Retake Strategy: Balancing quant/verbal, studying/doing?

[Lewis830]

Hi,

I would greatly appreciate any advice, tips or tricks on retaking the GMAT and/or improving one's score 30+ points. Everything below is background and specific questions.

I scored a 670 (43Q [56th] 40V [91st]) on my first GMAT, and am retaking it in 4 weeks. My goal is a 700 or higher. On my first four practice exams, quant scores ranged from 38-41 and verbal scores ranged from 38-42. My best practice exam was a 690, my worst was a 610.

I am much more confident about verbal than I am quant. In quant, I struggle most with Rates & Work (WP), Algebraic Translations (WP), and Triangles (GE). In verbal, I struggle most with Subject-Verb (SC), Strengthen (CR), and Specific Details (RC).

I have three questions.

1. Which score (43Q 40V) is easier to improve? How much of my time should be spent on quant versus verbal? Currently, I'm studying quant 3 days a week, and verbal 2 days a week. Should I continue working on what I consider my weakness (quant), switch to emphasizing my strengths (verbal), or focus on my weaknesses in both quant and verbal?

2. Am I missing any significant resources/materials to study than the ones listed below?
Quant:
- "Extra" sections of all MGMAT Strategy Guides
- MGMAT Advanced GMAT Quant Strategy Supplement
- GMAT Quantitative Review (2nd edition) (problems)
- Questions from Official Guide
Verbal:
- Sections I hadn't completed in MGMAT Strat. Guides
- Questions from Official Guide

3. How should I balance studying (reading) with doing practice questions? 50/50? 90/10? 10/90?

I'm planning on taking a practice exam 14 days before the retake, and another one 7 days before the retake.

Any other advice, tips or tricks on retaking the GMAT or improving a score 30 points would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[StaceyKoprince]

In general, it's easier to improve your strengths, BUT the higher you go, the harder it is to go even higher. And you're pretty high already on verbal.

Also, depending on where you're trying to apply, your quant score might be a bit low. Most schools that want a 700+ want to see a quant of 45 or higher.

So I'd recommend the current distribution (60% quant, 40% verbal), because you do want to lift quant a bit, but you can also have some of your improvement come from your stronger area.

For Quant: I wouldn't yet move to the Advanced Quant book - that's designed more for people who are already 45+ (and really more like 47+). I would stick with the main strategy guides for now.

Also, you don't have to do the Extra sections of ALL of the strategy guides. Do that for your stronger areas, but for other areas, focus on the main chapters / main lessons.

You mentioned struggling with some word problems. Take a look at these:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... into-Math/

https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... them-real/

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ms-part-1/

For SC, try this first:
http://tinyurl.com/scprocess

And then this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... orrection/

For CR, look up Strengthen in this article:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... reasoning/

And for RC, look up specific detail in this article:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... rehension/

Finally, here's your study focus:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/

http://tinyurl.com/2ndlevelofgmat

You're not just going to be passively reading the books - you've mostly done those already. You're going to be doing and analyzing problems, and your analysis will tell you what specific activities you need to do - drill certain topics, make flashcards for certain concepts, re-read part of a certain chapter, whatever it might be.

Your main focus is going to be on deeply analyzing the problems that you are doing - spend way more time analyzing than actually doing them in the first place. The second article explains how.

Finally, you only want 30 points - not a huge jump, so also focus on what we call "low-hanging fruit." Don't try to learn every last thing. Get better at your timing and decision making (everybody can get better at this). Minimize careless errors. You just need to get a little bit better to get where you want! :)

http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

http://tinyurl.com/GMATTimeManagement

Also, once you do take a CAT, use the below to analyze it (this should take you a minimum of 1 hour):
http://tinyurl.com/analyzeyourcats

Figure out your strengths and weaknesses as well as any ideas you have for what you think you should do. Then come back here and tell us; we'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (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!)

[Lewis830]

Hi Stacey,

Your response was enormously helpful, thank you. I've read many of your Manhattan GMAT articles over the past few months.

I just finished all the extra sections in the SGs, and am now working back through the quant chapters I've struggled with. I'll hold off on the Advanced Quant book. Given my quant scores, I probably won't be given waves of extremely difficult questions, so preparing for those won't do me much good. Focusing on improving 600 level questions should have the highest returns.

Once I take my next CAT around November 7th, I'll post my analysis and would greatly appreciate any thoughts you might have. That would really help guide my final 14 days of studying.

Thanks again!

[StaceyKoprince]

Sounds good - let me know how it goes!

And save these for those last 14 days**:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... an-part-1/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ew-part-2/

**Note: I am updating these articles right now, so new versions may be posted by the time you want them. Check our blog when you're ready.

[Lewis830]

Hi Stacey,

Thanks again for all the time and effort you've put into helping me preparing. I took my first GMATPrep Software CAT last Thursday, and sixth CAT/GMAT, and scored a 720 (47Q 41V). That puts my last six GMATs at the following:

CAT 1 (MGMAT): 640 (38Q 38V)
CAT 2 (MGMAT): 610 (38Q 35V)
CAT 3 (MGMAT): 640 (39Q 38V)
CAT 4 (MGMAT): 690 (41Q 42V)
GMAT 1 (official): 670 (43Q 40V)
CAT 5 (GMATPrep): 720 (47Q 41V)

I spent 4-5 hours analyzing the CAT. Key takeaways are below. Any tips, tricks, or advice on my last 10 days, and the plan below, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your help!

Overall
- Gave me confidence that...
a. ...I can reach my goal of 700+.
b. ...my attitude going in should not be, "I could score anywhere in a certain range, we'll see what happens" (which I felt before every previous CAT/GMAT), but instead, "I am going to nail this test" (which I felt before this one, and it helped).

