High-Value GMAT Quant
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Every time you study GMAT Quant, you give your full attention to just a couple of topics. During that time, you won’t be studying all of the other topics the GMAT Quant section tests. The smartest way to make the tradeoff is by going straight to the highest-value Quant topics: the ones that are most likely to score you points on test day.
The highest-value GMAT Quant topics are different for every person. If you’re already scoring 47s and 48s on Quant and you’re looking for that elusive 51, you might have one set of high-value topics. If you just scored a 23 on your first practice test, your list will look very different. Don’t let someone else write your list for you—only you know yourself well enough to do that. Here are some guidelines on how to do it.
1. Fixing your GMAT Quant foundation is high-value.
GMAT Quant scoring is weird. When you miss relatively easy Quant questions, the test assumes that you’re weak in Quant. That wouldn’t be a big deal, except that the questions you see on the GMAT are based on what the test thinks it knows about you. If the algorithm decides that you’re not too good at GMAT Quant, it won’t give you the toughest questions, even if you could actually get them right. Since your score is based on the difficulty level of the test, this will hold you back.
If you’re missing easy questions in one area of GMAT Quant, that will keep your score down across the entire Quant section. Missing hard questions, on the other hand, has almost no impact on your score. Fixing the areas where you’re lagging behind is higher-value than pushing ahead in areas where you’re doing okay.
One important note: that doesn’t just translate to “focus on your weaknesses!” A “hole in your foundation” is specifically an area where you’re missing easy questions, even if you’re only missing a few of them. Missing a lot of questions is fine, as long as they’re tough ones—but missing even a few easy questions is a problem. To find these areas, why not review a practice test?
2. Learnable topics are high-value.
Some GMAT Quant topics will be fun and easy to learn, while others will be a slog. If a topic isn’t too important, and it’ll take you weeks to master it, why bother? But, if it’s something you can learn in an afternoon, you might as well invest a little time. Even if you don’t see that topic on your official test, you didn’t waste too much time working on it—and you learned something cool in the process.
Here’s a list of GMAT Quant topics that many of my students have described as ‘quick’ or even ‘fun’. Don’t worry if you disagree! Every brain is different, and struggling with these topics doesn’t mean that you’re lagging behind.
- Overlapping Sets
- Weighted Averages
- Exponents and Roots
- Quadratics
- Remainders
On the other hand, here are some GMAT Quant topics that are notoriously tricky to learn. Again, your mileage may vary, so try them out! But don’t get bogged down if you aren’t improving quickly.
- Rates & Work
- Combinatorics
- Probability
3. Frequently-tested GMAT Quant topics are high-value.
If you’re struggling with a topic that the GMAT tests rarely, consider choosing ahead of time to guess on those problems on test day. Sure, you could study for hours and hours and improve your odds of getting one or two problems right. Or, you could devote the same amount of time to a topic that you’ll see more often.
Based on our own experiences, here are the most commonly-tested GMAT Quant topics:
Algebra: Exponents & Roots, Linear Equations, Quadratic Equations
FDPs: Percents, Fractions, Ratios
Word Problems: Translations, Statistics
Number Properties: Divisibility & Primes, Positives & Negatives
Geometry: Triangles, Polygons
Luckily, a few of our least favorite GMAT Quant topics don’t show up: combinatorics, probability, coordinate geometry, formulas, functions, and sequences. If you already have a very high Quant score, you may need to work on those topics. But if you’re just starting out, or if your Quant score isn’t at least at the 70th percentile, you should spend almost all of your time on the more frequent areas. That’s where you get the best return on your investment.
That’s true even if you’re missing a lot of problems in these ‘rare’ areas! Due to the other two factors we’ve talked about—fixing your foundation and learnability—topics like combinatorics or coordinate geometry are very unlikely to be high-value for you, even if you don’t understand them at all.
Based on this information, take some time to make a plan. Sure, you could spend that time studying instead. But if you put some thought early on into what to study, you’ll never have to wonder whether you’re working on the right material. You’ll also give yourself the best possible chance of improving your score. Hoping for even more structure than that? Think about signing up for the Manhattan Prep 9-week GMAT Complete Course—we hit all of the highest-value GMAT Quant topics and have fun doing it. ?
Want more guidance from our GMAT gurus? You can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free! We’re not kidding. Check out our upcoming courses here.
Chelsey Cooley
is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Seattle, Washington. Chelsey always followed her heart when it came to her education. Luckily, her heart led her straight to the perfect background for GMAT and GRE teaching: she has undergraduate degrees in mathematics and history, a master’s degree in linguistics, a 790 on the GMAT, and a perfect 170/170 on the GRE. Check out Chelsey’s upcoming GRE prep offerings here.