Former Veritas to MGMAT Advocate has some questions

[rkim81]

Hi,

Background

I'm currently in between jobs and I've been studying for the GMAT for about 2 months and have increased my score about 100 points. I was very weak in quant, but much better in verbal specifically SC. My CR could use a lot of work, and I've found that the Skeletal Sketch for RC has increased my verbal score range. I am not diagramming the CR questions as I find it too time consuming and am looking for an alternative method. I've become better at pacing in the verbal section, but not for the quant. I find that in this area I typically rush through the questions in fear that I will not have enough time to complete the section.

When studying, I make cue cards of questions that gave me lots of trouble (but never seem to see them on any CAT), rules or principles that help me solve CR, SC GEO questions. I read a few before sleep and when I wake up. I study in 75 minute blocks for stamina, might spend a 4 hours all on quant, or vary up the sections depending on mood.

Practice CAT's

I have taken four practice tests, from a variety of sources within a span of two weeks and scored relatively in the same range.

2009-10-08
V 15 Q 27 430

2009-10-09
V 31 Q35 560

2009-10-21
V 31 Q 35 560

Manhattan FREE CAT
2009-10-21
V 33 Q 33 550

I doubt that in a day my overall test taking ability and strategy, and foundations of theory had improved so much to warrant a 130 point increase. In fact, the first score mentioned was a 50 point drop from a previous test done about a month before. Considering that the last three tests are relatively in the same range, is this a good indicator of my actual performance? ( I know you must get this question a lot)

Pacing

My pacing seems to be erratic. For example, SC questions take about 10-30 seconds, CR questions about 2- 3 mins and it's difficult to gauge how much time I'm using for RC because of the Skeletal Sketch method. Is it necessarily bad that I am spending less time on SC questions than any other question type? What would you recommend to cut down time on CR questions? I find that overall I am able to complete the verbal sectionin the allotted time without being rushed at all.

Pacing in the quant section is a different story. In majority of the practice CAT's I've taken, I always finish the quant section with 15-20 minutes remaining. DS questions take the least amount of time because sometimes the concept seems so over my head I just guess and move on to the next question, I am satisfied with the amount of calculations I've done and pick an answer, or when in doubt choose "C" when it looks alright. Also, I found that on the MGMAT Free CAT, I had lots of left over time for both sections and felt that time was actually moving too slow. Is this a correct assessment or am I better at pacing myself?

Quant

The demon I must conquer. According to the practice CAT's, I'm getting better at algebra questions, but still think I'm having trouble with converting the words into equations. My performance on Work/Rate, Distance and Percentage change questions for DS is decent, but would definitely like to increase score on number properties, number sets, inequalities and everything else. Is quantity or quality the key here? Would I see improvement if I increase the amount of questions I solve or learn how to do a few questions well? If I feel debilitated in quant, should I focus on strengthening my weaknesses, focus on my strengths or do a complete overhaul and focus on strengthening math principles tested on the GMAT? Would it be advisable to only practice the quant section, and focus heavily on verbal to raise my overall GMAT score?

I've signed up for the test on November 21st and my target is in the 650+ range. Seeing how D-Day is about a month away, can you comment on my study strategy? Is there anything you would add or change? How often should I take practice tests with only a month until test day? And finally, what are some differences between a student that scores in the mid 600 level to the mid 500 level?

Thanks in advance!

[StaceyKoprince]

It's great that you've already seen a 100-point improvement. Keep up the good work!

I am not diagramming the CR questions as I find it too time consuming and am looking for an alternative method.

Then you probably aren't doing it correctly. :) How long did you try it before you stopped? It typically takes at least several weeks of regular practice to get very fast at diagramming. Reading and diagramming CR should take about 30-45 seconds, depending on the problem, but it's not unusual to take twice that long for the first week or two of practice.

Every time you finish, you should go back and ask yourself: how could this diagram have been better? What didn't I need? How could I have known that I probably wouldn't need it? What didn't I note that I should have? What could I have abbreviated more? Then literally re-write the diagram - make it perfect.

