GMAT Club
Week 7 of 12 Decide Your Approach 10-15 hrs

Probability, RC Details & MSR

A lot of students struggle with combinatorics and probability, so concentrate on building the fundamentals properly, so you don’t lose your way later.

Count the cases before you compute
0/6 this week

Global Resources

Your daily launcher

One tap to any tool the plan uses. Bookmark this page, and Error Log & Analytics next to it, for your daily habits.

Daily practice

Questions

Quiz gives every member 5 free questions a day. Beyond that you need a subscription from $19.99/mo or 49 rewards points, which you earn just by doing timed practice here. Question Banks are free with no daily limit.

Tests & mocks

Weeks 3 · 6 · 9 · 11

Your first full GMAT Club Test is free. After that they come with a subscription, with rewards points, or free for everyone on public holidays. The GMAT Prep mocks above are separate and come from mba.com.

Earn as you learn

Auto-tracked · redeem anytime

Timed questions you record on GMAT Club count toward these: forum practice and preset quizzes. GMAT Club Tests practice does not count. Reach a milestone and the reward unlocks automatically.

Counted automatically from your GMAT Club timer history. Questions need a submitted answer and a real attempt to count. Prefer the long game? 49 rewards points still buys the full Quiz subscription.

Recommended books

Print or eBook

Buy the Official Guide new, not used. Each copy ships with a single-use code for the online question bank, and used copies usually arrive with that code already redeemed. Manhattan and PowerScore books are fine to buy used.

My notes

All weeks, one place
Private to you, saved on this device with your progress. In the full version this becomes its own page, synced to your account.

Error Log & Analytics

Tracking system · every week

The same tracking system runs across all 12 weeks: log every miss, review the pattern, redo it. Two tools, one daily habit.

Minimum fields to track

Use the built-in error log tracker above, the Analytics portal, or a customized Excel/Google Sheets spreadsheet, whichever you'll actually keep up with.

  • Topic:

    fractions, ratios, percent, CR conclusion, etc.

  • Error type:

    concept gap / setup error / calculation slip / rushed reading.

  • Trigger:

    what in the prompt pulled you off track.

  • Fix:

    one-sentence rule you will apply next time.

Redo rule

Redo rule: redo every missed question after a fixed frequency (recommended: after each week) without looking at the solution.

Analytics: what to check before wrap-up

  • Accuracy by topic: which sub-skills are still under 80%.
  • Timing by topic: where you're consistently over 2 min/question.
  • The trend across your last few sessions, not just one bad day.

Week 7 Overview & Rules

Group Rules

How was your experience with Official Mock 2 last week?

Were you able to analyze your performance properly and get some clear data points on what to focus on next? That becomes really important now, because how you invest your time over the next few weeks will make a big difference.

Also hoping this time you were able to relate more to the test, the flow, the pressure, and what it takes to stay consistent throughout.

Moving on to this week.

Weekly time budget: 10 to 15 hours total

Week 7 rules (so the group stays aligned)

  • Spend a few extra seconds before solving to decide your approach

  • Don’t force a method if it’s not working, step back and rethink

  • Keep your steps clean, avoid over-complicating solutions

  • Use your mock takeaways actively during practice this week

Week 7: Combinations | Probability | Min–Max

Quant Track

This is the part of Quant where formulas exist...
...but blindly using them is how you lose points.

Combinatorics can be solved in multiple ways.
Probability looks simple but can go wrong quickly if you rely on shortcuts.
Min–max questions seem straightforward until you miss a constraint.

A lot of students struggle with combinatorics and probability, so concentrate on building the fundamentals properly, so you don’t lose your way later.

What this week is really about

By the end of Week 7, you should be able to:

  • Recognize when order matters and when it doesn’t
  • Stop brute-forcing combinations that need structure
  • Use complementary probability naturally
  • Respect constraints in min–max problems instead of hand-waving them away
  • Know when listing is safer than formulas

Book reference (if you have it)

Manhattan GMAT Quant + DI Ch. 16 & Ch. 29 & Ch. 30

Read carefully: Chapter 16: Inequalities and Max Min; Chapter 29: Combinatorics; Chapter 30: Probability.

Find it on Amazon

Videos

Click to watch inline
Combinatorics
Permutations & Combinations Beyond Formulas—Think First, Then Count | Aditya Kumar LiveGMAT Club
GMAT Ninja Quant Ep 18: Combinations & PermutationsGMAT Ninja
GMAT Crash Course EP13: Probability, Permutations, and Combinations | GMAT Quant PrepGMAT Club
Permutations and CombinationsGMAT with CJ
Probability
Ace Probability and Permutations & Combinations P&C | Break the barrier to GMAT Q51GMAT Club
Fear GMAT Probability? Not Anymore! | Live with Aditya KumarGMAT Club
Probability Made Easy | GMAT Quant Master Class with Kaplan GMAT ExpertGMAT Club
GMAT Ninja Quant Ep 17: ProbabilityGMAT Ninja
Learn Most of GMAT Probability in 75 Minutes | Combinatorics Series: EP2GMAT Club
Min-Max
GMAT Crash Course EP17: Statistics, Standard Deviation, & Min-Max ProblemsGMAT Club

Pick one main explainer per topic. Watching everything helps less than you think.

Practice Sets

Phase 1: Easy-mode practice80% accuracy on 20 questions or a streak of 15 correct

You have two ways to do this. Pick the one that fits how you usually study.

Forum = Click the links below, sort by Kudos and solve questions directly on the forum. Quiz = preset Forum Quiz (subscription or rewards points).

