All AnswersWhat are the best arithmetic tricks to improve GMAT Quant speed and accuracy?
Asked by Suman Raghavan 4 months ago
Experienced Study abroad consultant | Specializing in sales and Project Management | Expert in Sustainable sales practices
What worked for me was training my brain to handle calculations more flexibly instead of just mechanically solving everything.
- For divisibility, memorize small rules: any number divisible by 3 if its digits sum to a multiple of 3; divisible by 4 if the last two digits form a multiple of 4. Saves tons of time on Data Sufficiency.
- Use approximation when multiplying tricky numbers. For example, estimating 49 × 21 as (50 × 21) - 21 = 1050 - 21 = 1029 gives you a fast close answer.
- For ratios, simplify early. If a question gives you a ratio like 12:18, reduce it immediately to 2:3 before plugging into further calculations.
- Practice breaking large squares mentally. For example, 47² can be thought of as (50-3)² → 50² - 2×50×3 + 9 → 2500 - 300 + 9 = 2209.
Use quick checks to catch silly mistakes. After finishing, glance at whether your answer makes sense roughly — this prevents small calculation errors from killing accuracy.
For more details you can read this blog on " GMAT Arithmetic Tricks"
Dynamic Business Analyst | Data-Driven Decision Maker | Strategic Thinker
One thing that really helped me with GMAT Quant speed was tightening up my basic arithmetic. A few tricks made a big difference:
First, learn how to quickly break numbers into factors. For example, when dividing 180 by 12, mentally split 180 as 60 × 3 and divide step-by-step. This avoids long division and reduces errors.
Next, always simplify fractions before multiplying. If you’re calculating (8/15) × (75/16), cancel out common factors first: 8 and 16, 15 and 75. It’s much faster than multiplying across and then simplifying.
For percentages, memorize common shortcuts: 10% is just moving the decimal; 5% is half of 10%; 20% is double 10%. This avoids unnecessary calculations.
Finally, estimate when answer choices are spread far apart. If you can ballpark the answer quickly, you avoid wasting time on exact calculations.
Detail-Oriented Financial Analyst
One thing that really helped me with GMAT Quant speed was tightening up my basic arithmetic. A few tricks made a big difference:
First, learn how to quickly break numbers into factors. For example, when dividing 180 by 12, mentally split 180 as 60 × 3 and divide step-by-step. This avoids long division and reduces errors.
Next, always simplify fractions before multiplying. If you’re calculating (8/15) × (75/16), cancel out common factors first: 8 and 16, 15 and 75. It’s much faster than multiplying across and then simplifying.
For percentages, memorize common shortcuts: 10% is just moving the decimal; 5% is half of 10%; 20% is double 10%. This avoids unnecessary calculations.
Finally, estimate when answer choices are spread far apart. If you can ballpark the answer quickly, you avoid wasting time on exact calculations.
Senior Assistant Manager in Operations Management
Sometimes the fastest way to solve a GMAT Quant problem is not to solve it at all—just test numbers smartly. For many word problems, especially in arithmetic, plugging in your own values works quicker than setting up equations.
Use these ideas:
Pick easy numbers that match the condition. If a problem says "x is divisible by 5 and 7", try 35. For remainder questions, always test the smallest numbers first (like 1, 2, 3) to catch patterns. With percent changes, use a base value like 100 or 200—it makes gain/loss math way simpler.
Also, practice multiplying numbers like 25×4 or 15×6 quickly in your head—these come up often in rate and work questions. One more trick: memorize common fractions (like 1/8 = 12.5%) to avoid converting back and forth.
These habits shave seconds off every question—and that adds up.