Help! Have studied for months, Quant Score marginally improv

[rdevooght]

Hello,

I am 18 days from my test and despite lots of hours of study over the past months, 4 CAT's, all 10 Manhattan Prep books, and reviewing all answers on my completed CAT quant and IR sections I have only made marginal improvement in my score.

My verbal scores are fine, but I need to bring my Quant scores up. I know time management is partially to blame, but I can't figure out how to apply the concepts that I understand during review on the actual test. For the most part when I review my CAT's I am kicking myself for not seeing the path to the answer, and I understand the theories behind the questions from Manhattan study, but I can't seem to connect the questions to what I know from revision.

First CAT (before Manhattan books self study): 580
Second CAT (after 10 books completed and review): 620
Third: 610
Fourth (completed tonight): 600

I am not trying to get into Harvard, a consistent 650-660 would be great.

Please help if you have some ideas. I am very frustrated and don't feel I am making any progress as I continue to study, take CAT's and review....

[wfzhang20]

Hello, rdevooght.

I would recommend taking one of GMATPrep's practice exams to see how your Quant score lines up.

I'm not alone in finding that MGMAT's CAT to be significantly more difficult with regards to the Quant section as compared to GMATPrep, (which uses retired GMAT questions and can be assumed to reasonably represent GMAT questions).

I'm basically just carved out a one-week study plan (I know, I know. No choice, work scheduling. I'm using my vacation time for this :( ) where I take one CAT every day. Here's how my scores shook out:

Day 1: MGCAT1: Computer crashed, left the time ticking :(
Day 2: MGCAT2 (No IR, Essay): Q45 (68%), V39 (88%) = 690
Day 3: MGCAT3 (No IR, Essay): Q42 (57%), V38 (84%) = 660
Day 4: MGCAT4 (No IR): Q45 (68%), V40 (90%) = 700
Day 5: GMATPrep1: (IR: 7) Q49 (83%), V44 (97%) = 750

As you can see, I found the GMATPrep Quant to be a lot easier than the MGMAT Quant, and it went a long way to calming my nerves about the Quant section, which you can see is by far my weaker section in terms of percentile performance compared to verbal.

Definitely give GMATPrep (it's free, from MBA.com) a shot, and see how your two scores compare. If your scores do improve, however, don't take satisfactory performance as an opportunity to sit back!

Use it as a confidence booster, but keep up the hard work :) Get right back on MGMAT CAT and get your target score here, too!

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry that you're struggling with the test. If it makes you feel any better, it's very common for people to "hit a wall" at certain points during their study. The good news is that you've recognized it and are asking for help. :)

You've stalled out around 600 and want around a 650, and you mention timing issues. Timing problems typically take a minimum of 3 weeks to resolve and usually more like 4 to 6. In other words, you're almost certainly going to need more time - so your best bet is to postpone your test.

You also mention that you'll "see" the approaches afterwards, when you read the explanations, but you don't know how to make the connections while looking at the questions for the first time. So that's another level of your study that needs to be refined.

I'm guessing that, so far, you've mostly concentrated on learning the concepts / content, but you haven't spent much time actually analyzing how questions are constructed, how they disguise what they're asking, how they actually make things hard in the moment, even though you do understand the solution afterwards. This, again, is going to take some time to learn / master. You're going to need to give yourself more time before you take this test.

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

Pay particular attention to the How to learn section and also the material on time management. Start thinking about how you need to change your study approach in order to get better at recognizing what these questions are really asking / telling you.

Then, use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Finally, come back here and tell us the results of your analysis and what you think you should do based on that analysis. 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!)

I'll also just comment on wfzhang20's approach. I know you already know that this approach is non-ideal, wfzhang20. Given your starting point, though, and the fact that you even contemplated doing this in a week, you're the kind of person who just does well on these tests, right? Most people can't follow that approach. :)