OG 12 companion, GMAT strategy for quant & 700+ problems

[alicegmat]

Hello! Do the explanations of the OG 12 Companion (Math) have multiple solution methods for a problem and guessing techniques for each problem?

I took the GMAT once and scored 48 on quant. I scored 48 on GMAT Prep tests too.

My pitfalls were:

1. I got stuck on a question and spent longer than I should have on it. I ended up rushing on a few questions that followed. I eventually had ro random-guess for 3-4 questions in the end!
I usually hit the first 6-7 questions right in a row on the GMAT Prep tests.

2. A few weak areas - probability, combinations and DS technique (statement carryover and not using the DS grid).

Before the test the only studying I'd done was solving OG12.
My accuracy rate on the OG under timed conditions was 93% for PS, 90% for DS; most of my mistakes on the OG were careless errors and a few ones were due to my lack of knowledge of the concept being tested.

I had not expected to get stuck on a question on the exam.

My analysis of solved problems was restricted to figuring out where I went wrong and analysing only my mistakes.

I did not develop any guessing techniques, timing strategies, or did not practise multiple methods for a single problem.

I plan to re-take the exam now, addressing all these areas.

So for my preparation, apart from the obvious of strengthening the weak concepts, I will have to develop guessing strategies, have back-up methods and develop time management plan for the test. (I am good with the DS technique now).

How should I go about for the guessing techniques and alternative methods for a problem? Shall I go for 700+ problems?

Does the OG Companion have guessing techniques and alternative methods for each problem?

Thanks!
Alisha.

[StaceyKoprince]

Your 48 is the 82nd percentile, so part of your focus is going to be on 700+ questions, yes, although you may still have certain holes / weaknesses that you have to fill on sub-700 Qs - so don't neglect those. If you miss too many lower-level Qs, then it doesn't matter if you're really good with 700+ Qs, right?

You may want to check out our new Advanced Quant book - it was made for someone who's in pretty much your exact situation. The main focus there is all about solving techniques, alternate solving techniques, guessing techniques - basically, exactly what you're asking about.

The OG12 Companion solutions sometimes offer multiple solution paths, but not on every single question - basically, we included whatever we thought were the best solution paths. Sometimes, that means there's only one, sometimes there are two or even three.

There wasn't as much of an emphasis on guessing techniques when we wrote the explanations - some explanations do include guessing techniques, but we did not make a point of including guessing techniques on every problem, no.

I usually hit the first 6-7 questions right in a row on the GMAT Prep tests.

If you're doing that without spending extra time, that's great.
If you're spending extra time to do that, then that's exactly why you're "only" hitting 48. (If you're hitting 48 even after having to rush and guess on multiple questions at the end, then you could be scoring higher - if you get the timing right.)

You have a limited pool of time, and part of your task as a good test taker is to decide how to allocate it. Sometimes that does actually mean sacrificing a question - if you can get it right but it takes you 3.5 minutes, I'd rather have you get it wrong in 1.5 or 2m instead.

Basically, if you're behind by 2 or 3 minutes, you're not going to just guess immediately and randomly on some question to catch up. You're going to try to speed up a little bit (~30 seconds) on multiple questions - and the natural human tendency is to choose to do that on questions that you feel you CAN do, so you think you can do them faster and still get them. VERY bad idea - now you're giving yourself multiple chances to make careless mistakes on problems that you actually know how to do correctly and in the given timeframe. Bad. Bad. :)

Re: weaknesses, I don't care about probability or combinatorics - they're very infrequent on the test. The DS technique is huge, though, because that weakness can come into play on 40%+ of the test questions! Have to build better habits there - writing down the grid immediately, for example. Try writing down AD / BCE the very instant you see that it's a DS question, before you even read anything. Later, you might decide that you want to use statement 2 first, and then you'll have to change your grid to BD / ACE, but at least this way you're remembering to get the grid down!

For statement carryover, I make sure to write my two statements side-by-side (horizontally) on my scrap paper, rather than statement 2 below statement 1 (vertically). Then, when I'm doing statement 2 and looking back at whatever I wrote down for the question stem, my eye doesn't run over statement 1 on the way... that minimizes the chances that I'll try to use that info from statement 1. (Also make sure that the three parts (Q stem, statement 1, statement 2) are VERY clearly delineated on your scrap paper - very distinct areas, not overlapping in any way, etc.

Oh, I just read the part where you said you're good with DS technique now. Good. :)

For more on guessing techniques, read these two articles (one for quant, one for verbal):
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/07/ ... s-on-quant
http://www.manhattangmat.com/articles/e ... verbal.cfm

Also, for time management, I just wrote a new article about that today. Go onto the Beat the GMAT home page on 14 June (in 4 days) and you'll see it up top - it'll be published that day. (Note that the article will be a 2-parter, so you'll also want to check back about 7-8 days later for the 2nd part.)

I had not expected to get stuck on a question on the exam.

One big thing here - no matter how much you study, you're still going to get stuck on some questions - that's just how the test works. Read the "how the scoring works" part of that time management article - if you don't understand very well how the scoring works, it'll be very hard for you to maximize your score performance.

Also, in general, your analysis above is very thoughtful - that is a really good sign. I like your ideas and your general plan. :)

[alicegmat]

Hello.

Thanks a lot for the elaborate reply.

I understand the importance of addressing the general weaknesses that might come into play even on the easy questions :) I have started working on them.

I do have the Advanced Quant guide. I find it really useful. When do you recommend its use?( I'm going through the OG - with analysis and take-aways).

I did not spend more time on the earlier questions. However, spending longer on a few questions later upon getting stuck instead of moving on by making educated guesses, caused the shortfall at the end of the section. I do get the importance of giving my best shot to a question in the specific time-frame.

The statement carryover technique that you mentioned works :)
I read your time management articles on Beat the GMAT. I've started using the techniques and find them useful.

Thanks again for the elaborate reply!

Regards.
Alisha.

[StaceyKoprince]

Great, glad we could help!

You're at the point where you can be using the Advanced Quant guide right now - you don't need to save it for later. Basically, you just have to decide what you want to do during a given study session. One day, you might focus on some of your weaker content areas in the Strategy Guides; another day, you might decide you want to push some of your strengths further with the help of Advanced Quant.

Good luck - let us know how it goes!

[alicegmat]

Thanks! I will definitely let you know!

Regards.
Alisha.

[StaceyKoprince]

:)