u/EffectiveRealist

i took a diagnostic in the beginning of last month and scored 162v/160q. i knew verbal wouldn't be an issue for me, but felt quant i needed to really improve my foundation. so i did the gregmat prepswift package, working through every single module, and felt like i had become much stronger on the core concepts.

then today i took a power prep + test on ets official, and scored 170v/160q. the verbal increase is great (but verbal has always been my stronger point) but not to have increased AT ALL in quant is super disheartening. my problem with the diagnostic was that i felt i didn't have enough time; i STILL felt that today, even after reviewing all the concepts and drilling etc. etc.

i am not sure what to do to maximize my score. i know the math concepts cold. my mistakes on quant today were

section 1:

1. something i forgot about triangles

2. stupid error, flipping an inequality

3. another stupid error where i was running out of time to check all answer options (on a select all that apply question)

section 2:

1. stupid error, running out of time, i knew how to solve but applied a formula backwards from stress

2. didn't have time to check an all that apply

3. straight up ran out of time to solve so had to omit (but knew)

so it's not a content problem at all, only 1 question i would've been wrong on for sheer content reasons. it's a timing issue. i have almost 10-15 minutes to spare on the verbal and zero seconds left on quant.

i'm feeling quite disheartened as i need at least a 165+ on my quant for the programs i am applying to. is a 5 point increase possible when the issue is fundamentally time and not content, seems the gains would be much lower?

my plan for the next 5 days:

1. wallow a bit today and take 1 more timed official ets quant section (from the fourth edition book)

2. tutoring session tomorrow, i just signed up for one, and ask specifically for QC strategies to make things go faster in case i can save time there. also figure out the "check all that apply" strategy. any other time saving metrics anyone has would be amazing

3. take another power prep full test in 3 days to see if my quant has improved at all

would really welcome any advice at all, or anything. i know i'm down to the wire here but i can always retake it but i would so prefer to not have to. if i could get a 170 / 165 i would be totally set

I don't know why, but I have been unable to stop listening to this variation. I'm really new to classical music so I don't have the right language to explain it, but I love how the piece feels a little desperate, a little anxious, like it's racing ahead of itself somehow. I also feel like the strings when they go high are almost engaging in a kind of pleading. It reminds me as if someone was trying to desperately get everything out that they wanted to say to someone before they knew they had to leave and they knew they were forgetting to say so many things but they had to keep trying anyways.