Quant strategy to go from Q47 to Q50/Q51

[gp1s]

I took GMAT after 4 months of rigorous study: 640 (Q47, V31).
I have started preparing in March 2012 and started with a GMATPrep1 score of 540.

This score is nowhere near my target colleges average or median and very low for my profile. (Indian Software Engg./Male)

I will have around 20 free days off from my work in Dec around Christmas so i am planning to give GMAT a second try with a target to move to Q49/50 and V40+.

Study Material Used:
Quant:
MGMAT Quant Books
MGMAT Advance Quant Strategy Guide
GMATClub Tests (Now i know that these tests are closet to the real Quant)
MGMAT Tests

Need your valuable suggestions to help me with my Quant strategy:

1. The very first Quant Q looked easy but somehow (I was just staring at it :-() i was not able to find the correct answer and took a educated guess. But after that i took a deep breath and pick up the pace. I was confident in answering most of the Quant Q's but guessed 2-3 Q in total to maintain pace (1 at each mile stone for my timing strategy). Also i struggled to answer few last Q's due to anxiety or nervousness even though i had enough time to solve them.
2. There are few areas which i am weak at e.g. Polygon/Stats/P & C/ Probability and decided to work on them. Any suggestion for study material and hard (Advance level) practice Q's for the same. I found that MGMAT Quant theory is good for basic Q's and their Q bank is too tough for GMAT :-( Also it is not the right representation of GMAT Quant Q's.
3. I am still falling for 'C' trap and most probably did fall for C trap in few Q's for sure. Any practice material suggestions to master the subtle tricks and traps. I know the theory part of traps but find the application of that theory difficult to implement.
4. Overall how should i go about it? Considering my Verbal percentile i want to spend more time there but certainly i can not be satisfied with anything less than 90% in Quant.

Regards

[mariami_mariami]

Hello,

I am planning to take the gmat exam in September. I am trying to improve my math score as well and I found that Ron's free online lessons, called Thursdays with Ron are very helpful to improve fields you think you are weak in. He explains C&P so well that you will be surprised.

Also I have questions what was your scores at official GMAT Prep before the exam? Because I used almost the same materials as you did.

Thanks.

[StaceyKoprince]

Thanks for the suggestion, Mariami.

gp1s, are you planning to study between now and then, and then also study a lot during that 20-day period when you'll have lots of free time? Or are you only planning to study during that 20-day period?

It's going to be extremely challenging to do the latter - the subscores you mention would be 720+, or an 80-point improvement, plus you'd forget stuff between now and then if you don't study. But maybe you meant that you plan to study the entire time and then have a strong push at the end.

Next, Q49-50 is 83rd to 90th percentile. V40 is 90th percentile. So you're basically saying that you plan to make your verbal score the same as or even better than your quant score, even though verbal is your much bigger weakness right now. That's unlikely. You need to be aiming for 50-51 quant, given that quant is already at 47.

How did your official scores compare to your practice test scores? I don't care about the overall 3-digit scores, but do want to know how your Q and V subscores compared. Also, did you take those tests under 100% official conditions, including essay and IR?

You mention nerves / anxiety throughout quant. (Was that true for the whole test?) There are some strategies here that talk about how to manage stress; you'll need to experiment to see what you think might work for you:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/

Also it is not the right representation of GMAT Quant Q's.

Note: Every day, I hear someone say that they thought the real test was EXACTLY like our test and someone else say that it wasn't. It all depends what you happen to get and also what you happen to remember.

Next, are you 100% sure that your issue for quant is that you need to study harder questions? Do you never (or almost never) miss lower level questions of any kind? For most people, it's the case that they do also need to work on some lower-level questions / areas as well. It's not just a matter of pulling yourself up by practicing / learning harder stuff. You also have to learn how NOT to make mistakes on easier-for-you stuff and also how to do easier-for-you stuff more efficiently than you can currently do it (since the timing is all interrelated).

You mention having our Advanced Quant book. Have you used that? In particular, have you used it to help you learn how to think your way through problems? A lot of the actual questions in that book are much harder than anything you'll see on the real test. But the technique - the how to think your way through part - is what you're really trying to learn there. And it takes a while - weeks to months - learn how to do that effectively.

P&C and probability are not very common - don't spend a ton of time on those. Use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Then come back here and tell us the results of your analysis; then I can give you more detailed advice. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)

I am still falling for 'C' trap and most probably did fall for C trap in few Q's for sure. Any practice material suggestions to master the subtle tricks and traps. I know the theory part of traps but find the application of that theory difficult to implement.

This is not about doing tons more practice questions. This is about learning exactly why you're falling for those C traps (and any other traps) and then figuring out what bad habits to break and what good habits to make in order to minimize the chances of continuing to fall into the same traps. You can learn all of that on old questions that you've already completed - and you shouldn't bother to practice on new questions until you've actually learned new, different, better ways of handling these issues.

Read the how to study section of this article:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

In particular, I suspect that you are focused too much on quantity and "doing" and not enough on quality and "analyzing / reviewing." You'll have a better idea of what I mean after you look through the above article.

[gp1s]

Hello,

Also I have questions what was your scores at official GMAT Prep before the exam? Because I used almost the same materials as you did.

Maximum GMATPrep score i received was 720 (in full testing condition) But it was not the true representation of my abilities as i received many known problems. This will not happen in your real GMAT Exam :-)

My suggestion for you is to make sure that:
1) Have a clear strategy/approach for each type of Verbal Question.
2) Internalize your decided strategy with time pressure conditions.
3) Crystal Clear Concepts for Quant
4) Practice to identify the C trap (most occurred) and E trap.

[StaceyKoprince]

thanks, gp1s!