Has GRE Quant become harder recently or is it just me?

Question

Hema A · Accepted Answer

You're not alone, it really does feel harder for a lot of test-takers right now. But the math hasn&rsquo;t changed. What&rsquo;s changed is the way the test messes with your thinking.
&bull; More questions now combine multiple topics&mdash;like ratios inside geometry or algebra buried in a word problem. That mix throws people off. &bull; Questions are longer and wordier. Reading the entire prompt carefully eats up time, but skimming leads to errors. &bull; Some newer tests include less straightforward data interpretation and more reasoning-based traps. &bull; Older mocks (especially from the Big Book or older Manhattan sets) now feel too easy compared to what appears on actual test day. &bull; Also, the adaptive format feels punishing&mdash;one early mistake and the difficulty level can shift in unexpected ways.
So it&rsquo;s not just you&mdash;the test feels harder because it&rsquo;s now built to reward precision over speed.
For more details you can read this blog on "Master GRE Test Quantitative Reasoning "

Jayant M · Answer

GRE Quant hasn&rsquo;t necessarily become harder overall, but the questions now feel trickier&mdash;especially for those aiming above 160. The shift is more in how concepts are tested rather than the math itself.
There&rsquo;s a noticeable rise in word-heavy problems, where the difficulty comes from decoding the setup, not the actual calculation. Also, trap options have gotten better. Even simple questions come with answer choices that look very close, so small misreads get punished more often. Time pressure feels worse too because questions that look basic often take longer than expected.
Those scoring in the mid-150s usually lose points not because the math is tough&mdash;but because the questions are designed to test attention to detail and reasoning under time stress. So yes, it can feel harder, but it&rsquo;s more about test design evolving than difficulty increasing.