Hi, I also have a similar plan but I am undergraduate that studied Applied Math and Computer science.My experience will be alot different from yours. I find that if you had a degree in Math or curriculum that was surrounded around discrete math you will have a very good time improving your scores.A physics curriculum is also beneficial. My ability to improve and notice my mistakes are much greater however, I still make careless mistakes from time to time(Because I dont read the question carefully or rush through them). I wind up scoring a 161 on diagnostic with 10 minutes to spare(A mistake on my part). In only 4 weeks of practice my score skyrocketed to 165(With 10 minutes to spare and is still a mistake considering that I can spare 5 minutes checking answer) and I will continue to use the same strategies to score a perfect quant.I also didn't constraint my practice what do I mean? Meaning during practice I give myself unlimited time to think and check my answers.If you are making arithmetic errors slow down and triple check your answers. This is easier said then done since during my classes computational errors are absolute bane of existence. This means using more scrap paper and showing more work. Once you are making no errors on those,slowly decrease the time and avoid using calculator unless absolutely necessary. Some tools I study with are Magoosh math,Manhattan 5 lb math problems,Nova, and Official GRE math guide.

I'm not sure if it works but there are some apps that you can download in your phone to practice arithmetic on your way to work/school. I like the magoosh math flashcards and lumosity

Honestly if you're already 165, you have a solid foundation. It sounds like there might still be a couple of blind spots or traps you fall for. You just need to expose them and fix them before you take the test again. I have a small set of advanced/trick questions that might just do the trick for you. Let me know if you need them.

Could you please share these with me?

my foundation is not solid, but I guess lots practice and tutorials can help a lot

I would recommend a couple of things to aim for the 170:
- Have an error log and review it every 1-2 weeks
- Finish the 5lbs Manhattan book for every quant section, except the Advanced section. If you do have time, you can challenge yourself with some of the questions there but the majority of those questions are way harder than the real tests.
- Strictly time yourself for any practice questions. You should aim to solve all the easy/medium questions in under a minute. The real tests usually have approximately 15 easy/medium questions and 5 hard questions. Make sure you have extra time for those hard questions.
- Read the questions carefully, make sure you understand what they ask you. And then read everything again, before you pick your answer. Remember Rule #2 guys: DOUBLE TAP
- Have a relaxed and calm state of mind when taking the tests. Have plenty of sleep the day before. A couple of deep breaths in between each section or even during the section help when you feel panic. Meditate before going in the testing center. Doing some jogging/walking the morning you take the test. Listen to your favorite songs. Or whatever makes you feel calm and happy.

Are there any typical pitfalls that would be worth looking out for?

Before delving into calculations or looking to find the unknown variable, take a couple of seconds to recheck that it is the unknown value that question asks you to find. Very often you can get the right logic applied to the question only to put the wrong answer in the end (calculating value x instead of y).

There are certain other techniques tested other than concepts clarify and practice when it comes to getting a very high quant percentile. I found this article very useful, written by the percent quant scorer and 99 percentile scorer in verbal and AWA.

https://blog.scholarden.com/gre-guides/how-hard-is-the-gre/

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