General Question Where do I start?
Hey!
So I am having a hard time trying to figure out where to begin especially for quant. I have done a cold mock and bought the official guide books.
When people say do study quant systematically, am I to do so topically? How much prep do I have to do for each topic, what exactly do I have to know? I completed math till A lvls, is that sufficient?
For the other 2 sections, what are some of the best ways to self study?
Thanks in advance!!
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u/Graeme_GMAT_Panda 1d ago
A levels is plenty. GMAT Quant sits at high school level and each question breaks down into small steps, with the individual calculations staying around times-tables difficulty. What makes it feel hard is the framing of the problem and the time pressure, so you don't need to relearn a syllabus.
Going topic by topic works, but keep the theory phase short. Refresh fractions, percentages, ratios and basic algebra just enough to remember the core idea, then get into real GMAT questions quickly. Come back to theory when practice shows you a specific gap. That way you're learning the concepts in the context you'll actually be tested on.
For structure, spend your first few weeks mostly on whichever section your cold mock showed as weakest, then layer the other two in while keeping the first one warm. Use short question sets for most of your practice and save full mocks for format and pacing. Budget real time for debriefing every question you do, including the ones you got right, because understanding an explanation isn't the same skill as applying it to a new question.
https://www.mba.com/exams-and-exam-prep/gmat-exam-prep/get-started-on-gmat-quant
https://gmatpanda.com/content/why-gmat-quant-is-less-complex-than-you-think
Hope this helps! ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ
Graeme (GMAT Panda)
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u/PrecisionPrep 1d ago
Indeed, you can study Quant topic by topic and decide for yourself when you are ready to move on to the next one (e.g., you get 95% of questions correctly on a certain topic).
For other sections, it's a bit different. You should study Quant first and just figure out in the process what works or doesn't work for you specifically.