I've been prepping for the Graduate Recruitment Test for about three weeks now and I think I've been misallocating my time. The verbal reasoning section feels manageable but the numerical reasoning questions are exposing some real gaps. Specifically the data interpretation questions where you're pulling figures from tables and applying percentage changes — I keep making calculation errors under time pressure.
My testing date is in 5 weeks. Current practice scores are around 62% overall, with verbal closer to 75% and numerical sitting at 51%. I'd like to hit 70% overall before the real thing.
What worked for people on the quantitative side? I've been doing practice sets but I'm wondering if I should back up and drill specific math skills first, or just keep doing full timed tests and reviewing mistakes.
51% on numerical is fixable in 5 weeks. I'd spend the first two weeks drilling the specific skill types: ratio and proportion, percentage change, and reading tables. Get those mechanical skills to near-automatic before you do full timed sets. Doing timed tests when you're still shaky on the underlying math just reinforces errors.
I went from 54% to 72% on the quantitative section in about 4 weeks. I did 20 numerical questions every morning before work, reviewed every wrong answer in detail, and kept a log of which question types I missed. By week 3 I could see the error patterns clearly — it was mostly percentage-of-percentage questions for me. Once I drilled those specifically my accuracy jumped.
The calculation errors under time pressure are usually a speed issue not a knowledge issue. Practice doing mental math estimates first — round numbers to get a ballpark, then refine. On most multiple choice tests the answer choices are spaced far enough apart that an estimate gets you there without the full calculation.
Also, don't skip the abstract reasoning section. Some candidates ignore it because it feels uncoachable but a few hours of practice does actually improve scores.
I passed my GRT last month and I was in the exact same boat as you, so I get it. The thing that flipped it for me was timing the data interpretation questions specifically. I'd been treating them like the rest of the numerical section, but they're a different beast. You don't actually need to do most of the math. Half the time the answer is just reading the right row off the table, and I was wasting forty seconds setting up calculations I didn't need.
So here's what I'd say. Before you touch your calculator, read what the question is actually asking and find which part of the chart it points to. A lot of them give you four numbers and only one matters. I started circling the question word first (increase, difference, ratio, whatever) and it cut my time per question almost in half. The verbal stuff will hold up fine on the day, trust me. Pour your three weeks into getting fast and calm on those graph questions and you'll walk out feeling way better than you expect.
Honestly the biggest thing for me was accepting I couldn't do marathon study sessions. I work full time and I've got kids, so my prep was basically 25 minutes on my lunch break and maybe half an hour after they went to bed. For the numerical stuff that actually worked in my favour because data interpretation is all about reps. You don't need three hours. You need to do five or six questions, get them wrong, and actually figure out why you got them wrong before you move on. I kept a notes app open and every time I fell for a percentage-change trap I wrote it down. After a couple weeks the same traps stopped catching me.
One thing I'd say though, don't make the mistake I made and pour everything into numerical while you let the other sections drift. I went so hard on data interpretation that I nearly forgot the situational stuff was even on there, and that section has its own logic you have to get used to. I ran through these free grt situational judgement questions on my phone during my commute and it honestly balanced out my week. Little and often beat cramming for me. Stick with it.