RSM admission test — how hard is the math section really?

by derek_v 72 views4 replies
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derek_vOP
May 25, 2026

I'm applying to RSM MSc programs and the admission test has me more nervous than I expected. I graduated with a 3.4 GPA in economics but it's been 3 years since I did any serious quant work. Four weeks in at 2 hours a day and I'm sitting at 65% on quantitative practice problems. Verbal I'm less worried about, but data interpretation under time pressure is a different story.

My accuracy on algebra and geometry questions is around 72%, but it drops to 55% on data interpretation specifically. Reading a chart and doing quick mental math simultaneously is harder than I remembered. I've started timing each question block strictly to break the habit of sitting on hard ones.

Five weeks left before my test date. The plan is 2 weeks on quantitative fundamentals, then 3 weeks of full timed practice tests. I keep hearing the time pressure is brutal — can anyone who's recently taken it confirm how tight it actually is?

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derek_v
May 25, 2026

I scored in the 78th percentile and got into my first-choice program. Practice reading graphs in under 20 seconds before you even look at the answer choices — that habit made a bigger difference than any content review I did.

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ingrid_p
May 26, 2026

The verbal section is shorter than the official guide implies and the math is heavier. I'd weight your remaining study time 60% quantitative and 40% everything else, not evenly.

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devonte_h
May 27, 2026

Five weeks is more than enough. I only had 3 weeks and passed. Ratios, percentages, and basic descriptive statistics covered about 60% of the quant questions on my exam — you don't need advanced material.

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amelia_f
May 27, 2026

The time pressure is real. I finished with maybe 3 minutes to spare and I'm usually a fast test-taker. Don't spend more than 90 seconds on any single question — the harder ones cluster near the end and you need time for those.

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