Need your Help and Insights - Stuck at Q48

Question

Hello, GMAT Experts.

Below I share my case and kindly appreciate your thoughts about my situation.

I already took the GMAT exam three times, scoring 670 (Aug - 17, Q48 V36) on the first and 720 (Oct - 11, Q48 V42 / Dec, 11 - Q47V42) on the two last attempts. I am aware that it`s a good score and put myself in a competitive situation to apply for good B-schools, but I`m kind of intrigued about the reasons why I couldn`t improve my quant score over these months. My bachelor is in Automation Engineering.

I already went through the reading materials (MGMAT guides, Veritas Prep blog, GMATClub Math book), did numerous random questions and kept an erro log. I don`t feel that there is any specific gap on theory. Additionaly, I was practicing on GMAT Club Test and was scoring from Q48 to Q50.

Despite the closeness to R2 deadlines, I want to give me one more chance to improve this quant score to Q50 (probably will take teh test on January 15th), but I confess that I don't know the right steps. Is this a reasonable goal considering the amount of time? Do you have any tip? Can you help me with a gameplan? Will a tutor be the solution?

I purchased the ESR report and I can share it if needed.

Thanks

pushpitkc · Answer

Hi CarlosNunes

These are few of the posts which might help you understand
what you need to do to cross that final hurdle.

Q44 -> Q50 : https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-impro ... 41670.html
Q47 -> Q50/Q51 : https://gmatclub.com/forum/quant-strate ... 37078.html

Additionally, if you provide your ESR Report, it would be easier for the
experts to understand and explain where you made mistakes. I would
recommend you to take the GMATClub Tests which has about 1300+
questions in Quant(if you have the time).

Retrospect on your mistakes(from the previous mocks) and try and
understand which topics need work. Work on the concepts again
using the Quant MegaThread and focus on the learning whenever
you make a mistake. For example, if you make a mistake in a DS
question because you forgot to consider a negative integer, note
that down and make sure you avoid mistakes like that in the future.

Hope that helps you!

CarlosNunes · Answer

Hello, pushpitkc. Thanks for your reply and help.

Attached here is the ESR for the last try.

MagooshExpert · Answer

Hi CarlosNunes ! Happy to help!

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

How to Stay Focused The third main thing to work on is advanced practice problems. According to your ESR, you had a harder time with the more difficult questions (which of course makes sense). So 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

Need your Help and Insights - Stuck at Q48

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