Hello! I've lurked here regularly for the past month. The Quant explanations really helped me reach my target score today - I can't imagine how much time and effort it must have taken to pull so much valuable material together.
This is my attempt at saying thanks and at contributing to the forum. Hope it is useful to someone!
PREP AND ACTUAL RESULTS1. GMAC #1: 740 (44Q, 48V, 8IR) [15 Jul 2018 - Sunday]
2. GMAC #3: 780 (50Q, 47V, 8IR) [4 days prior - Sunday]
3. GMAC #4: 770 (49Q, 48V, 8IR) [3 days prior - after work]
4. GMAC #5: 770 (49Q, 47V, 8IR) [1 day prior - day off]
5. Real deal: 760 (48Q, 47V, 8IR) [17 Aug 2018]
RESOURCES1. Time management:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWrUiBT83PQ2. 2018 OGs, including the digital version on the Wiley website
3. GMAT Club Quant explanatory posts, question collections and
error log4.
Manhattan Prep app
DEBRIEFOverallMy first practice test (GMAC #1) experience was mixed. Although I was broadly aware of the Quant and Verbal categories, I hadn't yet done enough research to know what question types to expect. That meant I was a bit blindsided by DS and CR. When I saw my results, I was surprised by the high Verbal score and disappointed - but not terribly surprised - by the low Quant score. (I'd run out of time by Q25, so I expected a hit on that basis alone.) I did another ~100
OG Verbal questions to confirm that my score wasn't a fluke, then made the fairly straightforward decision to focus on Quant.
By that point, I only had a month to go, during which I had full-time work and a number of work trips. That meant I averaged 1-1.5h of study per day, skewed heavily towards the weekends. I knew I wouldn't have time to cover a wide range of materials and decided to concentrate on the OGs, with a preference for the digital version on Wiley. I also downloaded the
Manhattan Prep app on my phone in case I found the motivation to study "on the go" - and I did end up using it a few times, mainly on the plane. The rest of my preparation was very Quant-centric, so I'll cover that below.
My performance today was reasonable. I exceeded my target of 750 and got within +/- 20 points of my recent GMAC preparation test average. The Q/V score mix also justified my strategy of concentrating on Quant. That said, my Quant score and exam experience highlighted that I should probably have focused more heavily on time management - and if I could turn back time and change one thing, it would definitely be to just stick to my time management strategy despite exam day nerves. That said, I decided to accept my score. A possible 10-20 point increase isn't worth the stress of a retake at this point!
QuantMy initial assessment was that my maths skills were just (very) rusty. I used to enjoy and do well at maths during my high school years, so the fundamentals were there; they were just deeply buried after over a decade of disuse. I'd forgotten key principles and formulae across almost all the Quant topics. I also struggled with the whole gambit: time management, question interpretation, careless errors, and the concept of DS.
Since DS was the most foreign to me, I started there, working through a series of
OG questions on the Wiley website until the structure started to make sense. In hindsight, I should have started by reading DS strategies on GMAT Club, as I'd have discovered the useful tidbit about the
two statements being non-contradictory - what a game changer! I also followed the advice I read somewhere else: begin by focusing on knowledge and accuracy, and deal with time management later. (Interestingly, by the time I took GMAC #3, I preferred DS questions and also answered them far more quickly - and often more accurately - than I did PS questions.)
After a week or two of warm-up, when my performance started to stabilise, I began to take notes on areas where I made frequent errors and on formulae and figures that I needed to remember. Prior to that, I relied heavily on my ability to derive formulae and calculate numbers. This meant that I regularly took 10+ mins to reach an answer, when I could have taken 2-3 mins. It helped that I'd started to become familiar with the topic areas and the range of knowledge that would be covered, and could structure my notes accordingly.
I then branched out into PS and discovered the wonders of GMAT Club (read: I started looking up every question I failed or struggled with). This helped me discover more efficient and effective ways of getting from A to B, and I noticed a tangible reduction in my average response time. For a couple of topics where my performance varied, I used the advanced question sets and explanations that people had generously compiled. My aim with those was to solidify my knowledge, rather than to simulate the actual GMAT; for GMAT simulation, I always relied on
OG content.
VerbalAs mentioned above, I started on a fairly strong base with Verbal, so I didn't do much structured or dedicated study. In fact, I typically only did selections of
Verbal OG questions to give myself confidence boosts after Quant study sessions where I fared badly. (My inner geek actually had fun with CR and RC.)
Time managementMy best practice test (GMAC #3) was also the one where I followed the above (YouTube) time management strategy religiously for Quant. It took the thinking and guesswork out of time management (it became a simple approach of: if X --> do Y), and also helped with nerves because I always "caught up" on time at regular and well-spaced intervals. This likely increased my accuracy with questions I did attempt, as I had a reasonable timeframe and no urge to rush. I played around with the formula a bit on my other practice tests (GMAC #4 and #5), but always found myself rushing towards the end.
Going into the actual exam today, I planned to follow the strategy precisely. It made logical sense and had not failed me yet. However, I lost track of time somewhere between Q10 (when I was well on track) and Q17 (by which point I was ~10 mins behind the recommended timeframes). Some anxiety kicked in since I'd missed at least one "skip a question now" checkpoint. I couldn't quite figure out how many questions to skip or when to skip them, so the rest of the exam involved both nerves and likely also a higher error rate. Even worse was when I lost focus in the last minute and ran out of time to guess the last 3 questions, which meant I left them blank. The score of 48Q, which is lower than each of my recent practice test scores, reflects this.
Given that I likely got 3-4 consecutive incorrect responses (three of which were blanks) clustered together at the end, and likely made a few mistakes with the preceding 5-10 questions, I suspect better self-control and discipline with time management would have bumped me up to 49Q. This would have been in line with all my recent GMAC practice test results. The clear learning there is to have a strategy and actually use it! I'd also recommend having a Plan B "catch up" approach in case you do miss a key checkpoint. If I were to retake the test, I'd likely try "do 2, guess 1" until I was back in line with the planned timelines.
Note: I didn't use this strategy on Verbal because all of my practice test experiences indicated that my normal pace should be okay - I had a remaining time range of 2 mins (GMAC #3) to 18 mins (GMAC #4). This held true today. I did need to take a few deep breaths between Quant and Verbal to calm my post-Quant nerves, and I checked my Verbal clock after every 12 questions to ensure I was on track, but I didn't make any adjustments as a result. The same applied for IR.
SUMMARYBased on my experiences, my recommended strategy would be:
1. Start by reading about the GMAT so you understand the format and question types. Don't read too deeply into strategies at this stage.
2. Do a full test to diagnose your strengths and weaknesses. Don't panic. Identify priority areas for study.
3. Work through digital OG questions, starting with the priority areas. Focus on accuracy and understanding. Don't worry about time. Always read explanations to identify why you went wrong and how to achieve better accuracy or efficiency next time.
4. Read more strategies and apply selectively (i.e. exercise judgement). Use additional non-official question sets to supplement your learning in areas where you aren't seeing the improvement you'd like to see.
5. Towards the exam date, start refining your time management strategy on practice tests - then have the self-control to stick to it on the day!
Congratulations chanange. Very inspiring to read your story. Interesting fact is that I'm one who needs to undergo the experience for both quant n verbal that you faced for quant. You made my day
close
Updated on: 16 Aug 2018, 16:36
!
