Overprepared for quant?How to avoid 1-3 errors per test?

[virajhshah]

Hi, I was preparing for India's CAT exam which I was unable to take due to illness on the day of the test. Now I have switched to GMAT and boy was I shocked.
First one was
Hult MBA schools free GMAT online:
Quant 51 (25 mins left) Verbal 40(missed 8)
Princeton review
Quant 49(20 mins left) 3 avoidable errors of inattention.
Verbal 46 (Finished this one)
How do I translate my remaining free time on the quant section to reduced errors and a better score?
I am already checking the problems I feel I might be prone to making errors on, and going ultraslow on the solutions.(compared to my speed on CAT)
Is there anything to do to avoid 1-3 errors per test?
How do I manage my time better? would it be better to accept 1-2 errors in quant as unavoidable and to finish 30 mins early so you have a break and you can be fresher for the rest of the test? Would that strategy be counterproductive?


How much more preparation is advisable?
My goal in life is not to get into MBA school (Ive heard Stanford rejects all 780+s) but to be an instructor for GMAC/Princeton/ Manhattan GMAT!
Im guessing an 800 would be best for that?
Viraj

[StaceyKoprince]

There are things you can do to try to minimize careless errors - is that what you're talking about? Read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

You'll always have some incorrect answers, though, because the test can just keep giving you harder stuff... so you'll never completely get rid of all incorrect answers. This is different than minimizing careless errors. :)

For MGMAT, we require a score of 760+, as well as significant classroom teaching experience. (And I want to mention that the second item is the harder one to pass during the audition process. Everybody we reject, by definition, has a 760+, because we won't even audition you if you don't have the score. And yet we still reject 90+% of the people who do have the score. Also, once you are in the 760+ range, we don't care if it's 760 or 800. At that point, all that matters = your teaching skills.)

So, yes, you do need the score if you want to teach for us. You also need to be a very good teacher - which is a different set of skills. :) Our standards are the highest in the industry; you won't need 760+ to teach for other companies. (Not trying to market anything or brag - it's just a fact that nobody else has this requirement!)

Good luck!

[virajhshah]

Hi Stacey,
Thanks for your reply. I do feel that its very rare to find a quant question that really cannot be solved within 3-4 minutes, unlike on the old CAT which sometimes had silly questions that took about 15-20 mins if one were foolish enough to attempt them. This is after all High School Math.
But I am more interested in the second part of your reply. As I am currently located in India, I would be more eligible for online tutoring/course-material development/Web based activity. I wonder if such a position would be available.
Ofcourse I really would love to be a full-time tutor, but as you say, there's only a 3% chance of landing that job and well I couldn't fly to new York for that kind of return, perhaps a web interview would be possible? I have been a tutor at college(Physics- ISU) and have also tutored for a prep agency here in India, for the CAT as a part time job for about 2 months.
I feel I can really help students gain a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts in order to solve mathematical problems quickly.
Any point in forwarding the resume?
Viraj Shah

[StaceyKoprince]

Hi, again. We are actively looking for teachers in India - we're very interested in having an in-person presence there. So, yes, there's a very good reason to get the score and forward your resume.

We begin the audition process online, so that can be done from anywhere in the world. If you progress to the NY-interview stage, we would pay your travel expenses.

In other words, get that score and apply! :)

[virajhshah]

Hi again Stacey,
I took the test yesterday, I finally have my GMAT score.
I guess all that vain boasting about being overprepared for quant truly came back to bite me, as I didn't do ANY quant preparation and then scored poorly on the quant section of the actual test.

My score:
Overall 770
Quant 90%
Verbal 99%


If you're looking for tutors in India, let me know what to do next.
Viraj

Ps: If you found the quant section questions very easy, but still scored poorly, could it be due to having gotten the first few questions wrong?

[StaceyKoprince]

Congrats! Great job.

If you found the Qs easy but still didn't score 99th (well, you can only score 98th on quant now), then you did get some wrong that you thought you were getting right - but that issue is really about making a careless mistake. Could have happened at the beginning, the end, who knows? But a few too many careless mistakes will bring the score down, yes. You got a 50 and the top score is a 51 - it doesn't take that much to drop one level.

Here's the page with job info:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/instructor-jobs.cfm

As you'll find out if you pursue a teaching position, you've only crossed one of two major hurdles - and it's of lower importance than the other. :) We care most about how you teach, and that's the more difficult skill to master - at least to our standards. We're looking for teachers who can help students learn how to think for themselves, not just tell students what to do. Simply explaining / telling is not as helpful in the end, because you can't sit next to the student while s/he takes the test and tell him/her what to do next!

You'll find out more about what we're looking for if you do start the audition process - take what you read / hear very seriously. If you have any questions, let me know!