Hey guys, I've been a lurker for the last couple months as I've been studying for my GMATS. My tests is a little less than 2 weeks away, March 13, and I have some questions about my last couple days of preparation.
GMAT Prep1: 660 (Q44/V37) <-- I did this without reviewing everything last week just to see where I was at, rushed at the end for Verbal and Quant.
GMAT Prep2: 700 (Q45/V40) <--Took this just now and while I did well, I ran out of time on both Verbal and Quant!
My goal is to score a 700 on the GMAT and would be thrilled if I got that on the actual exam. I'm going for the coveted 80/80 split, so I need to boost my quant a little. I need your help to get there! For GMAT Prep2, 8 out of my last 10 Math questions I got wrong because I rushed, especially on data sufficiency because I was running out of time. I also got 4 out of 6 wrong at the end of verbal because I was rushing again. Please help me fix my timing so on test day, I have enough time to complete all problems as my accuracy is pretty good.
Here are some questions I have:
1. If I'm running out of time, should I spend like 30 seconds on each remaining question and try to guess a reasonable answer? This is what I did and it hurt me because I got 8/10 wrong at the end. Or should I spend as much time as I need to answer as accurate as possible, and with about 30-45 seconds remaining just guess blindly 'D' on the last couple questions and hope I get 1/4 right? Please let me know what you guys think is the best strategy.
2. What is the best way to fix my timing? Should I work on OG problems and time them? Maybe make sure I do all math in 1:30 or less and all verbal in 1:15 or less? Should I just continue to take CAT exams and pace myself better? What do you guys think?
I would really appreciate if you guys can come up with a basic study plan for me to based on my questions, so I can maximize my last 2 weeks of study. Thank you and good luck to everyone on their exams!
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- qtn003
- Course Students
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- Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:45 pm
- rajmago
- Students
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Re: Couple questions and need help with pacing! Help me get 700+
It sucks to run out of time. I hear ya. Here's what worked for me.
Every problem that i did in the official guide, I did with a stop watch in hand. I timed myself on every single problem. Repetition of this helped me develop a mental clock. I've gotten so good at this, i don't even need to use a stop watch anymore. I know exactly when i am getting close to the 2 minutes per problem.
Also, I tracked every single problem i got wrong or took more than 2 minutes to solve.
Hope this is helpful.
-Rajat
Every problem that i did in the official guide, I did with a stop watch in hand. I timed myself on every single problem. Repetition of this helped me develop a mental clock. I've gotten so good at this, i don't even need to use a stop watch anymore. I know exactly when i am getting close to the 2 minutes per problem.
Also, I tracked every single problem i got wrong or took more than 2 minutes to solve.
Hope this is helpful.
-Rajat
- RonPurewal
- Students
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- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:23 am
Re: Couple questions and need help with pacing! Help me get 700+
hi --
first off, the second post contains a very nice bit:
absolutely.
you NEED to develop an "INTERNAL STOPWATCH".
you shouldn't be looking at the timer more than every 5 problems or so (see timing map, below); if you do, you'll be frittering away valuable time, and you'll add to an already toxic level of stress.
the only way to survive without constantly checking the timer is to develop your own "timer", inside your head.
i'm a bit worried about the order of these questions. in particular, your FIRST question was "what should i do if i'm running out of time?", and your SECOND question was "how should i fix my timing?"
the fact that you asked first about running out of time seems to indicate that, more or less, you assume this is what's going to happen! that's not a good thing.
here's the deal:
you should gear your ENTIRE TIMING STRATEGY toward NOT GETTING BEHIND.
here's how you do that.
the biggest secret you have is:
RELIGIOUSLY CONSISTENT TIME MANAGEMENT.
on quant, you have an average of 2 minutes/problem.
of course, you're going to go over this some of the time, and under it at other times. BUT:
NEVER take more than about 2:45-3:00 to solve a quant problem.
that means - if you are approaching the three-minute mark, STOP.
just quit what you're doing, mark an answer, and move on.
consistently quitting when you get near 3 minutes is the single most important thing you can do on the quant section.
this is going to be extremely hard for you to do, especially if you're a type-A person who feels as though you have to get all the problems right. but it's going to be your key to success.