CombinationsForum Quiz
ProbabilityForum Quiz

Goal is the same as Option A: 80% on 20 or a streak of 15 · Do small sets (15 questions). Review after each set.

Timing ramp for Phase 1
  1. Set 1: Untimed

    (focus on setup and accuracy)

  2. Set 2: Soft-timed

    (generous time, still process-focused)

  3. Set 3: Normal pacing

    only after accuracy is stable

Phase 2: Official-style questions (only after Phase 1 feels comfortable)90% accuracy on 30 questions or a streak of 20 correct

Once the practice sets feel comfortable, it's good to start testing yourself on official-style questions:

CombinationsForum Quiz
ProbabilityForum Quiz

Common traps to actively watch for

  • Using permutations when combinations are required
  • Forgetting complementary probability exists
  • Ignoring hidden constraints in min–max
  • Over-calculating when elimination would work

The best solution here often looks boring. That’s a good sign.

What’s coming next week

Word Problems and Coordinate geometry

Reading Comprehension – Specific Questions

Verbal Track

This week, RC shifts from "what is this passage about" to "what exactly does this line say".

Where wrong answers come from

Specific questions punish:

  • Memory-based reading
  • Vague impressions
  • Answering from intuition instead of the text

What you should get out of this week

By the end of the week, you should be able to:

  • You’ll go back to the passage more confidently
  • You’ll stop answering from memory
  • You’ll match answer choices to exact lines
  • You’ll feel less rushed on detail-heavy questions

Book Reading

Manhattan Prep – GMAT All the Verbal Ch. 14

Read carefully: Chapter 14: Specific Questions.

Find it on Amazon

Videos

Click to watch inline

Choose whichever style clicks for you.

How to Prepare for Reading Comprehension on GMAT Focus | Master #GMATVerbal in new GMATGMAT Club
Game-Changing GMAT Reading Comprehension Tips by GMAT 800 Instructor | GMAT Verbal PreparationGMAT Club
GMAT Ninja RC Ep 3: How to Approach Science Passages on the GMAT Focus & EAGMAT Ninja
GMAT Ninja RC Ep 4: How to Tackle Humanities Passages on the GMAT Focus & EAGMAT Ninja
GMAT Ninja RC Ep 5: Long Reading Comprehension Passages on the GMAT Focus & EAGMAT Ninja
Free GMAT Prep Hour: Reading Comp PredictionsManhattan Prep

Practice Sets

Phase 1: Easy-mode practice80% accuracy on 3 sets or a streak of 3 sets

You have two ways to do this. Pick the one that fits how you usually study.

Forum = Click the links below, sort by Kudos and solve questions on the forum. Quiz = preset Forum Quiz (subscription or rewards points).

Goal is the same as Option A: 80% on 3 sets or a streak of 3 sets · Complete 3 sets and review after each set.

Timing ramp for Phase 1
  1. Set 1: Untimed

    (focus on setup and accuracy)

  2. Set 2: Soft-timed

    (generous time, still process-focused)

  3. Set 3: Normal pacing

    only after accuracy is stable

Phase 2: Official-style questions (only after Phase 1 feels comfortable)90% accuracy on 5 sets or a streak of 5 sets

Once the practice sets feel comfortable, it's good to start testing yourself on official-style questions:

Focus on

For each passage:

  • Write one sentence on why the passage exists
  • Ignore tempting detail-heavy answer choices
  • Check if the answer matches the entire passage, not one paragraph
What’s coming next

Multi-Source Reasoning (MSR)

DI Track

MSR this week is about efficiency, not learning new mechanics. You already know how MSR works. Now you’re learning how not to waste time inside it.

Continue MSR sets from previous weeks

Practice Focus

  • Continue MSR sets from previous weeks
  • Read the question first, always
  • Open only the tabs you need
  • Track claims across sources instead of rereading everything

Read

Manhattan Prep: GMAT All the Quant + DI Ch. 18

Read carefully: Chapter 18: Multi-Source Reasoning.

Find it on Amazon

Videos

Click to watch inline
Solving 705+ Level Multi Source Reasoning Questions with Data Synthesis SkilsGMAT Club
How to Master Tricky MSR Questions on GMAT FocusGMAT Whiz
A session on Data Insights MSR QuestionsGMAT with CJ

Practice Sets

Phase 1: Easy-mode practice80% accuracy on 3 sets or a streak of 3 sets

You have two ways to do this. Pick the one that fits how you usually study.

Forum = Click the links below, sort by Kudos and solve questions directly on the forum. Quiz = preset Forum Quiz (subscription or rewards points).

Goal is the same as Option A: 80% on 3 sets or a streak of 3 sets · Do small sets (3 sets). Review after each set.

Timing ramp for Phase 1
  1. Set 1: Untimed

    (focus on setup and accuracy)

  2. Set 2: Soft-timed

    (generous time, still process-focused)

  3. Set 3: Normal pacing

    only after accuracy is stable

Phase 2: Official-style questions (only after Phase 1 feels comfortable)90% accuracy on 5 sets or a streak of 5 sets

Once the practice sets feel comfortable, it's good to start testing yourself on official-style questions:

What’s coming next week

Error Log & Group Discussion Guidelines

Error Log

Continue the same structure from last week.

Post your stats, get a progress check

Need feedback, not sure whether you're ready to move on, or just stuck? Post these stats in your study group and a Moderator will give you an evaluation of your progress.

Reading sources & Time spent:
Quant questions solved:
Quant accuracy: combinations __% | probability __% | min-max __%
Verbal questions solved:
Verbal accuracy: rc __%
DI questions solved:
DI accuracy: msr __%
One question link I want discussed (include your full attempt):