Best way to review the questions

[NinaP494]

Hi,

I am planning to write the GMAT soon. However, before the exam, I would like to review about 500-600 questions I've marked out of almost 2500 official questions. What's the best way to review all these questions? I don't have enough time to solve these questions again. Thanks

[StaceyKoprince]

First, don't assume that you need to review that many. That's a lot of questions - you're not going to remember everything that you could learn from them.

Think quality of study over quantity.

Get your mindset right. Read this first:
http://tinyurl.com/executivereasoning
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -the-gmat/

Then, use this process to review:
http://tinyurl.com/2ndlevelofgmat

You'll be slow at first and this might seem like it's taking a really long time. That's okay. Learn how to learn. As you get used to analyzing in this way, you'll become more efficient: you'll notice more faster.

And you didn't ask about this, but read this to learn more about effective studying:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2015/07/ ... s-say-what

Good luck!

[NinaP494]

Thank you for such a detailed reply Stacy! It's definitely helpful.

On the executive reasoning part:
I completely agree with you on the advice provided here. My own experience bears it out. In my first attempt on the GMAT I scored 750. My breakup was Q48+V46. I left/guessed on several questions on both sections during the exam. I also did not feel exhausted after the exam. What you are suggesting was the right advice for me that time as I knew that I could get a very good gmat score with strong but not perfect performance on each section.

However, I am in a different territory this time. I need a PERFECT score on quant section. I am aiming to score Q51 this time as I will be applying to quant heavy Fin Eng or PhD Finance. So Q50 is a failure for me as that simply doesnt cut for the top programs I am looking at. I have experimented with Gprep several times and have never scored Q51 with more than 6 incorrect answers. I don't seem to have much choice to leave questions this time.

Would you have any more advice based on your experience with similar students like me who were NOT naturally eloquent at mathematics but scored Q51?

I also like algebra more than number picking except for a few problems with VIC where I see number picking has a distinct advantage. (But on a couple of official problems I did get into trouble with VIC though ) But I would like to be flexible and would be ready to acquire any skill that takes me to my goal. Any advice on improving number picking for some rare problems where algebra won't give me answer in less than 2-3 mins? Any specific drills? or pls direct me to any articles you might have previously written.

[StaceyKoprince]

I have had several students score a Q51 even while using 4 "skips" on the math section - so you don't still have to answer absolutely everything. Obviously, you have to be very, very good to get a Q51.

If you go into the test with the mindset that you do have to try to get everything, you risk blowing lots of time and mental energy on 1-2 problems and then missing other, lower-level problems because you are rushing and/or making careless mistakes. That's what will prevent you from hitting Q51 (assuming in the first place that one is capable of performing at that level - obviously

So this mindset still applies. You can't bail on 6-7 plus get a lot of others wrong. But you can still bail on some and get some others wrong.

I'll also point out: if you don't know how to do the problem sitting in front of you right now, the only good thing you can do is acknowledge that and move on. You can't will yourself to get it right just because you know you can't afford to get many wrong and still hit 51. And one more thing: GMATPrep is a little less forgiving. The real test has somewhere between 5 and 10 experimentals (best guess: probably 6 or 7). You can get every single one of those wrong and that won't impact your score in the slightest! Plus you can miss some that count and still get a 51.

The real trick to hard smart numbers (or VICs) problems is figuring out what kind of a number will be a good number to test and figuring out where to start if there are multiple potential starting points (ie, I could pick for x or for y or for z). I would go through the OG, GMATPrep, and whatever other official resources you have, looking for all of the problems that could be solving via smart numbers (and testing cases and working backwards and estimating...). Try them. Then think about how the math worked and what numbers would be better / make the math easier and try that. As you go, keep asking yourself why. Oh, I see, I get 0.5 here, but it I'd started with an even number, I'd get an integer. Okay, is there a clue I could've spotted sooner that should've lead me to choose an even?

Or how about this:

Kim makes 80% of what Ami makes and Ami makes 110% of what Rahul makes. What's the ratio of what Kim makes to what Rahul makes?

Kim is first in that sentence, so let's say K = $100. Now, $100 is 80% of what Ami makes... that's annoying. I'd rather know that Ami makes $100 and then just take 80% of that to find Kim.

Okay, forget K = 100. Let's say A = 100 and K = 80. Now, Rahul...oh. I see. That's annoying again because Ami takes the same "position" that Kim takes in the next part.

So I really want to start with Rahul. If Rahul = 100, then Ami = 110, and Kim = 0.8(110) = 88. Ratio of K:R = 88:100 = 22:25.

Now, how am I going to know next time I see something similar, so that I don't have to waste time figuring out that I should start with Rahul?

Look at the text of the problem: Kim makes 80% of what Ami makes and Ami makes 110% of what Rahul makes.

The first part would translate algebraically to K = 0.8A. So it's easier to pick for A and then take 80% to find K. Similarly, A = 1.1R. Ditto easier to plug in for R. So in the future, I want to remember two things: pick an x% OF person to start (because of signals that multiplication). And, ideally, pick someone who shows up ONLY in that x% OF position. In the above problem. Ami shows up in the x% of position once, but the second time, she's on the other side of the equation. Only Rahul is all by himself on the OF side.

That kind of thing. Practice. And then think about what happened and why and try it again...and again...and again, tweaking until you find the optimal approach and know how to recognize when to use that approach in future. If you're going to hit a 51, you've got to be able to do this.

We have tons of articles on these strategies on our blog - literally just search for Smart Numbers, Test Cases, Work Backwards, and estimate. And here are some other ones to make you think:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... them-real/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... ms-part-1/
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/2013 ... 0-seconds/
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... m-solving/

Good luck!