DmitryFarber wrote:
It sounds like you are running into a lot of trouble with timing. Can you give us some insights to what your timing was like on the high-scoring tests compared to the more recent ones? You can also PM me your name and I can take a look at your Manhattan CATs.
I think it's a bit more helpful if I segregate out the responses here on Quant and Verbal:
On Quant, I finished my first CAT with plenty of time, scoring a 42Q (680 overall). The Quant section let my head spinning and I was confused on several problems, so I believe I maintained my pace mainly by skipping a few problems that I just simply didn't know how to solve. On my second CAT (41Q, 690 overall), I ran out of time with three questions left and had to guess on the final three questions, which I surmised was due to me taking more time to actually work through all of the problems and not skipping as many. On both the third CAT (44Q, 710 overall) and the fourth CAT (42Q, 660 overall), time wasn't an issue either way, and I finished both sections on time without having to rush at the end. With the fifth CAT (42Q, 630 overall) this past Saturday, though, I was admittedly behind time at the end, and I am reasonably confident that this directly led me to miss three of the final problems that I believe I likely would have gotten correct had I more time to work with.
In general on Quant, I know pacing is a bit of an issue because on some problems that I really cannot solve, I'm just stubborn and -- wanting to get all of the problems right -- refuse to admit defeat, which ends up costing me time that otherwise could be utilized solving problems that I actually can solve. For example, on my CAT this past weekend, on four Quant problems I spent between 4:00 and 4:30 attempting to solve each, and I got all four questions wrong. Had I just cut bait on these four questions after, say, 2:30 minutes each, I would have had 6:00-8:00 more time at the end of the exam to do the one of those problems that I feel I probably would have gotten right with more time. In general, I know that's a change I have to make, though having said that I'm not sure how much that can positively affect my score. That may raise my Quant score to a Q43 or Q44, but I would be very surprised if better time management alone could get me to Q47 or Q48, which is my goal.
On Verbal, it's a very different story. That's my strong-suit just due to my career background, and on my first two CATs (41V and 42V), I raced through both sections and finished each with between 12 and 15 minutes to spare. On the third CAT (42V, 710 overall), I tried to slow down, take my time, and focus on problems I wasn't certain about, but while I finished the section on time my Verbal score remained basically unchanged from what it had been when I raced through on my first two CAT attempts. On the fourth CAT (38V, 660 overall), I again tried to slow down and take my time, but for whatever reason my Verbal score tanked on the last few questions. On this past CAT (35V, 630 overall), I have no idea what happened, but somehow around question #20 I started to get way behind on time, and ended up having to rush like hell through the last few problems, which I know resulted in several wrong answers and, therefore, a reduced score. I'm really not sure what happened on that -- if I just middled too long trying to be patient, or if I was just earnestly struggling with some problems -- but it absolutely affected my score. Based on how I had performed through the first, say, 35 questions, I'm not sure I could have gotten back up to a 42V, but I certainly wouldn't have ended up with a 35V and a 630 overall had I utilized better time management.
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28 Jun 2015, 19:06
