quant score won't improve - HELP! took gmat today 600 :(

[shashyb]

i took the online course, met with a tutor (who suggested i work on my timing) but my quant score just doesn't improve.

initially, my insecurities were my biggest prob. i feel like i've gotten over the nervousness and actually understand most of the coursework but i continuously score poorly. my one issue was timing but i've actually had time left over the last couple exams.

i took the gmat tonight and scored 600 (q33/37%) (v39/87%).

my scores for practice mgmat tests are as follows:
verbal quant
Q7 600 70% v41 93% q31 31%

Q6 630 79% v38 85% q37 52%

Q5 630 79 % v38 85% q37 52%

Q4 590 67 % v34 72 % q37 52 %

Q2 580 64 % v32 67 % q37 52 %

Q1 570 60 % v34 72 % q34 41 %

i think i scored poorly on the last practice test b/c i tried a new timing technique (that obviously didn't work:) i scored 680 on the gmat prep test 2 days ago.

i started studying in late aug and i'm so afraid i'm going to burn out if i have to study for a few more wks. but i HAVE TO. my goal is a 680 but i'd be happy w/ a 650.

prior to the test i did the complete og guides and was only getting a few of the the difficult ones wrong. don't know how much more i can take but can't give up!

what do you suggest? re-read the strategy guides (uggh!)? i'm going to take the test in exactly 4 wks and would appreciate ANY advice you can offer.

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry you're having such a tough time with the test.

i scored 680 on the gmat prep test 2 days ago

Don't take a practice test within 5 days of the real test - you risk tiring yourself out.

When you took practice tests, did you do the essays? Did you do the essays on the GMATprep test? Did you take practice tests under full official conditions? (If you didn't do the essays or deviated from official conditions in other ways, then you may not have been fully prepared for the real test.)

Your verbal score was at the high end of your practice range. Your quant score was at the lower end. You mention that you think you've fixed the timing problem - but it's not necessarily enough just to ensure that you're finishing on time. You could be finishing on time but still mismanaging your time between the questions.

Take a look at this article and use it to analyze your 2 most recent MGMAT practice tests for timing issues on the quant:

http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/09/23/evaluating-your-practice-tests

Then come back and tell me what you found out. Did you actually balance your time well between questions? Or is there still a timing problem?

What were your subscores on that GMATPrep test - why did your score suddenly jump so much? What was different about that test compared to your other practice tests and the real test? It might be that you had some artificial advantages that can't be replicated (eg, not doing the essays, seeing questions you'd seen before), or it may be that you did something that could be replicated - and, if so, we need to figure out what that is so you can do it again!

If you haven't already done this, you're eligible for a free Post-Exam Assessment - a phone call with an instructor to figure out what went wrong and set up a game plan for your re-take. If you'd like to do this (I strongly recommend it!), send an email to studentservices@manhattangmat.com and ask for a Post-Exam Assessment. (This is free to people who took the course.)

[shashyb]

stacey! i wanted thank you for your help. yesterday i scored 700 (90%)! my quant score went up to 44 (74%).

your response too my posting was more insightful than the advice offered by the tutor i was paying $200/hr. your articles and postings by other test takers really helped me.

-went i was told to work on my timing, i did but i also didn't answer questions. i think i was just doing the first cpl steps and not testing all the options. for example, maybe i'd try a pos and neg number, but i totally forgot about 0, 1, fractions...

-TAKEAWAYS: everyone writes to make sure you record takeaways. my wall is covered in colorful post-its noting simple tips, such as if problem looks difficult and the answer choices are simple, plug in #s. for some reason, i would try to answer questions in the most difficult way possible. i literally have flash cards telling me what to think, ie when you see this and that, think...over the last couple weeks, this really helped me, i just did probs and made flashcards for the ones i answered incorrectly and could possibly answer under 1.5min.

i just want to tell ppl not to give up if they want a certain score. i passed on trips to brazil, new orleans, new yrs eve, etc b/c i wanted/needed to study. and now, i think that 4 months sober living was worth it.

i'm exhausted but i wanted to share one more thing. don't cancel your score unless u know ur doing horribly. during the math section, i thought about walking out. by the second break i was exhausted. i cld only get an 8am appt and i'm a night owl so i was in pain. when i finished the test, i was still contemplating canceling my score. i'm so glad i didn't...

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm glad you didn't cancel your score, too! Congrats - fantastic job.