--
once you have the internal stopwatch (see above) under control, you can use a QUANT TIMING MAP:
END OF problem # -- time left
5 :65
10 :55
15 :45
20 :35
25 :25
30 :15
35 :05
these time checkpoints should be the ONLY times at which you actually look at the timer.
between them, you should be using your "INTERNAL STOPWATCH" to help regulate your timing.
--
WHAT DO I DO IF I'M BEHIND?
* before you take the test, you should compile a list of THROWAWAY CATEGORIES.
- this is a list of categories in which you are weak (i.e., you get a substantial # of questions wrong) OR SLOW. if you take lots of time on a given topic - even if you get almost all of them right - that's still a weakness.
- there should be a lot of categories in this list.
- these are going to be the problems that you'll be willing to THROW AWAY if you get into a time crunch.
* if you fall behind, you should be ready to THROW AWAY problems.
- let's say that you reach the end of Q#25 (a timing checkpoint - see above), and you only have :21 left.
- you are now behind by 2 problems.
- YOU NEED TO THROW AWAY 2 PROBLEMS!!
- as soon as you encounter a problem from your THROWAWAY CATEGORIES... just guess. do not take 30 seconds, or 20 seconds, or even 15 seconds. just take a COMPLETELY RANDOM GUESS and move on.
this is the only way that you're going to get back on the timing pace. if you aren't willing to do this (throw away problems), you'll be forced to "throw away" the problems at the END - and we all know that's not a good thing.
no.
* when you reach a throwaway problem, you should spend 0 seconds, and you should guess.
* you should do non-throwaway problems with normal timing.
spending 30 seconds on a problem is basically the worst thing that you can do to yourself. that's generally not going to be enough time to make any meaningful progress - i.e., you'll be no better off than if you'd spend 0 seconds - but you're still wasting those thirty seconds.
--
only if these are OG problems with which you aren't already familiar. if you're working problems that you've already seen, then you're not going to get a whole lot of valuable practice.
if you run out of these problems, try to get ahold of some archived GMATPREP problems (you should be doing official problems whenever possible). these are widely available on forums, including ours.
nah. that's not a smart plan.
your AVERAGE for quant is 2 minutes. that's an AVERAGE!
it doesn't make any sense to set a time limit that is below the average, for two reasons: (1) if you solve all the problems that fast, you'll just be sitting around for the last 20 minutes with nothing to do; and (2) you'll be training yourself not to explore problems in enough depth, or to try enough alternate strategies.
you can give yourself up to 2:45, but, remember, the key is NEVER to go over that amount. NEVER, EVER go over three minutes on a quant problem.
for verbal, see the post below.
don't take practice exams so often that you're wasting them - there's no reason to take a practice test more often than, say, once a week (and that's an absolute maximum).
remember, it's the review between the practice tests that's going to help you improve.
first off, the second post contains a very nice bit:
Repetition of this helped me develop a mental clock. I've gotten so good at this, i don't even need to use a stop watch anymore. I know exactly when i am getting close to the 2 minutes per problem.
absolutely.
you NEED to develop an "INTERNAL STOPWATCH".
you shouldn't be looking at the timer more than every 5 problems or so (see timing map, below); if you do, you'll be frittering away valuable time, and you'll add to an already toxic level of stress.
the only way to survive without constantly checking the timer is to develop your own "timer", inside your head.
qtn003 Wrote:1. If I'm running out of time, should I spend like 30 seconds on each remaining question and try to guess a reasonable answer? This is what I did and it hurt me because I got 8/10 wrong at the end. Or should I spend as much time as I need to answer as accurate as possible, and with about 30-45 seconds remaining just guess blindly 'D' on the last couple questions and hope I get 1/4 right? Please let me know what you guys think is the best strategy.
2. What is the best way to fix my timing? Should I work on OG problems and time them? Maybe make sure I do all math in 1:30 or less and all verbal in 1:15 or less? Should I just continue to take CAT exams and pace myself better? What do you guys think?
i'm a bit worried about the order of these questions. in particular, your FIRST question was "what should i do if i'm running out of time?", and your SECOND question was "how should i fix my timing?"
the fact that you asked first about running out of time seems to indicate that, more or less, you assume this is what's going to happen! that's not a good thing.
here's the deal:
you should gear your ENTIRE TIMING STRATEGY toward NOT GETTING BEHIND.
here's how you do that.
the biggest secret you have is:
RELIGIOUSLY CONSISTENT TIME MANAGEMENT.
on quant, you have an average of 2 minutes/problem.
of course, you're going to go over this some of the time, and under it at other times. BUT:
NEVER take more than about 2:45-3:00 to solve a quant problem.
that means - if you are approaching the three-minute mark, STOP.
just quit what you're doing, mark an answer, and move on.
consistently quitting when you get near 3 minutes is the single most important thing you can do on the quant section.
this is going to be extremely hard for you to do, especially if you're a type-A person who feels as though you have to get all the problems right. but it's going to be your key to success.
