Struggling to score over Q35 - Need HELP!

Question

Hello All!!

I am struggling to score over Q35, so do you guys have any tips that could help me? I know the basics but somehow I still end up clicking the wrong answers! In my last Mock test I scored Q30 and my score is stuck between Q30-35 range so any help would really be appreciated!

Is there anyone out here who went from Q30-35 to Q45+??

Plus, how do you guys measure the error log? I made an excel error log but I'm still making the same silly mistakes (has to do with time and careless-errors) over and over when I go through the log?Any take on that?

Thank you so much!!!

JackSparr0w · Answer

I'm working toimprove my quant as well, so I can relate to your struggle. I think one thing that will help is to not think of any mistakes as "silly mistakes." You made the mistake for a reason. You have to figure out what that reason is. A lot of times it can be something as simple organization. Othertimes you may be overlooking rules. In the latter case, review that section in your guides.

Are you making mistakes in a few specific areas, or in all sections? Also how often are you re-doing the problems from your error log? It's pointless to keep the log and never revisit the questions. There is a good post somewhere on how to go from Q35 to Q40 or something like that. Then there is another on how to get from Q40 to Q45+ or similar. Give those a read, and best of luck!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ozzykhan,

If you can provide a bit more information about how you've been studying and your timeline/goals, then I'll be happy to advise:

1) How long have you been studying?
2) What materials have you been using?
3) How have you scored on each of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for each)?

4) Do you finish any of the sections early? Do you have to rush just to finish any of the sections (and guess on a bunch of questions)? Do you ever leave any questions unanswered?

5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

SavageBrother · Answer

I cannot fully agree with you here. Sometimes, you make mistakes because of misreading, not paying attention to certain rules (which you do know). Those are silly mistakes, and as far as my experience goes, those won't be solved only by extra study (grammarlulz).

JackSparr0w · Answer

I hear ya, but I think treating them as "silly mistakes" and chalking them up to "oh I misread this, so I'm ok here' is a big mistake. If your misreading multiple questions, you still need to figure out why, or you'll just keep repeating the same behavior. It seems like the OP is consistantly making "carless" errors. I think he/she should take a look at the cause of that. Is it pressure, feeling rushed, not understanding, etc... If its one of those and it doesn't get addressed, the same errors will continue to plague his or her score. If it is a one off thing, then maybe. Same thing for knowing the rules. If you truly know the rules, I think you should be able to apply them without error, with maybe  A  mistake. But again, I think he or she should look at those "careless" mistakes, and see if they stem from the application of the same one or two rules, or is it happening more widespread. Also, a lot of time (at least in my experience) I think I have a rule down because I can apply it to one problem, but I can't apply it in other situations, or don't think to apply it. I could easily chalk that up to a careless mistake since I know the rule, but it's really a knowledge gap issue, since I couldn't apply/didn't think to apply the rule.

ozzykhan · Answer

Thanks for your insights Jack! How are you working on your quant? What I meant from silly mistakes was that when I do the problem within the time-constraints, I always end up doing it wrong or I take too much time on it but at the same time I am relaxed when i do the same thing without any time-constraints wrangling on my head!

Also, another thing what I've realized from my error log is that I misread the question especially the word problems - It takes me over 20/25 seconds on certain questions to execute my strategy properly!

Rich, I've just started studying like a month ago but I wasn't into it properly because of work schedule - I scheduled my GMAT for the third week of July so I am giving myself 3 months to score over 650+. On my recent GMAT Prep test, I scored 510 (Q35, V25). I've been doing 2/3 hours during the week and about 4-5 hours on the 6th day with one free day. Another thing that I've noticed is that I panicked at the end because I did not have much time to solve the questions properly (last 5-8 questions were done in a rush on Quant and had to do the same on final last 10 questions on Verbal.

When exactly should I sit for another CAT considering i have about 3.5 months till my actual GMAT?

JackSparr0w · Answer

So for quant I am using the manhattan guides. The first time through, I rushed a bit, which was a poor idea. This time, I am going through each guide, reading a chapter, then doing the associated OG problems (timed). Like yourself, I'm keeping an error log, which I revisit once a week, and do as many of those problems again as I can. Once I'm comfortable with that material, I move on to the next chapter.

Seems like your problem is timing. You've only been at it a month so I'd give it some time, but check the forum for timing posts as well.

I know this was addressed to rich, but regarding when to take your next CAT, I read something that described CATs as similar to a thermometer when you're sick. You use it to see how your doing, but you take medicine to get better. I think CATS are the same way. Review your CATS carefully (both right and wrong answers), and make sure you can do each in ~2min. Then analyze your weaknesses. Are you getting a ton of exponents questions wrong? If so spend the next week or two addressing that and your other issues with practice problems. When you're confident that you've improved take another CAT, and reassess your weakness, and so on. For me, this takes about three weeks, give or take.

If you're using MGMAT CATs, they're not indicative of the actual thing, they are way harder quant wise. I'd use the GMAT Prep official ones from GMAC. I believe there are 4. If you just want to take a test for the sake of testing, use MGMAT or Veritas. When you feel confident and want to really see where you are, use the GMAC ones.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ozzykhan,

If you've been studying for just about 1 month, then you shouldn't be too concerned with your pacing just yet. Almost everyone has a pacing 'problem' of some kind in the early phases of their studies. Pacing problems don't exist on their own though - they're the RESULT of some other problem(s). As you continue to study and practice, your speed should improve (as you become more familiar with the concepts that are tested, you won't have to take so long to figure out how to proceed through a question). In the big picture, it helps to know how to approach GMAT questions in multiple ways, so that you can choose your 'fastest' method for any question that you come across.

You should plan to take a FULL-LENGTH CAT every 1-2 weeks. Make sure to do a full question-by-question review of each CAT that you take though. That type of detailed review is a big part of properly training for this Test.

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

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Struggling to score over Q35 - Need HELP!

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