{"id":14887,"date":"2017-11-09T17:58:02","date_gmt":"2017-11-09T17:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/?p=14887"},"modified":"2019-09-05T15:51:08","modified_gmt":"2019-09-05T15:51:08","slug":"high-value-gmat-quant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/blog\/high-value-gmat-quant\/","title":{"rendered":"High-Value GMAT Quant"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Manhattan<\/p>\n

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<\/i><\/b>Every time you study GMAT Quant, you give your full attention to just a couple of topics. During that time, you <\/span>won\u2019t <\/span><\/i>be studying all of the <\/span>other <\/span><\/i>topics the GMAT Quant section tests. The smartest way to make the tradeoff is by going straight to the highest-value Quant topics: the ones that are most likely to score you points on test day. <\/span><\/p>\n

The highest-value GMAT Quant topics are different for every person.<\/b> If you\u2019re already scoring 47s and 48s on Quant and you\u2019re looking for that elusive 51, you might have one set of high-value topics. If you just scored a 23 on your first practice test, your list will look very different. Don\u2019t let someone else write your list for you\u2014only you know yourself well enough to do that. Here are some guidelines on how to do it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Fixing your GMAT Quant foundation is high-value.<\/b><\/h4>\n

GMAT Quant scoring is weird<\/span><\/a>. When you miss relatively easy Quant questions, the test assumes that you\u2019re weak in Quant. That wouldn\u2019t be a big deal, except that the questions you see on the GMAT are based on what the test thinks it knows about you. If the algorithm decides that you\u2019re not too good at GMAT Quant, it won\u2019t give you the toughest questions, even if you could actually get them right. Since your score is based on the difficulty level of the test, this will hold you back. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re missing easy questions in one area of GMAT Quant, that will keep your score down across the entire Quant section. Missing hard questions, on the other hand, has almost no impact on your score. Fixing the areas where you\u2019re lagging behind is higher-value than pushing ahead in areas where you\u2019re doing okay. <\/span><\/p>\n

One important note: that doesn\u2019t just translate to \u201cfocus on your weaknesses!\u201d A \u201chole in your foundation\u201d is specifically an area where you\u2019re missing <\/span>easy <\/span><\/i>questions, even if you\u2019re only missing a few of them. Missing a lot of questions is fine, as long as they\u2019re tough ones\u2014but missing even a few easy questions is a problem. To find these areas, why not <\/span>review a practice test<\/span><\/a>?<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Learnable topics are high-value.<\/b><\/h4>\n

Some GMAT Quant topics will be fun and easy to learn, while others will be a slog. If a topic isn\u2019t too important, and it\u2019ll take you weeks to master it, why bother? But, if it\u2019s something you can learn in an afternoon, you might as well invest a little time. Even if you don\u2019t see that topic on your official test, you didn\u2019t waste too much time working on it\u2014and you learned something cool in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a list of GMAT Quant topics that many of my students have described as \u2018quick\u2019 or even \u2018fun\u2019. Don\u2019t worry if you disagree! Every brain is different, and struggling with these topics doesn\u2019t mean that you\u2019re lagging behind.<\/span><\/p>\n