Totally Bombed GMAT Quant Need Advice Immediately

Question

Hi,

I am trying to get into Baruch College's 5 year accounting program (already have finished 4) for the Master's Degree in Accounting.

Their requirements for GMAT are 550 minimum, with at least 55% percentile in Quant and 45% in Verbal.

I took GMAT on Saturday and got 520 with 22% Quant (terrible) and 61% Verbal (OK).

I studied using OG 13 and also the GMAT Club Math Book (although I was confused by some of the geometry which never showed up anyways because of my low performance probably) and took a few GMAT Exam Prep exams. I will admit I never reached the 55% percentile in Quant , but I did get a 570 once because of a high verbal. I just wanted to take the exam for real to see how I would do.

My question is : Am I a long way from the 55% Quant? Should I buy the GMAT Exam Packs for new questions, or should I stick with the free program and try and get more questions right and analyze errors?

Also I don't remember everything I got wrong which is scary, but I am sure those who have not done well and then aced it the second time have the same issue?

AjiteshArun · Answer

Is the OG all you did (I don't know about the other book)? The math review in the OG isn't very helpful.

sagnik242 · Answer

I also used GMAT Quant Review Book 2016 edition.

I see you are a tutor, how much do you charge? I can't afford much as I have a lot of med. expenses.

AjiteshArun · Answer

The OG is useful more for practice than for working on basic concepts. I don't take quant sessions, but there are many resources (a lot of them free) that you could look at in order to address what is most likely a problem in your understanding of the basic concepts in quant. What did you use for concepts? As I said, the math review in the OGs is not too useful.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sagnik242,

Thankfully, your score goals are reasonable, but you're going to have to make some significant improvements to how you handle the Quant section to hit that goal.

Your studies so far have been 'book-heavy'; many Test Takers get 'stuck' when taking this type of approach, so you might have to invest in some non-book study resources.

I have a few questions about your studies so far:

1) How long have you been studying?
2) When you took the GMAT, did you have trouble finishing the Quant section on time (and did you have to guess on a bunch of questions just to finish?)?
3) What type of deadline are you facing?

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

sagnik242 · Answer

Dear Rich, I was waiting for a reply from someone like you :

1) Since June
2) No, but I did guess on 4-5 Questions not toward end but spread among the beginning and end
3) Well, the Master's Program starts January 27th, so I have to take and get my required score sometime say by the second week of January.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sagnik242,

The advice that I would offer you about your studies will be based heavily on the amount of study time that you have available. As such, it would be a good idea for you to confirm with the School on the exact date that you would have to have your GMAT score in by to qualify for the Master's Program that you're interested in. From your post, it sounds like you're taking a guess on the deadline. Once you have the specific data, you should report back here (or PM me directly) and we can talk through the possibilities.

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

sagnik242 · Answer

OK I got it , the latest I can take it is by January 25th.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sagnik242,

With that deadline, you still have plenty of time to prepare and hit your goals (and you might not need the full 3 months of study time to do so).

How comfortable are you with the Quant subjects that you faced on the GMAT - do you know the rules/formulas and can you do the necessary calculations by hand? Do you find yourself forgetting some of the rules or making little mistakes in your work?

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

sagnik242 · Answer

I do find myself making little mistakes like on test day there was a problem with two triangles joined together, one length given, and a lot of "equal sides" given and even though I had studied triangle rules, I had to guess on this question. Also, I had trouble on a work problem that went like this , if a machine can produce 5 clips in 30 seconds, how many could it produce in 5 day?

Also, I have trouble in putting pen to paper like actually doing the work, like I write down some things and then don't know where to go on most of the questions.

Should I start prep all over with GMAT Club Math Book, work with that for a month and then take another prep test and then buy the GMAT Exam Pack?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Pranay1706,

From what you've described, you might need to work on your math 'fundamentals' before you jump back in to doing GMAT Quant questions.

For free math practice and help, I recommend that you set up an account at Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org). The site is completely free and makes the learning a bit more fun and 'game-like' (as opposed to the dry academic approach taken by most books). While the site is vast, you should limit your studies to basic Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry. After spending a little time re-building those skills, you can restart your GMAT studies.

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

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