Most, if not all, GRE Quant questions have relatively simple solutions, yet too often, students look for complex solutions. This approach is a mistake.

A crucial aspect of GRE Quant questions is that they tend to be designed such that each question contains one or two key elements that the test-taker must identify in order to answer the question efficiently. Once you identify those key components, the question can become quite simple — far simpler than you expect.

It’s often the case that a question that takes many test-takers three minutes to solve can be correctly answered in less than one minute if you pinpoint one or two key aspects of the problem.

Even when a test-taker is scoring high and thus seeing relatively challenging questions, many of those questions can be solved using methods that are not particularly sophisticated. In other words, for most questions, the optimal path to the solution will be quite basic. Simplicity is your goal.

Keeping this goal in mind, you should ask yourself the following questions when solving GRE Quant problems:

“What is the question really asking?”

“How can I make this question as simple as possible?”

“What is a shortcut to answering this question?”

At this point, most students ask, “How do I learn to see what I need to see?” The answer is that you must prepare with study materials that teach you how to answer GRE Quant questions accurately and efficiently. Then, you must engage in a ton of systematic practice. Through that deliberate study and practice, you’ll gain the skills you need to recognize the keys that “unlock” GRE Quant questions and expose their inherent simplicity.

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep