Quant Improvement-Magoosh?

Question

mikemcgarry  or those who may be able to help-

I am searching for a tool that will help me increase my quant from a 44 to a 47/48. I have tried to do this on my own but to no avail. Even with an error log I have not been able to  consistently   get my Quant to a 47. So it might be time to enlist some help. Is the  Magoosh  Math package a good tool to use for this? I am not sure If I should buy it or not as I do not know how generalized it is. Will it focus in on my weaknesses? I obviously do not need a general overview of the test (ive taken it twice) but something that will hone in on my problem areas. I just took the test so am pretty fresh on the material. Hoping to jump back into the test center in a month or so. I do not think I need that much work done just some fine tuning with the proper guidance!

Please help!

Hugoba · Answer

I also struggled with my quant score, so maybe I can help. I would definetely recommend Magoosh for quant preparation. The videos tackle some tricky subjects that you won't normally find out there or you will find only if you do some very hard questions and read their solutions (for example: the fact that the median and mean are equal in a "symmetric" set of elements, how to prove that a quadrilateral is a square, issues about perfect squares and their number of factors, etc...). You should also consider gmatclub tests, their questions really helped me to improve my attention in the details (integer restrictions for example can make a DS question answer change!). In addition, I would also recommend that you write physically in a notebook (don't use exce!!!) all the new tricky things, details, stupid mistakes, conceptual mistakes and review it weekly (write whole questions if it is necessary!). Finally I recommend that you stop doing crazy hard questions (Mgamt and Veritas caliber) and start doing a lot of easy, medium and "normally hard" questions (the OG, GMATprep, GMATClub tests and Magoosh are perfect, do it twice if necessary!). I believe if you are scoring in the mid 40s you can reach the high 40s by following the above.

allgeier44 · Answer

Sounds like Magoosh is pretty good then. I will try the mentioned techniques. Thank you for the detailed response!

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear allgeier44 , I'm happy to respond! :-)

My friend, you are looking to move into the territory of excellence in your Quant performance. In order to perform at that level, you need to practice the habits of excellence. See this blog article: GMAT Study Plan for a 700 or More Also, see this blog: How to do GMAT Math Faster You see, to break through to those very top levels of GMAT Quant, you have to develop creativity and insight. No step-by-step procedure is going to help you. It's about developing a whole new mindset, as I discuss in that second blog. In part, you can get some hints about that new mindset by reading solutions to problems carefully---and it depends how you read them. You see, many left-brain types are focused on "what to do" and want to know "what to do" when they approach a solution set. A whole different mindset is the right-brain "how to see the problem" mindset: this is particularly important in probability and counting, topics in which the initial framing of the problem makes all the difference. You have to be particularly sensitive to how the solution set framed the problem: the initial perceptual choices the problem made that facilitated the solution. This is very easy to overlook, because once the best framing is presented, what to do becomes very clear. You need to develop keen instincts for number sense . It's not enough just to do GMAT problems. If you want number sense, you have to find ways to play with math. I love math, so I play with it all the time. When I drive and I'm behind a car, I do the prime factorization of the three-digit license plate number in my head. You can pick an unusual fraction, such as 13/37, and find the fraction with a single digit denominator that is closest to it. In that blog on number sense I also recommend another "game" one can play with math. You see, the people who really master any topic have such fun with it that they can play with it. That's the level for which you can strive. I don't know how many of your mistakes have been careless mistakes . If this accounts for any significant number of your mistakes---transposing digits, overlooking constraints specified in the prompt, etc.---then it may be that mindfulness practice , exercised in a consistent way, will shore up your Quant performance. Here's how Magoosh can help you. I imagine that most of what we say in our lessons already would be familiar to you. Perhaps a handful of advance lessons would help you. But, if you practice our math question, each one has a video explanation. Of course, you probably will get many right, but for the ones you get wrong, you will have a VE immediately following the question, and that kind of immediate feedback accelerates learning. Here's a sample question: Sum of digits is 2 . Finally, I will say that math happens in the details. It's very hard to give generic math advice without knowing the particulars of your difficulties. For every single problem you get wrong, it's great that you keep an error log, but for each problem, you also need to come here to GMAT Club and seek out that problem (most math problems from most sources are already posted here). For each problem you got wrong, read the entire thread on GC and see what the experts say. If you feel that your particularly questions about the problem were not answered, then post your own question in that thread. Feel free to solicit my help. You need to get very specific answer to very specific questions: that's ultimately how you make progress in math. One of the habits of excellence is continually to ask one's self, "what more can I do?" Getting to those heights of Quant performance is not something you can do in your spare time. If you are not toiling to the level of blood, sweat, and tears, then you are not doing enough. Excellence comes from the heart. Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

allgeier44 · Answer

@mikemcgarry-

Thank you for the reply.

I have used GMAT club for every question I have gotten wrong through my GMAT studies. I have even written out every question I ever got wrong and researched them exhaustively. The vast majority of my mistakes are silly ones. Moreover, I rarely come across a problem that I have answered incorrectly and have not immediately understood my mistake once I look at the explanation.

After reading the articles you posted I think I need to change my approach to questions. Ironically enough my two GMATprep Q 47s have come after long periods of not studying. Maybe its due to the Right side of my Brain taking over and not relying on "cookie cutter" methods.

Silviax · Answer

Here are the two cents from someone who has been using Magoosh for the past few months: Simply put: I like Magoosh. The platform is very easy to navigate. I like the simplicity of it. The Quant section has been really helpful for me. (I like the quant section much better than the verbal on Magoosh). Mike is really an AWESOME instructor. He breaks down the most difficult problems in a way that makes it easy for me to understand them. I am still having a hard time applying all my "new knowledge" but I am working on it. The customer service of Magoosh is excellent. They are all very helpful. :-D

The videos discuss all the fundamentals of GMAT math and there are plenty of practice problems, however, .... since you are already at such a high level of math I am really not sure if Magoosh can teach you anything new. For met it's great, because as I have mentioned in other posts here: I suck at math. I think the instructional videos of Magoosh are more geared towards people with weak or mediocre abilities like myself.

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