Time Management
- Good averages on all sections (QuantPS 2m, QuantDS 1:55, VerbalSC 1:30, VerbalCR 1:50, VerbalRC 1:40)
- I went >2:00 on at least 6-8 quant questions, and 3-4 were probably slightly over 2:30. Need to do a better job of letting go earlier (1:00) or cutting myself off between 2:00-2:30.
- Did a good job letting go of a few quant questions within 30 seconds on 700-800 questions on topics that were my weaknesses.
- (GMATPrep doesn't provide detailed analytics on timing; will have more data this Thursday when I take my 5th MGMAT CAT.)

Questions Wrong (Quant): 11
- Most Common Sections: Word Problems (5 - Rates & Work, Algebraic Translations, Overlapping Sets), FDPs (2 - Percents, Ratios), Algebra (2 - Inequalities), Geometry (2 - Coordinate Plane, Triangles/Circles)
- Why: 4 of them were an inability to translate words into the correct equations. 3 of them I didn't think to use certain quant processes (unknown multiplier, double set matrix, feature of inequalities). 3 were determined by careless mistakes. 1 other.
- How to improve: Keep working on improving algebraic translations. Expose myself to more translations (problems). Be more careful when reading the question, making a decision on an approach, checking for careless math errors, and re-checking the question being asked before answering.

Questions Wrong (Verbal): 10
- Most Common Sections: SC (7 - Pronouns, Idioms, Modifiers), CR (3 - Explain the Discrepancy, Describe the Role, Complete the Argument)
- Why: 3 SC missed the "Touch Rule" for opening modifiers. 2 SC displayed an unwillingness to use common idioms. 2 SC pronoun issues concerned singular/plural and ambiguous pronouns. 3 other.
- How to improve: Don't spend any more time on RC (all correct). Refresh on Modifiers, Pronouns, and Idioms, especially with example problems.

Game Plan for Last 10 Days
- Study schedule: Take sections I struggle with, reread sections in SG, do all practice problems at the end, then use end of SGs to find more practice problems of that type in the OG and Quant2 books. Intensive review/analysis of all questions after answering.
- Sections I struggle with:
a. Quant: Algebraic Translations, Rates & Work, Triangles & Diagonals, Circles, Inequalities, Percents, Ratios, Statistics
b. Verbal: Pronouns, Idioms, Modifiers
- Quant vs. Verbal: 2 days on Verbal (1 this week, 1 next week), 8 days on Quant. Verbal has been 40-42 the last three tests, while Quant has been 41-47, and seems to be the way I'll get my score over 700.
- Review flash cards
- Take additional CAT (my 5th Manhattan GMAT) this Thursday, 7 days before the test
- Go to bed & wake up at the same times, and eat the same breakfast, as on test day

I read your "Last 14 Days" posts before my last GMAT, and they were extremely helpful. I'll be on the lookout for updated posts.

Thanks again for all your help!

[Lewis830]

Hi Stacey,

I just took a Manhattan GMAT practice exam this morning and scored a 710 (41Q 45V). I'll be analyzing the results in detail tomorrow and this weekend, but here are some preliminary takeaways (my practice exam 7 days ago was 720 [47Q 41V]):

- Quant: Needs more work to get score in mid-40s (last 4 quant scores were 41, 43, 47, 41). Out of next 6 days, will spend 1 day studying verbal and 5 days studying quant
- Quant: Spent >2:30 on 6 questions; spent 2:00-2:30 on 10 questions. Got into time troubles near the end.
- Verbal: 45V was 99th percentile; could be difficult to reproduce on the official exam, but it's good to see that either quant or verbal (or both) could be what pushes my score into the 700s.

My official GMAT is in 7 days. Any final tips, tricks, or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for your help!

[StaceyKoprince]

Hi, sorry I'm just seeing this now - I was traveling all last week.

Nice, two 700-level scores in a row!

Quant: it's okay to be up to 2:30 on some (as long as you are actually making good decisions about when to spend that extra time). Anything over 3 is a definite no - cut that off sooner.

Of the weaknesses, I care the most about careless mistakes because you already know how to get those points. That's your main focus in the last week or two before the test - not the stuff that's a struggle. Use this to help you minimize careless errors:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/2012/ ... -the-gmat/

I just updated the "last 14 days" posts; here's the link to the first one:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... game-plan/

Okay, so quant is going to be the harder section, and verbal is going to be the one that lifts your score the most. Therefore: when you're making decisions about how to spend your time on quant, remember that Time = Mental Energy. You spend too much time banging your head against the wall on quant and your verbal score is going to go down. Don't do that to yourself - when the quant problem is ridiculous, let it go.

I actually take an almost antagnostic attitude towards the test, like: why are you giving this ridiculous problem to me? Stop wasting my time! (Not: oh, there's something wrong with me, because I'm not sure how to do this one. No way! Rather, get out of my office! I've got more important things to do.)

Good luck!!!

[Lewis830]

Hi Stacey,

I just took the test and scored a 740 (49Q 42V)!

Thank you for all your help! Your comments and advice were a huge part of what made my last 14 days as productive as possible. I cannot thank you, and Manhattan GMAT, enough. There is, without a doubt, no better GMAT prep program out there.

Now onto burning my flash cards and reselling my (literally) 18 lbs of books!

Thanks again,
Lewis830

[StaceyKoprince]

WOW!! That's phenomenal - I'm really happy for you! Congratulations.

Have fun with your bonfire. Are you in the US? Did you use it to cook your turkey? ;)