How do i study/review 500-600 level GMAT questions?

Question

Taking the GMAT on April 11, been studying since January, and i still have trouble with some 500-600 level questions, and as you can imagine im feeling frustrated. I only need a 550, im saying only because it seems so low compared to what everyone else is trying to achieve but for me it seems so difficult.

ive taken 3 practice tests in the past 2 weeks: kaplan 560, economist 510, gmat pill 460 and i plan to take the mba one this weekend

so pretty much, i know most concepts/formulas. i can find the circumference of a circle given radius, diameter, or area; i know the quadratic equation; how to find mean; distance=ratextime, etc etc etc

BUT im not sure why i still have trouble with some if not most 500-600 level questions. obviously none of the questions isn't just going to ask, what is the circumference of a circle if the radius is 2. what should i be doing if i have the basics down? ive also been doing practice problems from mgmat and here at gmatclub. ive probably done hundreds and hundreds of questions for quant and verbal. now i know doing lots of problems isn't the way to get things done, but ive already covered the basics and i dont even know what i should be reviewing anymore, im pretty much just going over the same things in my notes over and over again.

when i get a question incorrect ill see why i got it incorrect and jot notes. but i usually never see a similar problem, so ill just keep getting problems wrong. and lets say i have trouble with distance/rate problems, ill go to sub 600 work/rate problems here on gmatclub. answer a few problems (getting a lot wrong in the process), think i understand them and why i got it wrong, but when i take a practice CAT, none of the distance/rate problems were similar at all to the practice ones i did, even if i did 10+ practice distance/problems! im just using distance/rate as an example of a concept i understand, but cant apply it when given an actual question. all the reviews ive ever studied only say distance=ratextime, simple. but when given an actual problem its so much more complex than that! im just trying to get a freaking 550, why is it so difficult for me? ive been in america all my life, have a good school foundation, but i cant seem to get a lousy 550 on this???

pretty much
-how can i learn to answer gmat questions if i already have an understanding of the basics
-what can i actually do when i get a problem wrong? im jotting notes down but it seems like theyre useless to me since i cant make a connection between similar problems.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi btan219,

You've mentioned this issue you've been facing in a couple of your posts, so I'd like to see some of the questions that you've worked on (and that fit what you're describing). Can you post a few of them in the Quant Forums along with your notes/how you approached the prompt/etc.? It might be easier to deduce what you're getting 'stuck' on if we can see some examples of how you "see" the prompt.

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

btan219 · Answer

edit: if youre reading this im not asking about how to solve this specific problem

here is a question i found on the 500level page that i have no idea how to figure out at all. i stared at it for 3minutes trying to figure out what to do, nothing comes to mind.

The area of a square garden is A square feet and the perimeter is p feet. If a=2p+9, what is the perimeter of the garden, in feet?

A. 28
B. 36
C. 40
D. 56
E. 64

i know the how to find area of a square, and i know how to find perimeter. but these are the type of curveball questions that i was never introduced to when reviewing concepts.

once i understand how to do this problem, how do i take notes for it so i dont forget when i get a similar problem? if i look at the solution and steps on how to solve it ill probably understand how to do it myself, but if i get a similar question like this a week from now i might not get it right, because im thinking this isnt really a concept to know, its just something i need to pull from my memory, and since ive done hundreds of problems, all the questions i dont know how to solve will just mesh in and i wont know how to solve them

edit: ok i caved in and looked at how to solve it. if i were to get this question on the official gmat theres no way i wouldve figured out to plug in x^2 for a and 4x for p. how can i train myself to figure out these things? ive been studying for months and cant even figure out something this simple, what can i do to prepare myself in 2 weeks?

Bunuel · Answer

This question is discussed here: the-area-of-a-square-garden-is-a-square-feet-and-the-perimet-93425.html In case of any questions please post there. Thank you.

btan219 · Answer

thanks. im not asking so much as how to solve that specific problem. im asking what i can do/study/review to know how to efficiently answer gmat questions since im familiar with pretty much all concepts and equations

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi btan219,

You've just described your *REAL* problem - you're staring at the question and trying to make connections in your head. STOP doing that. Try this instead...

Most Quant questions involved 3-5 steps. Find 1 step (ANY step) and deal with it. Then move on to the next step....

"The area of a square garden is A square feet and the perimeter is P feet."

1) Draw a square. Seriously. Don't do anything else until you have drawn a square.
2) What do you know about squares? They have 4 equal sides, right? Label those sides with a variable (e.g. X). DO IT RIGHT NOW.
3) What are the formulas for Area of a square and Perimeter of a square. WRITE THEM DOWN.

You should now have the following on your pad:
1) A picture of a square with an "X" next to each of its sides.
2) The following 2 formulas (and labels):

A = area = X^2
P = perimeter = 4X

These are all ESSENTIAL steps to solving this problem, but I'm not sure if you're actually doing them.

Next, we're told "If A=2P+9...." Write THAT down on your pad.

If you're not sure what to do next, think about how THIS info connects with the prior work you've done. There are NOT going to be 100s of different things you can do. Notice that this equation uses the same variables that you wrote down in the prior steps (the "P" and the "A"). At this point, it's algebra (substitution and reverse FOIL-ing) because that's the ONLY thing you can do with this info.

You're not going to see this exact question again, but you will see questions that test these formulas and algebra concepts. So don't memorize this exact situation; instead, memorize the process: Draw pictures, take notes, write down formulas, do calculations as needed, etc....1 step at a time.

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

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How do i study/review 500-600 level GMAT questions?

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