720 (Q48, V41) and time management strategy for quant

[lena]

I took my GMAT today and scored 720 (Q48, V41). I thought I would share my time management strategy for those who are good at math in general but struggle to finish quant sections on time.
When I started to prepare for GMAT and took a few practice exams, I was very surprised that I could not score well on quant and that I ran out of time on question 26-27, though solved those almost without any errors.
So, I knew that I should improve my time management by :
1) Picking up the pace: no double checking and use shortcuts as opposed to algebraic solutions and formulas
2) Spreading my guesses throughout the test
For my first issue, I used Manhattan GMAT guides, which I found to be the best resources available to refresh some of the concepts if you were out of school for a long time like me. Also, I solved OG problems under time constraint, using Archer. It helped me to develop the internal clock and know when it takes me too long to solve a question.
For my second issue, I spread the exam in blocks of 5 as opposed in the blocks of 10 since I really suffered from spending too much time on individual problems and thus, had to force myself to move on if I could not solve the problem in less than 2 minutes. Here is my timetable I used:
Time left Questions solved
65 5
55 10
45 15
35 20
25 25
15 30
If I was behind this by 3 questions, I would guess the DS question after reading it. Using this method, I was actually able to finish the section and score in the range of 47-50. In my actual GMAT, I started by writing down my time table before moving to solve the questions. This worked for me. Though I did not score 50, I am still happy with the overall result.
Also, English is my 3rd language. So, for international applicants, do not get discouraged by the fact that you might be at disadvatage. You still can get a good score.

[doesNA]

Thanks for this :)

Would you mind posting your scores on the MGMAT and GMATPrep CATs? Did you find the MGMAT CATs were easier, harder or about the same level as the actual GMAT test?

[lena]

I only did quant part in most of Manhattan tests...so the score was 400+ without verbal though..I have a baby so I did not have an opportunity to take full tests, except for Manhattan 1, and 2 GMAT prep that I took as full length tests.
Manhattan 1 was only 590 and Gmat Prep was around it. I really did poorly on the quant since I could not finish the section. hence, the focus of my prep was on the quant. GMAT Prep 2 was 710 and I took it at the very end of my preparation.
I never wrote AWA during my practice and that was a mistake. I am waiting anxiously for AWA now. The status in mba.com says "score reportable" but I did not receive any link to view the score...
I think in general Manhattan quant is more difficult than GMAT. At a certain point during the actual exam, I thought the questions were too easy and no combinatorics/probability (which I really like and am good at)...Only at the very end I got 1 very easy probability question. That freaked me out a bit. I even thought of cancelling my scores for a few minutes...good I did not do that. So, my advice do not try to judge the difficulty level of the questions at the actual GMAT...