Study areas to focus on

Question

Hi everybody,
If it is ok I would like your opinion on topics that I should focus on/prioritize, I have minimum understanding on combination and number sequence but it seems from the exam, there are not many questions coming from those topics. On the other hand, I have around 70 - 80% understanding of algebra, absolute value, arithmetic etc that comprise majority of the questions on the exam. Which ones that I should focus on first? Thanks for the advice

DisciplinedPrep · Answer

Few test takers sometimes avoid "harder" questions by erroneously assuming that certain questions appear only at a certain difficulty level, i.e. at the 700 level. However, the truth is that questions of any type could be hard or easy. Few probability questions can be extremely difficult whereas few can be exceedingly easy. Hence, question type is a poor indicator of difficulty level. For instance, your very first question could be a probability problem, that may require a simple nCr or nPr formula and therefore could be solved in 1 min. Do you want to miss out such a question? I suppose not. Therefore, you must at least cover every concept tested on the GMAT before taking the test. In other words, you must know the basics of every Question question type.

cfc198 · Answer

I believe that is all about mastering concepts instead of focusing on quantity of questions. Therefore, I would highly recommend you to clear your fundamentals and not to neglect any topic based on past recurrence.

Best wishes!

Best wishes!

akela · Answer

Hi sumankwan , What study materials are you using? It's better to cover all topics because the test examines all categories. I'd go with Manhattan prep guides. They cover all topics and give the strategies to tackle the problems. You can read more about best quant books here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ma ... ml?fl=menu Hope this helps!

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

You ask a fantastic question. Unfortunately, it’s going to be difficult to answer. Remember, if we all knew the exact breakdown of topics to expect on any given GMAT (or, in other words, the “importance” of each topic), the test wouldn’t be such a challenge, right? Part of the difficulty of the GMAT is the fact that so few quant questions are asked (only 31), but so many concepts can be tested.

Consider this quote from “The Art of War”:

"The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable."

Rather than trying to game the GMAT or determine the importance of certain topics, you need to prepare such that you will be ready for anything that may come your way on test day. Only then will you be able to walk into the GMAT and know that regardless of what question pops up on the screen, you can DOMINATE IT.

You may find it helpful to read my article about  how to increase your GMAT quant score  for more tips on dominating the GMAT.

Feel free to reach out with further questions.

Study areas to focus on

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