(Of course, you're also more than welcome to look for an alternate method; there are lots of other books and opinions on the market!)

I have taken four practice tests, from a variety of sources within a span of two weeks and scored relatively in the same range.

This is completely unsurprising and the lesson is: don't bother taking CATs so close together. :) Far better to find one or two test sources that are good and just use those, taking tests once every 3 weeks or so.

In terms of whether the three that are close together in score are probably the best indicators - I can say that your MGMAT score is a relatively good indicator of your current performance, because I know how that test was built. You don't say what the other tests were, so I don't know how valid they are. I will also say that, in order to get the most valid result, you need to take the practice tests under official conditions, including the essays and the breaks. If you didn't do the test under official conditions, that could skew your score (eg, if you skipped the essays, then your multiple choice score was likely a bit inflated).

My pacing seems to be erratic.

The general time spent should follow these guidelines:
SC - about 60-75 sec; max of 90 sec
CR - about 2m; max of 2.5m
RC - about 2.5m (short) to 3.5m (long) to read; about 1 min for general purpose questions; about 1.5 to 2 for everything else
Quant - about 2m; max of 2.5m

If you can answer the SCs in 10-30 seconds while also getting them all correct, consistently, with no or very few careless errors, then there's nothing wrong with spending so little time. I'm guessing that you're trying to improve, though - in which case, you're not spending enough time.

In terms of how to cut CR down to an average of 2, instead of 2-3, well, the diagramming works for starters (again, if you practice it enough to get efficient). Also, are you sure that diagramming is really taking too much time? You're already spending up to 3m on these. How many times are you reading the argument? With diagramming, you only have to read it once - so, yes, it may take a little more time up front, but you don't have to keep re-reading the argument again and again. If that's what's eating up your time, then you need to think about giving diagramming another chance. :)

Pacing in the quant section is a different story. In majority of the practice CAT's I've taken, I always finish the quant section with 15-20 minutes remaining.

If you ever have that much time left over, in either section, then you are moving too quickly. When you move too quickly, you make more mistakes. And, of course, the more mistakes you make, the lower your score will be.

Why are you moving so quickly? It's not because you know how to do everything - if so, then you wouldn't be trying to get better and looking for advice, right? You don't mention what materials you're using - but I assume you do have some books that you're using to teach yourself what you need to know for the quant section? Some of your work is going to involve reviewing the actual material - rules, formulas, etc. And then some of your work is going to involve learning the techniques - how to use the rules, formulas, etc, to get better at GMAT-format, multiple-choice questions. Your starting point is to figure out in which areas you're struggling the most.

Is quantity or quality the key here?

Quality, quality, quality. Quantity doesn't do much too help - only superficially. You are never going to see any of the problems you study on the official test. But you may see similar problems, problems that test the same thing or share some part of a practice problem you just did. So, on every problem you study, you're really asking yourself, "If I see a different problem in future that tests this same concept, how will I recognize it and how will I know what to do?"

Take a look at this article for more on how to analyze your practice problems:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/10/09/how-to-analyze-a-practice-problem

In terms of general strategy, it's best to:
- study both quant and verbal (unless one is already way higher than the other - not the case for you)
- focus more on weaknesses earlier on and a balance (both strengths and weaknesses) in the last couple of weeks
- take practice tests only every 2-4 weeks until you're within a few weeks of the test, when you should start to take them once a week (practice tests are not how you get better)

You've got about a month and you're looking for about a 100 point improvement (possibly more, if you didn't take your practice tests under full official conditions). That will be somewhat challenging - that's not to say you can't do it, but it's probably not typical, especially because you've already improved by about 100 points. Note that it took you 2 months to gain that first 100 points; the higher you go, the harder it gets to move higher. You should just keep that in mind as you move forward with your study - go for it, but be prepared to postpone if you have to.

Good luck - let us know how it goes!

[rkim81]

Thanks so much for the great advice!

[StaceyKoprince]

you're welcome!