--
once you have the internal stopwatch (see above) under control, you can use a QUANT TIMING MAP:
END OF problem # -- time left
5 :65
10 :55
15 :45
20 :35
25 :25
30 :15
35 :05
these time checkpoints should be the ONLY times at which you actually look at the timer.
between them, you should be using your "INTERNAL STOPWATCH" to help regulate your timing.
--
WHAT DO I DO IF I'M BEHIND?
* before you take the test, you should compile a list of THROWAWAY CATEGORIES.
- this is a list of categories in which you are weak (i.e., you get a substantial # of questions wrong) OR SLOW. if you take lots of time on a given topic - even if you get almost all of them right - that's still a weakness.
- there should be a lot of categories in this list.
- these are going to be the problems that you'll be willing to THROW AWAY if you get into a time crunch.
* if you fall behind, you should be ready to THROW AWAY problems.
- let's say that you reach the end of Q#25 (a timing checkpoint - see above), and you only have :21 left.
- you are now behind by 2 problems.
- YOU NEED TO THROW AWAY 2 PROBLEMS!!
- as soon as you encounter a problem from your THROWAWAY CATEGORIES... just guess. do not take 30 seconds, or 20 seconds, or even 15 seconds. just take a COMPLETELY RANDOM GUESS and move on.
this is the only way that you're going to get back on the timing pace. if you aren't willing to do this (throw away problems), you'll be forced to "throw away" the problems at the END - and we all know that's not a good thing.
1. If I'm running out of time, should I spend like 30 seconds on each remaining question and try to guess a reasonable answer?
no.
* when you reach a throwaway problem, you should spend 0 seconds, and you should guess.
* you should do non-throwaway problems with normal timing.
spending 30 seconds on a problem is basically the worst thing that you can do to yourself. that's generally not going to be enough time to make any meaningful progress - i.e., you'll be no better off than if you'd spend 0 seconds - but you're still wasting those thirty seconds.
--
2. What is the best way to fix my timing? Should I work on OG problems and time them?
only if these are OG problems with which you aren't already familiar. if you're working problems that you've already seen, then you're not going to get a whole lot of valuable practice.
if you run out of these problems, try to get ahold of some archived GMATPREP problems (you should be doing official problems whenever possible). these are widely available on forums, including ours.
Maybe make sure I do all math in 1:30 or less and all verbal in 1:15 or less?
nah. that's not a smart plan.
your AVERAGE for quant is 2 minutes. that's an AVERAGE!
it doesn't make any sense to set a time limit that is below the average, for two reasons: (1) if you solve all the problems that fast, you'll just be sitting around for the last 20 minutes with nothing to do; and (2) you'll be training yourself not to explore problems in enough depth, or to try enough alternate strategies.
you can give yourself up to 2:45, but, remember, the key is NEVER to go over that amount. NEVER, EVER go over three minutes on a quant problem.
for verbal, see the post below.
Should I just continue to take CAT exams and pace myself better?
don't take practice exams so often that you're wasting them - there's no reason to take a practice test more often than, say, once a week (and that's an absolute maximum).
remember, it's the review between the practice tests that's going to help you improve.
- RonPurewal
- Students
- Posts: 19744
- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:23 am
Re: Couple questions and need help with pacing! Help me get 700+
RON'S VERBAL TIMING GUIDELINES
--
SC:
the length of the prompt and/or choices is the primary determinant here.
if you have a paragraph-length sentence with loooong choices (see #46 and #50 in the OG DIAGNOSTIC chapter), then up to 2 minutes is ok.
if you have a SC of average length, you should try for 1:00 to 1:30.
if the SC is really short and/or if only a few words are underlined, you should be able to solve it in under 1 minute.
