Magoosh Quant needlessly convoluted?

[PhdApplicant311]

Hi all, 

I am here to ask for some serious advice. I have been prepping with all kinds of material but primarily Manhattan Set of 8, ETS OG and Magoosh. I started out really bad at Quant and got through the set of 8 books, including exercises and some of the drill sets  (I intend to do the rest) but I am a little worried that I am simply not able to crack a majority of the Magoosh Quant questions in their practise review options. I have even tried sitting through an entire topic of Magoosh Video lessons thinkiing that perhaps some of the other material missed out on crucial info (numbers, for instance and now algebra) and then solving just those questions but I am still not able to do them. This is not the case with the other material I have been using. If there is an ETS problem I don't get at first, for instance, after I watch the explanation I get it and I am confident that I'd be able to tackle a similar problem. But this is simply not the case with Magoosh. It's not that the problems are hard - I am okay with a challenge, absolutely okay with it because I have really worked my backside off over quant these past few months - starting from multiplication tables (seriously!).... so I am beginning to wonder if these Magoosh questions are needlessly convoluted. Sometimes you have to go 3-4 layers of reasoning to solve a problem - if you have a Magoosh membership you probably know what I mean. 

Anybody out there used Magoosh and genuinely felt their quant scores improved because of it? I have read posts in the past by folks who've said I re-took the test with Magoosh or I used Magoosh and was disappointed with my scores - I wonder if this is because the problems are so pointlessly circuitous that it really doesn't help in the end? I am probably going to get through the whole damn thing anyway - at least about 70% of the questions but I feel so discouraged. 

Please give me your take on it or any tips you may have to share to work more productively through Quant. I know it looks like I have invested a lot in the material but the books I have borrowed and Magoosh membership was heavily discounted. After feeling so blah I went right ahead and bought a 1 month's Empower GRE membership as well - I only have one month left to prepare, and I saw a few videos but I haven't used enough to see if it offers a better alternative. 

 

 
 

[TheBumChikiBum]

Okay. So, now that you have 8 sets of Manhattan books (which I hope are original   ). You will have access to 6 tests. Have you given them ? What's your score there?

See. I did my quant prep from Manhattan only. To be honest I wasn't even able to do quite a few medium and hard questions. Still, it's important to read explanation of each and every question you are not able to solve. Start giving mocks. Repeat them if already done with them. Do the Manhattan 'hard' questions. Do the hard questions in Manhattan 5Lb book. You can easily get it. If you know what I mean. Even if you try to solve those questions, your brain's quant solving abilities will improve. You are able to solve them or not is a totally different matter. Even attempting the questions is fruitful. DO IT. Just keep at it. I was getting 153-156 in my mocks 1 month before the GRE date. I just kept at it. Kept practising and achieved a very very decent quant score.

As they say in Hindu Mythology : 'Karam karte raho, fal ki iccha mat karo'. 

It basically translates to : Keep working hard persistently. Don't worry about the fruits i.e success. 

Best of luck

[PhdApplicant311]

BumChiki Thank you. I am too nervous to take those tests yet but I will start soon. Thanks for the encouragement! How many hours a day did you spent practicing these questions? 

[gughok]

Sometimes you have to go 3-4 layers of reasoning to solve a problem - if you have a Magoosh membership you probably know what I mean.  

I can't say that I've used the Magoosh quantitative practice but I can attest to the actual GRE: there are plenty of trivial problems, but also a few that actually demand you stop to think. This is coming from a former math and physics major who still has a minor in math, and who did well on the quantitative section: there are going to be problems that you will not see through immediately. Unless Magoosh is feeding you problems on diagonalizing matrices or solving for the x-intercepts of a rational function, it seems unlikely they're overstating the challenge of the quantitative GRE. I know that the practice I did (the free Kaplan test that comes with GRE registration) was much easier than the actual GRE. Just my two cents.

[TheBumChikiBum]

Sometimes 1. Sometimes 5. Even 0 sometimes. Nothing was regular. I studied only if I wanted to. Didn't force myself.

You only have one month. You need atleast 3-5 days between every test to self reflect. I would advise you to start giving the tests ASAP. 

I know you are nervous, but that is no excuse to not give any mocks. JUST START.

[PhdApplicant311]

Thanks Gughok, I am going to put in more effort to see what's going on here. I sat through the whole bunch of Algebra videos and some of the earlier problems I thought were too layered make better sense now... Let's see how it goes.

Thanks Bumchiki! I am so going to do one of those Manhattan tests today! 

[nevermind]

I think it comes down to learning styles. Some people love Magoosh...I used about 70% of Magoosh quant. videos and didn't pull my GRE quant score at all. I wish I would've focused primarily on Manhattan Prep's books, as I felt like they gave a lot more math review PLUS how the questions on the test will actually be formatted. Good luck!

