Fixing your GMAT Quant Timing Problem (Part 2: How to Study)
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If timing on the Quant section is keeping your GMAT score down, you’ve come to the right place! First, check out the previous article in this series and get into a timing-oriented mindset. Then, read the tips below, and learn about the study practices that will strengthen your Quant timing.
- Do timed GMAT Quant sets every single time you study. Are you taking our GMAT Complete Course? Do your homework assignments from the Official Guide to the GMAT as one long, timed set each week. Don’t check your answer after each problem. Instead, use a countdown timer while you work, set to 2:00 multiplied by the number of problems. Your goal is to answer every problem before the timer goes off, even if you have to guess randomly. You’re only allowed to review after you’ve finished all of the problems.
If you aren’t taking a GMAT course, construct timed Quant sets on your own! Start by downloading the official GMAT Prep software from mba.com. It comes with a small number of free GMAT practice problems, and lets you create timed, randomized practice sets. If you run out of problems, you can also purchase 400 more. Start by doing randomized sets of 5 problems — two Data Sufficiency problems and three Problem Solving problems. As your timing improves, start doing sets of 10 or even 20 problems in a row.
- Study content areas where you often take too long on problems, even if you usually get those problems right. As you review, take notes on which problems take you the longest. For many students, word problems and FDPs are the most time-consuming Quant problem types. That means you should do sets of problems of those types, focusing on finishing as quickly as possible and guessing proactively. Here are a few sets from the Official Guide to the GMAT, 2016 edition for you to try on your own. Can you finish each of these sets in no more than 11 minutes?
Set 1 PS 87, PS 107, PS 112, DS 45, DS 88 Set 2 PS 58, PS 72, PS 100, DS 30, DS 77
- Step up your arithmetic game. Having great timing isn’t about doing math faster! But if you’ve decided to work through a problem, you can save precious seconds by doing arithmetic quickly and accurately. We recommend the end-of-chapter problem sets from Foundations of GMAT Math: set a timer and see how fast you can complete one set. A week later, try the same set again and attempt to beat your time.
- Change the way you take practice tests. Think of every practice test as an opportunity to try a different timing strategy, until you find one that works for you. We’ll talk more about timing strategies in the last article in this series. But for now, try out the strategy recommended in Stacey Koprince’s How to Set Up Your GMAT Scratch Paper. Memorize the timing benchmarks for the Quant section ahead of time, and write them at the bottom corner of each page in your scratch booklet. If you reach the end of a page and you’re three minutes ahead, slow down and start double-checking your work. If you’re three or more minutes behind, guess immediately on the next problem that looks time-consuming. Keep doing this until you’re back on track, even if it means you need to guess randomly two or three times in a row. If you’re really behind, you might even need to guess on problems that don’t look hard. Don’t lose heart, though. It’s only a practice test – and when you review, you’ll learn something about how to avoid developing a timing issue in the first place.
By the way, always review your timing along with your accuracy. Check out this article for more detail on how to review your timing on a practice test. In short: if you keep a problem log, don’t just record the problems that you got wrong. Record the ones you spent too much time on, and redo them later, even if you got them right! Your goal is to either make a good, fast guess on every problem, or solve it in under 2:30-2:45 at most.
The last article in this series will help you with the final piece in the Quant timing puzzle: what to do on test day to maximize your score. But for now, adopt these good study habits and watch your speed and confidence increase over the next couple of weeks. ?
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Chelsey Cooley
is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Seattle, Washington. Chelsey always followed her heart when it came to her education. Luckily, her heart led her straight to the perfect background for GMAT and GRE teaching: she has undergraduate degrees in mathematics and history, a master’s degree in linguistics, a 790 on the GMAT, and a perfect 170/170 on the GRE. Check out Chelsey’s upcoming GMAT prep offerings here.