Quant GRE frustration

[hippyscientist]

I'm getting really frustrated with the quant section of GRE. I am good at maths, I've done college level maths work for quite some time, and the PhD I'm applying to has comprehensive maths requirements. However, I just can't seem to crack more than a 162 on the quant section. Without sounding arrogant, I find it too easy and end up overcomplicating things, then when I try to tone it back, I miss the obvious stuff. The harder the questions are the better as far as I'm concerned!

 

Anyone else have/had this problem? If so how did you overcome it? I've got two weeks before I take my test and I want to get as close to perfect as I can (prove that my 3.3 GPA is not accurate of my ability).

[Brent@GreenlightGRE]

I have found that students with strong math backgrounds typically make the same mistakes: since they find most math questions easy, they don't focus and they go wayyyyy too fast. As a result they misread questions, they miss important information (e.g., x is a POSITIVE integer), or they make silly errors.

My first suggestion is to either take more time reading the question, or read the question twice.

 

If silly mistakes are hurting your score, then it's important that you identify and categorize these mistakes so that, during tests, you can easily spot situations in which you're prone to making errors. I write about this and other strategies in the following article: http://www.greenlighttestprep.com/articles/avoiding-silly-misteaks-gre

 

Cheers,

Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

[TakeruK]

I think the Quant section can be tough for people who know more advanced math and don't think about the concepts tested in the GRE anymore. This is why you'll see lots of physics majors, who certainly know a lot more math than the GRE tests without perfect scores! There are also some obscure stuff on there--in my real GRE Q test, there was a question that I could not get so I literally had to just guess at the very last second.

 

My advice would be to just do as many practice questions in as much depth as you can. Read the solutions carefully, even if you got the questions right. You will learn a lot from the questions you got wrong but you might also learn a different way to approach/think about the question. Sometimes when people are preparing for the GRE, they are just racing through as many practice problems as they can and move on as soon as they know they got the right answer.

 

I still time myself during a practice section to make sure I can solve them fast enough. But then, instead of moving onto the next one right away, I'd analyze the questions and their solutions. I ask myself "What is ETS trying to test for here?" and look at the logic behind the solution. I try to incorporate these approaches into my problem solving toolbox. I try to understand what ETS is testing for so that when I see a different question, I can recognize that it's that same concept again, but presented in a different way.

 

Finally, the GRE Q is not really about computational ability, but numerical reasoning/logic. Just like the GRE V isn't really about how many different obscure words you know, it's about testing your ability to process and understand written text. Of course, knowing basic math and having a large vocabulary will help you get a good score, but I think to get an excellent score (what you're aiming for), try to spend time understanding the test, not just the material.

[Brent@GreenlightGRE]

TakeruK is absolutely right - GRE math questions are not designed to reward human calculators. Instead, they are intended to measure your quantitative reasoning skills. The great thing about most GRE math questions is that they can typically be solved using more than one approach. The best approach is the one that gets us to the correct answer quickly. 

 

Cheers,

Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

[darksteam]

In my opinion, I found out that GRE Q part was just about the tricks.  You just have to remember the tips from the Quantitative questions pool.

Moreover, the solution of each answer will be quite simple but tricky.  

If you use some advance math knowledge to solve this problem, you have to be careful about the answer.

Also, the answers are very tricky.  Especially the A B comparison questions.

[Brent@GreenlightGRE]

I'm not sure I'd agree with the quantitative sections being about tricks. While there are a few shortcuts one should be aware of, most questions can be solved by applying some common strategies. For example, most QC questions can be solved by applying one or more of six common strategies. 

If you're interested, we have free videos that explain all of these strategies: http://www.greenlighttestprep.com/module/gre-quantitative-comparison

 

Cheers,

Brent - Greenlight Test Prep