Tricks and Tips for Solving Quantitative Aptitude Problems Quickly

When I was terrible at these math problems, it often felt like staring at a page, hoping the answers would magically appear. But after stalling my academic progress with a few important tests, I finally cracked the code. Here’s how you can follow my journey and find solutions more efficiently.

The Biggest Secret: Overthinking Is Not Your Friend

The biggest surprise is that most people overthink these problems to the point of paralysis. You don’t need to be a math genius. You just need to be smart about how you approach them, break them down, and solve them.

Rough Math: Your Best Friend

One key trick is to embrace rough or ballpark math. Stop trying to calculate everything perfectly. When you can, just estimate or “ballpark” the answer. You'll find that many of your calculations can be simplified or even skipped.

Spotting Patterns: Trust Your Eyes

Another powerful tool is to be adept at spotting patterns. These patterns can show up everywhere—think about geometry, number sequences, and more. The more you practice, the better you’ll become at recognizing these patterns and leveraging them to solve problems faster.

Smart Percentage Tricks: The Lazy-but-Smart Way

When dealing with percentages, don’t let these simple questions overcomplicate you. One technique is to find 10% of a number and build from there. This can help you quickly calculate 20%, 30%, and beyond without needing to do complex division.

Useful Tools and Resources

One of my lucky finds was TestHQ. They offer practice problems that have taught me so many shortcuts that I had been missing. The practice has been a total game-changer, shifting my mindset and approach to these problems.

A Quick Tip That Helped Me

Before diving into complex calculations, take a quick look at your multiple-choice options. Half the time, you can eliminate a couple of answers that seem way off. This is a great time-saver and confidence booster. Think of it like when someone suggests splitting a $100 bill among five people as $30 each. You’ll instinctively know that’s incorrect without computing the exact figures.

Become Faster and More Efficient

Here are a few ways to speed up your problem-solving process:

Take a Race Against Yourself: Make it fun by challenging yourself to solve problems faster each time. Do Mental Math: Practice quick mental calculations whenever you can. Think of it as a mental exercise to keep your brain sharp. Look for Sneaky Shortcuts: Often, the simplest shortcuts are hiding in plain sight. Practice recognizing them. Practice Estimating: Estimating works more often than you might think. Challenge yourself to see how close you can get to the exact answer without fully calculating it.

Recently, I was able to solve a problem in 30 seconds that would have taken me 5 minutes before. The feeling was priceless!

Self-Discussion to Avoid Mistakes

One unique strategy that can help is talking to yourself while solving problems. If done right, it can help you catch stupid mistakes before you make them. While my roommate thinks I’m crazy, it works wonders for me. Consistency is key, and this strategy is something I highly recommend.

Conclusion

If you have specific problems that drive you nuts, let me know. I’ve probably made every possible mistake there is, and I can help with some tricks that have worked for me. Remember, you don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be smart about it, and with the right mindset and tools, you can definitely do it too!