Struggling with Quant Section on Official GMAT

[CarleyS40]

Hi there,

I'm really struggling with the Quant section of the GMAT. It's been five years since I took a math class, and I've always been a B math student. I hoped that going through the Foundations of Math book and the Manhattan Prep Interact sessions and guides would bring me up to speed for the GMAT quant section.

I started the course in the beginning of November and spent between 10 - 15 hours a week working through the content. I finished the course two weeks ago and have been doing review since. My Manhattan Prep CAT scores have been 580 consistently, ranging from a 31 - 38 quant. I took the official GMAT two times: once while still going through the Manhattan prep curriculum and then again this past Saturday. Both times my quant scores were terrible: 17 and 19 respectively. I definitely guessed more the first time I took the test and then the second time I held onto problems for too long and had to guess on the last 5 questions. These poor performances led to a 490 composite score, though my verbal was 37. The programs I'm interested in require between 580 - 650 total.

I'm planning on taking the test again May 15 and would really appreciate any advice on where to go from here. My plan currently is to review Khan academy math fundamentals, do timed official guide problems, and work on my one-minute sense. I would appreciate any guidance you may have.

Thank you!!

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry this test has been so frustrating for you. You're not alone. I'll try to help you here but you may also qualify for a one-on-one meeting with an instructor. Did you do the full Interact program (quant and verbal)? If so, your program comes with a Post Exam Assessment (PEA), for use after you take the real exam—so that you can debrief and figure out what to do for your re-take. If you did do the full program but have not yet done a PEA, please email our student services team (gmat@manhattanprep.com) to request this.

You scored V37 (a great score!) so let's assume that the goal is to maintain that score for the next time. What you've already done has worked to get you there, so you just need to keep practicing / keeping up with the material in the same way.

In order to get a 580 to 650, you need to score 33 to 42 on the quant. You said you've scored 31 to 38 in practice, but those scores dropped to the teens on the real thing (and you had pretty significant timing problems).

So the first thing is to figure out why you're score is dropping so much on the real thing. When you took the practice tests, did you take them under 100% official conditions? 75 minutes for the section, two 8-minute breaks (not more breaks and not longer breaks), no pausing the test (whether to work on a problem more or just to go the bathroom), etc?

If you took the test under 100% official conditions and scored in the 31 to 38 range multiple times, then those are legitimate scores, so the question becomes why your scores dropped so much on the real thing. (If you didn't take those tests under official conditions, then those weren't legitimate scores and so we can't use them as our starting point—so let me know.)

You provided one clue as to the score drop: timing on that second exam. If you guessed on the last 5, chances are good that you missed all 5. Your score before the last 5, then, was in the 20s somewhere (likely mid-20s), but you dropped right at the end to 19 (on the 2nd test). The GMAT is a "where you end is what you get test," so the good news is that just fixing just that part of the timing problem alone would get you back up into the 20s.

Most of the time, when people have to guess on multiple questions in a row at the end, they are aware of the timing problem even earlier. They start to speed up on the remaining problems but eventually still run out of time. Did that happen to you? On how many questions would you say you were trying to rush to get caught up?

Basically, what ends up happening is this: earlier in the section, you spend too much time on certain questions. Those questions are too hard (which is why you need extra time)—and so you likely don't answer them correctly anyway, so they don't help to lift your score. Then, you rush on the ones that you can do, trying to make up time—but this causes careless mistakes, so your score drops below what you're really capable of doing. And then you still run out of time at the end, and your score drops even more.

Does this sound like it might have happened in your case?

If so, the good news is that you likely do know the math that you need to know to get into that low-30s range (at least) on the quant, since you were able to do so on multiple practice tests. We just need to fix the timing / decision-making problems so that you can show what you know how to do.

Start here:
http://tinyurl.com/executivereasoning

Think about that. You may also want to read this or watch the webinar linked at the beginning of the article:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... -the-gmat/

Then read this:
http://tinyurl.com/2ndlevelofgmat

Think about how what you've been doing does and doesn't match up with that and how you may need to change your approach accordingly.

Then, use the below to analyze your most recent MPrep CATs (this should take you a minimum of 1 hour):
http://tinyurl.com/analyzeyourcats

Based on all of that, figure out your strengths and weaknesses as well as any ideas you have for what you think you should do. Then come back here and tell us; we'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Your analysis should include a discussion of your buckets—you'll understand what that means when you read the last article. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your result—figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)

*NOTE: If you qualify for the PEA, then you can meet with an instructor to discuss everything I've listed in that last paragraph—and the instructor will also review your recent exams before the meeting. So if you qualify, email our Student Services team right away to sign up. If not, we can continue to discuss here.

[CarleyS40]

Stacey,

Thank you so so much for the thoughtful response and quick reply. I really appreciate all of these resources and your insight into the timing - you definitely hit the nail on the head with how I spent too much time on the earlier questions during the official exam. Admittedly, on my first two CATs I did pause the test one or twice for a moment or so to catch my breath and calculate how much time I had left, which as you mentioned, would make these scores illegitimate. I did the full Interact program, so I will follow up with the email you provided here in a moment and also work through the articles and webinar.

I will follow up with you once I hear from the student services team.

Thank you again so much for your time and help with this!

Carley

[StaceyKoprince]

You are very welcome! Yes, let me know how the PEA goes / what happens!