--
CR:
again, the length of the prompt and/or choices is the primary determinant here.
for REALLY REALLY REALLY LONG cr's, such as #82 in the purple 1st edition Verbal Review (the last problem in the cr chapter), up to 3 minutes is ok.
for average length cr's, try for around 2 minutes.
--
RC:
the primary determinant is whether you have to dig up information.
there are some RC's that are actually quite easy, but are still incredibly time-consuming ("which of the following 5 things is NOT stated in the passage?" - ugh.)
for PROBLEMS ON WHICH YOU HAVE TO LOOK STUFF UP:
2 min max
for PROBLEMS ON WHICH YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK STUFF UP: (like "main idea" or "author's purpose")
1 min max
--
SC:
the length of the prompt and/or choices is the primary determinant here.
if you have a paragraph-length sentence with loooong choices (see #46 and #50 in the OG DIAGNOSTIC chapter), then up to 2 minutes is ok.
if you have a SC of average length, you should try for 1:00 to 1:30.
if the SC is really short and/or if only a few words are underlined, you should be able to solve it in under 1 minute.
--
CR:
again, the length of the prompt and/or choices is the primary determinant here.
for REALLY REALLY REALLY LONG cr's, such as #82 in the purple 1st edition Verbal Review (the last problem in the cr chapter), up to 3 minutes is ok.
for average length cr's, try for around 2 minutes.
--
RC:
the primary determinant is whether you have to dig up information.
there are some RC's that are actually quite easy, but are still incredibly time-consuming ("which of the following 5 things is NOT stated in the passage?" - ugh.)
for PROBLEMS ON WHICH YOU HAVE TO LOOK STUFF UP:
2 min max
for PROBLEMS ON WHICH YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK STUFF UP: (like "main idea" or "author's purpose")
1 min max
- qtn003
- Course Students
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:45 pm
Re: Couple questions and need help with pacing! Help me get 700+
Fantastic advice Ron! I've been drilling this entire week for speed using 700+ GMAT Prep 1 Math Questions and while I'm getting quicker, your advice to keep a set of throwaway categories and an internal clock will be invaluable for me to stay on track, I will definitely apply these in the following days before I retake GMAT Prep 2.
I have 1 more question, someone told me that getting consecutive problems wrong on the GMAT is penalized more, so if I need to guess, I should make sure to get the next problem right. Any truth in that?
Again I will try to apply all of your strategies in my final week or so plus of preparation and hope it pays off, thanks again!
I have 1 more question, someone told me that getting consecutive problems wrong on the GMAT is penalized more, so if I need to guess, I should make sure to get the next problem right. Any truth in that?
Again I will try to apply all of your strategies in my final week or so plus of preparation and hope it pays off, thanks again!
- RonPurewal
- Students
- Posts: 19744
- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:23 am
Re: Couple questions and need help with pacing! Help me get 700+
qtn003 Wrote:I have 1 more question, someone told me that getting consecutive problems wrong on the GMAT is penalized more, so if I need to guess, I should make sure to get the next problem right.
you know, these things are generally shrouded at least somewhat in a cloak of mystery.
i would suspect that this might be true, at least to some extent, but in reality it doesn't much matter.
in particular: let's assume for the sake of argument that this really is true. the question then becomes -- what would you do about it anyway?
it sounds nice to say "make sure to get the next problem right", but this isn't really a meaningful statement: if you're going to have trouble with the question, then you're still going to have trouble with the question, even if you assign it some greater degree of importance in your head!
as a somewhat stupid analogy, imagine an archer shooting arrows at a target in the olympics. if you walk up to this archer and you say, "hey buddy, this next target is really, really important", what do you think will happen?
the archer certainly won't shoot any better -- after all, it's the olympics, and the archer is already giving quite an effort on the other shots -- and the artificially increased stress will quite likely cause him to shoot worse.
same situation here.
also, the other pernicious effect of thinking this way is that it may cause you to spend a disproportionate amount of time on whatever problems you consider "important". that's also bad, since, as you almost certainly know if you've been reading this board for a while, poor time management will absolutely destroy you.
all you can really do is continue to treat each question with an equal degree of emphasis and an equal allotment of time.
good luck!