[GREMasterEMPOWERRichC]

Hi PhdApplicant311,

The Quant section of the GRE is consistent and predictable, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. While a certain amount of the 'work' that you have to do in that section is technical (formulas, calculations, etc.), a BIG part of scoring at a high level in that section is in the Tactics that you can use and the patterns that you spot (and can take advantage of). Since you have an EMPOWERgre Account, I suggest that you work through all of the Stage 1 Lessons - I bet that you'll find the Quant section to be considerably easier after doing so.

GRE Masters aren't born, they're made,

Rich

[PhdApplicant311]

Hi Rich, 

I sat through the whole test it module and took the Manhattan test. My scores were 151 and 156. I honestly never thought I'd make it beyond 150 in Quant and it's a very poor score but.... that's what it is and it's an improvement for me. I didn't focus on the verbal at all and was done in 15 minutes, and I spent the next 10 mins or so doing RC. I am not so worried about verbal. I just wanted to get through the test and see how much I score in Quant. 

But I must say I used Test it! extensively on the test. In the first section I got 8 out of 20 questions right and I used Test it on at least 4 of the answers I got right. 

I understand plugging in numbers is not foolproof and it does not replace knowledge but I am curious to know why it may not work on some questions, I have a related post here and I've got some answers but if you have the time please let me know what you think. 

http://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/70142-gre-quant-why-doesnt-plugging-in-work-in-this-problem/

Thanks! 


 

[Gvh]

Just to add my $0.02, I took the GRE 4-5 times (!) and used every prep known to man. I struggled a lot with the quant, but finally achieved a score that would stand on its own for my field (~80%), after many months of scoring 150-153. I didn't think the Magoosh questions were MUCH more difficult than the real thing but I DO think the answers they gave were way more complicated than they had to be. Often, the Magoosh tutors suggested a relatively "math heavy" method for answering questions that could be easily (and more quickly!) solved by strategies like plugging in the answers or plugging in a simple number (i.e. 100) for the variable and solving for it. I do think Magoosh's questions are good for practice though, I just used different strategies to solve them.

[PhdApplicant311]

Dear GvH, 

I cannot thank you enough for your response! I feel the same way and it's nice to hear you say this. I agree the Magoosh questions are good practise and I am going to try different ways to solve their problems. 

I am just curious, I see you're applying for a PhD... other than the GRE are you facing other 'stumbling blocks' while putting your application together? 

A mediocre GPA (3.5), from a top-notch school in the UK though, a lack of publications and conferences are bothering me. I've been looking at all the rejects  from previous years that applied to the same programme with high GPAs, publications etc and I am wondering if I stand a chance. Lately though, I have been thinking that if 4.0 GPAs with publications and other awards are rejected - perhaps one needs to pay real close attention to the "good fit" aspect.

I have some fantastic recommendations (also from a high profile ivy league prof!) and a good resume... I am hoping paying real close attention to my application and a trying to come across like a perfect fit could help. Assuming, my GRE prep doesn't fail me!!

I don't know!!! 


 

 

 

[Gvh]

Don't be discouraged, Phdapplicant311. No one has a perfect application - my GGPA is also my primary weakness (~3.6), but I don't think a 3.5/3.6 is going to be something that rules us out of the running as long as other aspects of the application are good. Fit is obviously a crucial measure - you can have flawless stats, but if the department can't place you then you won't have a chance! As an FYI, I applied last year with my terrible GRE scores (48% Q) and my GPA and was offered a place at a top 25 school in my field -- ended up not attending for a number of reasons, but it goes to show numbers aren't everything. 

[Brent@GreenlightGRE]

Please give me your take on it or any tips you may have to share to work more productively through Quant.  

To improve your quantitative score, I believe that you should compartmentalize your learning and take the time to master each topic (e.g., percents, ratios, exponents, statistics, etc.).  This means that, for each topic, you should:

1) Learn the underlying concepts (rules, attributes, notation, etc.)

2) Learn GRE-specific strategies related to that topic

3) Practice dozens of questions all related to that one topic.

4) Don't stop working on that topic until you have mastered it

 Then, and only then, move on to the next topic.

If you're interested, our free video course is divided into separate topics, so you can follow this kind of plan. 

Cheers,

Brent - Greenlight Test Prep

[PhdApplicant311]

Thank you GvH... wish you luck this year! I am sure things will go well. 

Thank you Brent, I do look at your videos from time to time. Thing is my GRE exam is on the 19th of next month so I don't really have the time to focus on each topic before moving to the next. I am trying my best though, we'll see how it goes. Thanks for putting up all those videos for free btw!!! 

[GREMasterEMPOWERRichC]

Hi PhdApplicant311,

I responded to the post that you linked (above).

GRE Masters aren't born, they're made,

Rich