them in your spare time. But that doesn't seem to be helping you too much so far, so try this instead. Just pull out the one most important 'clue' or most important math point from a problem, and put it on the front of a flashcard. Then on the back, write out how you interpret that clue, or how you simplify the equation, etc. Whatever critical thing you have to do to solve the problem. For example:
Front: xy > 0
Back: x and y have the same sign (both positive or both negative)
Front: x^2 - 5x + 6 = 0
Back: (x-2)(x-3) = 0
x = 2 or 3
And my thoughts on your other questions:
- Don't burn yourself out! That never helped anyone. What's your Verbal score looking like? Unless it's above the 80th percentile or so, I still tell students who are very weak in Quant and pretty good at Verbal to study Verbal. A high Quant score looks good to schools, but a high Verbal score actually contributes more to your overall 200-800 score...
- I've definitely worked with students with zero math background. In some ways, you're better off than a student with
some math background, because you'll probably have fewer bad habits and be more open to unusual ways of solving a problem. Some students 'know just enough to be dangerous', if you know what I mean - they can do algebra reasonably well, so they insist on using algebra to solve every single word problem, even if there's a smarter way to do it. You're also in a position where you could see
massive score gains relatively quickly. There is hope!
- Have you thought about working with a tutor? I normally hesitate to recommend tutoring to students who have zero math background, because it can take a long time to build up the basic knowledge and it's almost as easy to do it on your own via reading or watching videos. But if you've done that many problems and reviewed them and it still isn't sticking, that's exactly the situation tutoring is made for. It's useful to have someone else diagnose the
specific issue you're having.
It sounds like you're really committed, but you're right on the edge of risking GMAT burnout... be careful.