- qtn003
- Course Students
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:45 pm
Re: Couple questions and need help with pacing! Help me get 700+
Retook GMATPrep 2 on Sunday and scored a 740 (Q49, V42). I know this score is inflated because i saw about 5 or 6 math repeats and 3 or 4 verbal repeats from when i took GMATPrep 2 last week. Because I saw repeats, I can't clearly gauge if my timing is on point, but I did utilize the 55-35-15 minute checks and they definitely helped.
My math timing has been getting better but I feel like my biggest remaining weakness is Data Sufficiency. When I try to answer some of the harder questions under the 2 minute time constraint, I feel like I don't explore every possibility and jump to conclusions, and make silly mistakes. What is the best way for me to ATTACK Data Sufficiency in the next 3 days, so I can improve my accuracy and timing?
Right now, I'm going over a list of 198 700+ Math questions from GMATPrep 1, and just trying to recognize the patterns of my mistakes and also learning general strategy to attack some tricky problems. I'm timing myself for each question and trying to adhere to a strict 2 minute time limit. With Data Sufficiency specifically, when I see a hard question where I can plug in numbers, that's what I typically do, and try to test every possibility. I do try to rewrite the statements into simpler math, but sometimes end up spending too much time on this, about a minute, before even getting into the math. Any general suggestions about the best way to go about these difficult Data Sufficiency questions? Is the strategy I'm employing the best way to do it, or is there a more efficient way? Any tips would be greatly appreciated, I have 4 days until my test, and I wanna knock this thing out of the park. Thank you!
My math timing has been getting better but I feel like my biggest remaining weakness is Data Sufficiency. When I try to answer some of the harder questions under the 2 minute time constraint, I feel like I don't explore every possibility and jump to conclusions, and make silly mistakes. What is the best way for me to ATTACK Data Sufficiency in the next 3 days, so I can improve my accuracy and timing?
Right now, I'm going over a list of 198 700+ Math questions from GMATPrep 1, and just trying to recognize the patterns of my mistakes and also learning general strategy to attack some tricky problems. I'm timing myself for each question and trying to adhere to a strict 2 minute time limit. With Data Sufficiency specifically, when I see a hard question where I can plug in numbers, that's what I typically do, and try to test every possibility. I do try to rewrite the statements into simpler math, but sometimes end up spending too much time on this, about a minute, before even getting into the math. Any general suggestions about the best way to go about these difficult Data Sufficiency questions? Is the strategy I'm employing the best way to do it, or is there a more efficient way? Any tips would be greatly appreciated, I have 4 days until my test, and I wanna knock this thing out of the park. Thank you!
- StaceyKoprince
- ManhattanGMAT Staff
- Posts: 9361
- Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:05 am
- Location: Montreal
Re: Couple questions and need help with pacing! Help me get 700+
Sounds like you're making some good progress - Ron gave great advice above.
I want to add one more thing (well, 2 related things).
First, you only have 4 days to go, so you shouldn't take another practice test at this point (that would be like running a practice marathon right before the real marathon - not a good idea! :)
Second, for anyone else reading this, when you take practice tests on which there is a danger of repeats (questions you've seen before), anytime you see a problem that you remember (and this means: I know the answer or I'm pretty sure I remember the answer, not just "hmm, this looks vaguely familiar..."), immediately look at the timer and make yourself sit there for the full length of time for that question type. This way, you don't artificially give yourself more time than you should have. Second, think about whether you got this problem right the last time. If you did, get it right again this time. If you didn't, get it wrong again. If you *completely honestly* think that you would get it right this time around if it were a new question (even though you got it wrong last time) because you've studied that area and improved, then get it right this time.
I want to add one more thing (well, 2 related things).
First, you only have 4 days to go, so you shouldn't take another practice test at this point (that would be like running a practice marathon right before the real marathon - not a good idea! :)
Second, for anyone else reading this, when you take practice tests on which there is a danger of repeats (questions you've seen before), anytime you see a problem that you remember (and this means: I know the answer or I'm pretty sure I remember the answer, not just "hmm, this looks vaguely familiar..."), immediately look at the timer and make yourself sit there for the full length of time for that question type. This way, you don't artificially give yourself more time than you should have. Second, think about whether you got this problem right the last time. If you did, get it right again this time. If you didn't, get it wrong again. If you *completely honestly* think that you would get it right this time around if it were a new question (even though you got it wrong last time) because you've studied that area and improved, then get it right this time.
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
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