Study and Strategy questions relating to the GMAT.
Guest
 
 

Help please!! Scoring 530 over the last 3 practice exams...

by Guest Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:12 am

Hi,

I've been through the curriculum, did most of the work, upped my game regarding the verbal section (in the 700') but can't seem to score over 530 overall after 4 practice exams. I know my weaknesses but am running out of ways to go through the data and work on the weakness.

Main weaknesses:

Timing on Quant section
Word translations - really have a hard time here
Ratio problems

I guess my question is, after having been through most of the OG & strategy guide problems, I would think that I would be better off but it's not the case. My exam is in 2 weeks & I need some pointers to help with speed & accuracy on the quant side.

Thanks
esledge
Forum Guests
 
Posts: 1181
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2005 6:33 am
Location: St. Louis, MO
 

by esledge Mon Sep 15, 2008 2:04 pm

First, I must apologize for letting your message slip through the cracks. Though your test date may have passed, I will answer for the benefit of others. Also, I'll move this post to the General Folder, which is a better place for it.

2 weeks is very little time to make huge leaps in content knowledge. Generally, we tell people to stop "studying" 2 weeks before their tests, and focus instead on strategizing (time management, allocating time and effort to strengths and making the best of weaknesses).

I would recommend timing drills, in which you revisit those OG problems you have already seen. Give yourself 10 minutes to do 20 (that's fast!), with the understanding that you are not to try to solve. Instead, eliminate answer choices that seem wrong (maybe too high, too low, not paired with a complementary choice, etc.) For a refresher on these techniques, watch the Strategic Guessing lab.

You may find that you are actually more accurate when you "eyeball" a problem than you are at actually solving. In the short term, that may be the best you can do.

In the long term (a month or more), you can get better at WT and Ratios by revisiting those problems and really dissecting them. Analyze whether you set-up your scrapboard the best way to solve. Did you misinterpret the words, or make a true math error? Are there alternative solutions that would have worked better than yours? What similarities do you see from problem-to-problem?

Good luck.
Emily Sledge
Instructor
ManhattanGMAT