You're probably the 10th person to tell me that they thought about cancelling their score at the end of the test, only to end up with a 700+ score. If you're really working at the peak of your ability, the test is going to feel awful and exhausting no matter how good you are, because it's constantly going to challenge you.

I literally have flash cards telling me what to think, ie when you see this and that, think

I love this - I think this is a great exercise for everyone to do.

Good luck with apps - let us know how it goes!

[rchdvincent]

shashyb I have almost the exact situation you had. My practice CATS are in line with your and my GMAT breakdown was very similar. Can you please share with me what got your Quant to increase by so much?

[shashyb]

rchdvincent,

my main probs were my poor time management and inability to manipulate #s on an intermediate/advanced level.

i had a decent grasp of the mgmat quant material but wasn't applying it effectively. initially, the prob was that i was spending too much time on a few questions which didn't leave me enough time to adequately answer the remaining probs. then, i tried to up my speed on probs that appeared easy and guess after 30secs on probs that i knew i wouldn't get. the result was lots of time left over...and lots of wrong answers. i was actually guessing on all the questions; in my haste, i failed to consider a lot of factors that would have led to a correct response.

FLASHCARDS! TAKEAWAYS!
i was able to answer more questions correctly by adopting a new way of seeing the problems - and i documented the probs that forced me to use these new techniques on flashcards. i really had to be more flexible in my thinking. studying the problem explanations taught me more efficient ways of answering the questions. some ppl say that mgmat focuses on the fundamentals and teaches you info needed to answer the questions, while others teach guessing strategies. i think you def'ly need both skills. my prob was that i was trying to answer the questions "longhand," when there clearly wasn't enough time to write everything out. i had to force myself to think differently. (i'm sure my friends thought i was a little "slow" if i had to have post-its on my wall reminding me of simple things like "PLUG IN #s" but they def'ly helped.) also, i really had to feel comfortable "manipulating" numbers to answer some of the questions. it's crazy some of the things you can do w/ #s (by no means am i saying i can do them). again, the answers' explanations that taught me a number of techniques. you won't get all the info you need by reading the mgmat guides, you have to do and review the problems.

my technique was
-to reread most of the guides and take great notes. by that time i had done a million questions so i had an idea of what material i needed to (re)learn.
-i only worked on questions that were difficult for me, usually the last quarter of the in actions and og's. made flashcards for those that i had trouble w/ or even those that i answered correctly but taught me a new technique.
-once i was comfortable w/ a particular flashcard, it was added to a group of cards that was reviewed once a week to ensure that i didn't forget it.
-i just did problem after problem after problem after ... i thought i would run out of probs but i didn't. i took 12 mgmat cat's (crazy!), 3 gmat preps, did a few challenge questions and question banks. i'm addicted to gmatclub.com so i also did two of their tests. -- and by no means did burn out. i signed up for a month of unlimited bikram yoga so i think burned out all my frustration and nervous energy there. i don't think i studied more than 3-4 hrs/day but under relaxed terms. i timed myself but took breaks whenever, and didn't get upset w/ myself if i took a day or two off. studying for the gmat had become so painful. i had to remember that i chose to study for the test and could shape my gmat experience.
-i did a few questions before the test. i worked on an old mgmat test for 20mins before heading to the test site.

as i mentioned earlier, i'm addicted to gmat/mba forums. in addition to this one, i spent way too much time on beatthegmat.com and gmatclub.com. there are so many resources on the latter. i thought i bookmarked few entries that stood out but i cld only find this one: http://www.beatthegmat.com/waging-war-o ... 33880.html

BEST OF LUCK!!!

[StaceyKoprince]

Thanks for giving us your debrief, shashyb!

I also followed the link to the BTG post - lots of good info there, too.

Though I do have to clarify one thing from that BTG post that is NOT accurate. The BTG post at one point says:
"The people from Manhattan often mention that most people score about 15 pts less than their highest Manhattan CAT score on the real GMAT."

That's not accurate - we don't say that (because it isn't true!).

The average score "skew" across all students from final (NOT highest) practice test to official test is consistently less than 5 points. Sometimes it's +2 or 3, sometimes it's -2 or 3, but we actively manage the test to ensure that we don't end up with a consistent bias that is significantly higher or lower than official test scores.

The standard deviation is about 50, so most people score in the range -50 to +50 from their final practice test. But the overall skew, or bias, across all of those students is as close to 0 as we can keep it.