GRE Quant multiple choice
Two forms: select one answer from five, or select all that apply from a longer list. The second has no partial credit and no stated number of answers — it may be one, it may be all of them, and each option has to be judged on its own.
Two techniques that beat the algebra
Backsolving. Where the options are numbers and the question asks for a value, try an option in the question. Start with the middle one — if it is too big you have eliminated three at once.
Picking numbers. Where the options contain variables, choose a convenient value, work out the answer numerically, then see which option produces it. Avoid 0 and 1, which often make several options agree.
- For percentage questions, pick 100.
- For fraction questions, pick the lowest common denominator.
- If two options survive, test a second number to separate them.
Select all that apply
- Read how many options there are; there is no fixed count of correct ones.
- Judge each option independently against the question — it is several true/false questions in one.
- Watch for boundary cases: zero, negatives, equal values.
- Answer all of them; there is no penalty, and leaving one unticked is as wrong as ticking a wrong one.
The commonest error is assuming exactly two or three are correct because that is usual. The GRE does not state a count, and sometimes only one option qualifies.
Multiple choice — FAQs
2 questions
No. The full set must be right.
Only where the options are plain numbers and the algebra is slow. Where the algebra is two lines, do the algebra.
More quantitative question types
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.