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1. 700+ Scorers, just how many questions pushed your QUANTITATIVE ability -- that is, tested like the hardest problems in
OG or elsewhere? (Did the last 10 questions really push you to the limit? Or did just the last 5? When did the air REALLY start to feel thin?)
2. 700+ Scorers, just how many questions pushed your VERBAL envelope -- that is, tested like the hardest problems in
OG or elsewhere?
3. 700+ Scorers, on average, how many easy-moderate questions did you encounter before things became truly challenging (i.e., the last few questions of the
OG)?
I'm not a "top scorer" as per your 750 definition but I am a happy member of the 700's club so I thought I would contribute my two cents.
When I took the GMAT Prep 2 and scored a 770 I had the same exact feeling as when I took my actual test and scored 710. The GMAT is a strange adaptive beast and I don't think you can really count the number of "difficult" questions because it constantly tries to gauge your level by giving you questions it thinks are above your level. To get a top score e.g. 750 you have to consistently get "tough" questions right, but those questions won't seem so "tough" to you because they are at your score level. the questions that will seem hard to you will be questions at 760-800 level questions. The same goes if you are scoring 550... the test will seem as difficult at 550 as at 770, because it will constantly give you questions above your level to give you a chance to jump up to the next level.
So I think the key is not to prepare for specifically "tough" questions but to get your overall "average" level of difficulty up. You will get a top score only if you can consistently perform within a certain diffiulty bracket, you won't get a top score for answering 3 difficult questions right...
So to get a Quant score around 48+ I think it is more important to practice your common squares and square roots, concentrate on not making silly mistakes, answering the actual questions (e.g. solve for 2x and not x), rather than concentating on tough questions. This way you will have a rock solid foundation and a high "average" level of difficulty which is what the GMAT uses as a basis to determine your score.