So I signed up for the classes and the order in which the assignments are presented seems to be a good gameplan in terms of studying, but my problem IS the studying itself.
I'm not sure why, but when I study it seems to take ages to get through a couple of pages (this is regarding Quant guides). I make sure to put in at LEAST two hours per day, but i might only get through 2 chapters in those 2 hours. I'm not sure why this is. I admot that I am the type to read through the problems that are discussed in each section and I do the problems in my notebook when I come across them, but when I question the method used by the book when it comes to how the answer was achieved then I take some time going over the problem over and over again until it seems to make sense....but I thought that that was what you were supposed to do while studying.
To make things worse, I swear that, although I may finally get comfortable understanding the problems discussed in the chapter before the Problem Set questions at the end of each chapter, the questions in the Problem Set seem to be more difficult. It's gut-wrenching when you put in so much time through a chapter only to get to the final questions and still have to end up quitting on attempting to solve problems and just look at the solutions; it makes me sick.
If anyone has had similar experiences or any advice, please don't hesitate to send some info my way or to post a msg here. By the way, the book that I'm referring to with these issues is primarily the Word Problems book. I'm not sure if ill have the same issue with other books as i havent gotten to a couple of them yet...
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- Vintage
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- StaceyKoprince
- ManhattanGMAT Staff
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- Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:05 am
- Location: Montreal
Re: So Discouraging..
I'm sorry you're struggling with the test.
FYI: be careful not to "bump" your own post. We respond to all posts in order, oldest first, and the date of your post is based on the date of the last post in the thread, not the first. If you bump your own post, you will wait longer for a response. (For instance, you put yourself from Mar 17th to Mar 18th with your second post, and I just answered a couple of other people who were originally behind you in line but ended up ahead of you after your second post.)
How long has it been since you've done these types of math regularly?
How often (now) do you do this kind of math in daily life or at work?
How long has it been since you were in a class that required regular study / homework?
It may just be the case that you're rusty and need to get back into a rhythm. :)
Next, you are absolutely not the only one who's struggling with this stuff. We all have our strengths and weaknesses - and Word Problems are a common source of pain for a lot of people.
Have you tried jumping over to the Foundations of Math book first? This will help you to solidify and drill a bunch of the underlying material before you get to the main guide material. Building up in this way may help you to have a more solid foundation when you get to the harder stuff.
Plus, if you are struggling with any of the underlying math, then trying to add translation on top of that is going to be next to impossible. You'd be working on higher-level skills when you haven't yet mastered the lower-level stuff - that's the definition of banging your head against the wall. :)
Also, just note that you shouldn't be getting all of the practice problems right. If you did, then you wouldn't actually be learning anything new - the problems would be too easy for you. When you're struggling, you're learning how to get better. (Or you're about to learn.)
You might also want to see if there's anyone in class you get along enough with to set up a study group. You can all help each other with weaknesses - sometimes, having someone else explain to you what they're thinking and why will help you over a hump. (And I find that explaining to someone else helps me to understand better myself - so when you're helping someone else, it still helps you.)
And definitely talk to your teacher. She/he wants to know and will have ideas about how to make this process better.
FYI: be careful not to "bump" your own post. We respond to all posts in order, oldest first, and the date of your post is based on the date of the last post in the thread, not the first. If you bump your own post, you will wait longer for a response. (For instance, you put yourself from Mar 17th to Mar 18th with your second post, and I just answered a couple of other people who were originally behind you in line but ended up ahead of you after your second post.)
when I study it seems to take ages to get through a couple of pages (this is regarding Quant guides)
How long has it been since you've done these types of math regularly?
How often (now) do you do this kind of math in daily life or at work?
How long has it been since you were in a class that required regular study / homework?
It may just be the case that you're rusty and need to get back into a rhythm. :)
Next, you are absolutely not the only one who's struggling with this stuff. We all have our strengths and weaknesses - and Word Problems are a common source of pain for a lot of people.
Have you tried jumping over to the Foundations of Math book first? This will help you to solidify and drill a bunch of the underlying material before you get to the main guide material. Building up in this way may help you to have a more solid foundation when you get to the harder stuff.
Plus, if you are struggling with any of the underlying math, then trying to add translation on top of that is going to be next to impossible. You'd be working on higher-level skills when you haven't yet mastered the lower-level stuff - that's the definition of banging your head against the wall. :)
Also, just note that you shouldn't be getting all of the practice problems right. If you did, then you wouldn't actually be learning anything new - the problems would be too easy for you. When you're struggling, you're learning how to get better. (Or you're about to learn.)
You might also want to see if there's anyone in class you get along enough with to set up a study group. You can all help each other with weaknesses - sometimes, having someone else explain to you what they're thinking and why will help you over a hump. (And I find that explaining to someone else helps me to understand better myself - so when you're helping someone else, it still helps you.)
And definitely talk to your teacher. She/he wants to know and will have ideas about how to make this process better.
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
3 posts Page 1 of 1