HELP Please: Quantitative Section Time Management!

Question

Hi Everyone, in my latest GMAT exam I scored 530, with a Quantitative score of 27 & Verbal score of 35. (I'm assuming that the verbal section is raising my total score but I know my math score is very low).

I'll admit that previously I didn't cover the basics thoroughly (I hated math at school, always used a calculator for the simplest questions). I got a score of 480, and at the time, while I was studying, I was having problems with many questions, but I was too confident and thought ok I'll get through the easy questions during the exam and get a reasonable score (I was aiming for 580 - 600).

However, I really studied harder this time, I got the GMAT Hacks - Jeff Sackman, and it really helped me with the basics. Then after finishing it I studied from OG 2017. I do understand the concepts much better now, and I'm able to solve different levels of questions. My main problem is TIMING, and it's driving me crazy and affecting my confidence

I can't solve most questions within 2 minutes (except extremely easy ones). In my 530 exam I stressed out under pressure and left the last few questions to luck!

Please help me with finding a way to improve my timing skills, yes I'm able to arrive at the right solution for most OG questions but in 3...4...8..and even 10 minutes!

I need to get at least between 550 to 600, please advise.

THANK YOU

I can't solve most questions within 2 minutes (except extremely easy ones). In my 530 exam I stressed out under pressure and left the last few questions to luck! Please help me with finding a way to improve my timing skills, yes I'm able to arrive at the right solution for most OG questions but in 3...4...8..and even 10 minutes! I need to get at least between 550 to 600, please advise. THANK YOU

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi yasoo,

With a score of 530, you're closer to a 550+ than you probably realize - and you can pick up those missing points in either the Quant or Verbal sections. In addition, you don't have to correctly answer ANY questions that you think are too hard or too weird (so your best option when facing those types of questions is to 'dump' them immediately). 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) How long have you studied?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates did you take your Official GMATs? What were the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores when you scored 480?

Goals:
4) When are you planning to retake 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

yasoo · Answer

Thank you for your quick reply.  EMPOWERgmatRichC

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? I did my 480 exam around Jan 2016, but then I stopped studying for a while as I was exploring my options. I've been studying for about 6 months before taking my 530 exam today! However, I've been only studying in the weekends given that I have a full time job. This has slowed my progress and increased the need of revision. Before my exam today, I got few days off to study and revise the concepts.
2) What study materials have you used so far? Gmat Hacks for Quantitative (Jeff Sackman) & Official Guide for GMAT Review 2017.
3) On what dates did you take your Official GMATs? What were the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores when you scored 480? January 2016 (480: Q22 V34) & Today (530: Q27 V35).

Goals:
4) When are you planning to retake the GMAT? February 2018
5) When are you planning to apply to Business School? February - March 2018
6) What Schools are you planning to apply to? Schools in Canada (Concordia, Carleton) and also exploring some options in the U.S

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi yasoo,

Since you could pick up those extra points in either the Quant or Verbal sections, you could focus a bit on one of those areas and then potentially retest relatively quickly (in January or early February). Comparing your 2 Official Scores, you seem to have found it easier to make adjustments to how you handle the Quant section - while your Verbal Scaled Score essentially stayed the same. By extension, it stands to reason that you could continue to focus primarily on the Quant section, lock up a 550+ score and potentially be done with the GMAT. That having been said, you'll probably have to commit to a more 'spread out' study routine (while you don't have to study every day, 'cramming' on the weekends is not the most effective way to prepare for the GMAT). To reiterate a prior point - you don't have to correctly answer ANY questions that you think are too hard or too weird to hit your Score Goal, but you do have to keep the little mistakes to a minimum on the 'gettable' questions.

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

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

yasoo · Answer

Hi Rich,

My next exam is 4 weekends away, unfortunately during the week I can only study for 1/2 to 1 hour each day, while on the weekends I can study for 4-5 hours each day. 
I really want to improve my Quant score, not only to boost my overall score, but also because I feel bad that it's too low. I'm afraid that having such score will also decrease my chances of getting accepted into a business school even if I reached their minimum score requirement. Therefore, I haven't made an effort to enhance my Verbal score (it hasn't changed since the last exam), I was trying to invest time in Quant.

I've been reading other users posts, and I was shocked by how much people have been taking online practice tests. I forgot to mention that I haven't taken any. Maybe this is why I ran out of time during the real test.

I don't know if the following seems like a good plan given that I have around 4 weeks ahead. 
I'm planning to take a practice test, to see how well will I do under the same circumstances without pausing between questions. Then I will try going over the easy/medium questions and solve more of them instead of trying to solve the harder ones. Lastly, I will take another exam, to see if I improved.

Sorry if I'm writing a lot of details, but one last thing please, do you recommend any specific practice tests that are more likely to predict real scores? There are many, and I don't know which ones to pick.

Thank you so much for your time & help  EMPOWERgmatRichC

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi yasoo,

To score at a higher level on the GMAT, you have to have a variety of skills (more than just content knowledge) and the only way to properly assess whether you have those skills or not is to take FULL-LENGTH CATs under realistic conditions AND at regular intervals. Make sure to take those CATs in a realistic fashion (take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, take it away from your home, at the same time of day as when you'll take the Official GMAT, etc.) and put in the necessary time and effort to define WHY you got questions wrong - so that you can 'fix' whatever little mistakes you might be making (and effectively keep similar mistakes from occurring in the future).

The scoring algorithm on the Official GMAT is far more complicated than most people realize. Since that algorithm is proprietary, no GMAT company has an exact match for it, thus CAT scores can vary a bit based on the 'biases' involved in their respective designs. The most realistic CATs available are the 6 from GMAC (the 2 free CATs, and each of the 2 that come with Exam Pack 1 and Exam Pack 2), but the CATs from Kaplan, MGMAT and Veritas are all 'close enough' to the real thing that they will provide you with a reasonably accurate score result (assuming that you take the CAT correctly).

You haven't really defined how you plan to STUDY for the next 4 weeks (a CAT is really a 'measuring device' - when used correctly, it will give you a realistic score and help define your strengths and weaknesses, but it will NOT help you to fix any of those weaknesses).

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

yasoo · Answer

Hi Rich,

I will definitely take at least 2 CATs to measure my performance. Although they are for measuring as you mentioned, but I think I will also benefit from facing new questions and analyzing my mistakes. Won't they also help me in time management? like for example, realizing that I should skip a hard question that I know I won't be able to solve on time...

Regarding how will l study, I will go over some questions on the Official Guide, but since I already went through them all, I will try to find online sources for practice questions. I'm also planning to divide the type of questions I'm facing into (algebra, geometry...etc) or even more specific categories (like questions about average, sets, area...etc) so I can get better at realizing what's required quickly.

I'm also planning to solve questions that are organized according to their difficulty level, I noticed on gmat club that such questions are available. I will check these out.

I hope that if I did all the above I'll be able to score higher on Quant (at least reach the 30s!

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