Practice Question Anxiety Help (Quant)

Question

Looking for help on practice question anxiety...

First, I have a bad habit on DS to feel myself blindly guessing on the second parameter, and blindly start conflating it with first parameter. Therefore, I have a hard time choosing B, and oftentimes blindly choose C (even if I am not confident in A, b/c I think B is sufficient, but cannot examine it on its own).

When I am in any discomfort on the math practice questions (which is often, score in 30% on first GMAT official exam), I feel myself intellectually giving up, even though I have been trying to study in earnest for the last month. (Prior to this, studied lazily for a year).

It is the layering of multiple math principles or unfamiliar concepts that just make me feel like I “should” know it, so I am frustrated and defeated by the exam.

So, I am asking for pyschological tips to help me avoid this bad pattern! Thank you!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi willoptions,

Data Sufficiency questions are interesting because they're built to 'test' you on a variety of skills (far more than just your 'math' skills), including organization, accuracy, attention-to-detail, thoroughness and the ability to prove that your answer is correct. DS questions also have no 'safety net' - meaning that if you make a little mistake, then you will convince yourself that one of the wrong answers is correct. Thankfully, the 'math' behind most DS questions isn't that complicated, but you have to be thorough with your work and take advantage of any 'shortcuts' that are built into the prompt.

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) What study materials have you used so far?
2) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
3) What is your goal score?
4) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
6) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

AkshdeepS · Answer

Hi, This link may help you: https://gmatclub.com/forum/data-suffici ... l#p1070449 https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/2011/0 ... trategies/ https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... est-cases/ Hope this helps. QZ

willoptions · Answer

Rich,

I am in technical consulting from a non-target, public university. I am looking for b-school for banking or for management consulting, so I really need to improve my quant scores. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me!

Studies:
1) What study materials have you used so far? Local course in my area and worked through their packets. Now I am doing the Manhattan Prep books, and Manhattan Foundations of Math
2) How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Actual Exam score
Scaled Percentile
Quant 36 31
Verbal 38 85
Total 610 61

1 Prelim Score
Scaled Percentile
Quant 36 40
Verbal 40 90
Total 630 72

#2 Manhattan Prep Scores

Scaled Percentile
Quant 40 43%
Verbal 35 76%
Total 620 66%

#3 Score Gmat CAT

Scaled Percentile
Quant 33 (-3) 33%
Verbal 35 (-5) 74%
Total 570 53%

Goals:
3) What is your goal score? 700 - 720
4) When are you planning to take the GMAT? -- re-take when scores are hitting my target
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School? 2018, Round 1
6) What Schools are you planning to apply to? M7 and target banking schools

I took the course last spring, I just have so much depth of math to catch up on. The Manhattan prep books are good, but the extra layers of complexity of the test definitely throw me. Moreover, I think that in a perfect world, I do not have a sufficient grasp on the materials to get the right answers, regardless of my emotional distress. I didn't perform much worse on test day, which, I feel is the only positive I have going for me. I have a pretty busy tech consulting job where the hours can easily exceed 12 hours and sustained on-call work. I am just discouraged that I did not improve my baseline scores from a year of half-assed studying, so I really have been trying to kick it into gear lately. (For me, that is 2 hours / day).

Any pointers you can give me are much appreciated, if above is any helpful b.g. I know that I am not unique, and I've been in the workforce long enough to know that I am not that special, so I am trying not to lose heart about the MBA and the dream to pivot. Thanks again!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi willoptions,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, your various Score results are all in the same general range - meaning that you essentially performed the same each time (about 600 +/- a few points). You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. To hit 700+, you'll have to make some big adjustments to how you handle the Quant section - and you might need to tweak your Tactics for the Verbal section a bit. That training will likely take at least another 2-3 months of consistent, guided study. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a high level.

Many Test Takers who use a 'book heavy' study approach end up getting 'stuck' at a particular score level - and since your studies have been book heavy so far, it's possible that this has happened to you as well. By extension, you'll likely end up needing to invest in some new, non-book resources. You do not have to be a genius to score at a high level on the GMAT, but you do have do consistent, organized work (on your pad, NOT "in your head") and you have to train to be strategic with how you approach the Test.

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

willoptions · Answer

Hi Rich, thanks for the feedback.

I have been studying ~2 hours / day M-F, and 4 hours / day on the weekends, with maybe 1-2 days where I do not study per week.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi willoptions,

With a Quant Scaled Score in the high-Q30s, you might have some 'holes' in your content knowledge and/or you might be prone to making little mistakes. "Review" is an exceptionally important part of the GMAT training process; your ability to define WHY you're getting questions wrong is essential to defining the areas that you need to work on (and the specific things that you need to 'fix '). As such, I'd like to know a bit more about your last CAT. While a full Mistake Tracker would provide a lot more information, there are some basic questions that you should be able to answer (and the more EXACT you can be with your answers, the better):

After reviewing each section of your most recent CAT, how many questions did you get wrong....
1) Because of a silly/little mistake?
2) Because there was some math/verbal that you just could not remember how to do?
3) Because the question was too hard?
4) Because you were low on time and had to guess?
5) How many Verbal questions did you 'narrow down to 2 choices' but still get wrong?

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

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