{"id":11872,"date":"2018-07-27T15:26:34","date_gmt":"2018-07-27T15:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/?p=11872"},"modified":"2019-08-30T16:40:07","modified_gmt":"2019-08-30T16:40:07","slug":"gre-quant-bad-at-math-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/blog\/gre-quant-bad-at-math-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Ace GRE Quant if You’re Bad at Math? (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Manhattan<\/p>\n

You\u2019re here because you\u2019re bad at math, and you want to ace GRE Quant but aren\u2019t sure how. But if you <\/span>read the previous article<\/span><\/a>, you know that you weren\u2019t born without a \u201cmath organ,\u201d and your brain is just as suitable for learning GRE Quant as anybody else\u2019s. That doesn\u2019t mean you don\u2019t have challenges to overcome. But you should really be asking, <\/span>How can I ace the GRE with limited math experience? <\/span><\/i>Or <\/span>How can I ace the GRE when I don\u2019t know how to study math? <\/span><\/i>Or even <\/span>How can I get over my math anxiety and get excited about the GRE?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Panic<\/b><\/h4>\n

There\u2019s a lot of common sense involved in solving GRE Quant problems. If the price of a couch is marked up by 15%, it shouldn\u2019t end up costing $180,000. If you want to know how many eighth-graders are in a classroom, you shouldn\u2019t end up with 2\/3 of a student. But when you let math anxiety get the better of you, it\u2019s easy to lose that common sense.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you start a GRE Quant problem, <\/span>take a deep breath<\/b>. This reduces anxiety\u2014and gives your brain some oxygen. Read the problem slowly and calmly. Don\u2019t immediately start asking yourself which equations to use. When you start trying to do the math immediately, you stop trying to understand the story the problem is telling you.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s okay to slow down at the beginning of a GRE Quant problem. On the GRE, you don\u2019t run out of time because you read math problems too carefully! You run out of time because you <\/span>don\u2019t<\/span><\/i> understand the problem, but you try to solve it anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you struggle with math anxiety\u2014and a lot of people do!\u2014you probably won\u2019t fix it by studying more. Actually, things tend to work the opposite way: studying and practice will be far more effective if you reduce your math anxiety <\/span>first<\/span><\/i>. Staying calm makes you better at GRE Quant, not the other way around. <\/span>Here\u2019s another article with some great tips for reducing test anxiety<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Go from Zero to a Hundred<\/b><\/h4>\n

One huge study mistake I see from \u201cbad at math\u201d students is this: you choose one topic, say, solving linear equations. You drill away at that topic during a killer multi-hour study session, or even over a period of days. You watch videos, read articles, and do practice problems. When you\u2019re finished, you\u2019re exhausted, but confident that you totally understand how to solve an equation. So, you move on to the next topic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then you see a linear equation on your practice GRE a week later, and you get it wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n

The study style described above is called \u201cblocking.\u201d I\u2019ll be the first to admit that there\u2019s something satisfying about it. It\u2019s nice to feel like you\u2019re finally done with a topic that\u2019s challenged you for a long time. But your brain hates it.<\/span><\/p>\n

This analogy might be a little crude, but just work with me: teaching yourself GRE Quant is a little bit like training a dog. If you want your dog to learn to sit, you start when it\u2019s calm and relaxed, and you don\u2019t try to get it to master the trick in a single marathon session. Instead, you <\/span>interleave<\/b>, which is what you should do when you study basic math.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a great rundown on interleaving<\/span><\/a>. (The article is from our GMAT blog, but everything there applies to the GRE as well!)<\/span><\/p>\n

In short, give yourself permission to walk away without 100% mastering something. In the long run, that\u2019s actually better for your brain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where Should You Start on GRE Quant?<\/b><\/h4>\n

Some math-phobes get along just fine in our <\/span>8-week GRE course<\/span><\/a>. If you have a lot of time to devote to the GRE, and you\u2019re confident that you\u2019ll pick up the basics quickly\u2014for instance, if you always did well in math in school, but you\u2019ve gotten rusty\u2014go ahead and dive in!<\/span><\/p>\n

However, if you\u2019re weak on the math foundations, you might struggle to get as much as possible out of the course and the homework. Consider starting with something like Khan Academy, which has great videos and problem sets on all of the topics covered on the GRE. Good math topics to start with:<\/span><\/p>\n