Top 3 Mistakes to Avoid on the Executive Assessment (and What to Do Instead) [Part 1]

[@nehathegr81]

Hi Brett, the fastest way to solve the first Quant Q would be to consider that the sum has 0 as the last digit. Because 150 also has a 0 as the last digit. Hence, when multiplied with any number will give the last digit as 0. Now, we need to find a number which when multiplied by 85 will give a 0 in the last digit, which can only be 4. So, we can get to the right answer with least calculation in shortest time. 🌞

[@DominateTestPrep]

Reasoning! Well done and thanks for sharing.

[@Jderose]

Thank you for sharing this! When Brett suggested to look at the answers I did take note that "4" was the only even number and the rest were odd. Now I know this significance behind that.

[@alvarosanz7671]

a + 80+ b isn't equal to 200. You are mixing pies with customers. The correct equation would have been a + 2*(80) + b = 200. It doesn't change the answer as it was a data sufficiency question but still wanted to let you know.

[@alvarosanz7671]

Also, in the first problem, there was a much quicker way to solve the problem. As any number of soft lenses was going to produce a cost that ended with 0, and the total cost also ended with 0, the cost of hard lenses also had to end with 0. As the unit cost of hard lenses ended with 5, there had to be an even number of hard lenses. There is only one possible solution that is even. Hence, the right answer had to be 4. You could have solved that problem in less than 30 seconds.

[@DominateTestPrep]

Good point, thanks for sharing!

[@DominateTestPrep]

​@@alvarosanz7671 Nice realization! That's the kind of thing we talk about in the "Units Digit" and "Evens/Odds" lessons in the course. Way to "reason" your way to a right answer. Often there are multiple ways to solve a problem, so it's nice to have lots of different tools in your tool belt. Thanks for sharing.

[@adamleddy9894]

@@DominateTestPrep I worked it out the same in my head as I already knew 160 pies had been sold… so 40 were left… then I read 40 did not buy chocolate so I’m like cool then they bought 120… point 2 they bought 120… ok coolio - D… I work in Sales for large scale programmes do a lot of math on the fly… but it’s fun… been accepted to Oxford pending my EA… starting my study plan today for Mid March exam with a back up for April if I need to take again…

[@DominateTestPrep]

@@adamleddy9894 Awesome, Adam. Quite a few of my students have landed at Oxford and had a great experience. I'm glad you're "enjoying" the process of preparing for the EA. Stay in touch and let me know how else I can help!

[@tammylpw]

Thanks! This is very helpful!

[@DominateTestPrep]

Glad to hear it. Let us know how else we can help!

[@palakshah5265]

what are some practice test prep books do u recommend using?

[@DominateTestPrep]

The best source of practice questions are the "official" ones put out by the GMAC. You can purchase them through the GMAC website here: www.mba.com/exams/executive-assessment/prepare. I also recommend the GMAT Official Guide. The reason I like that book is that you get more questions for less money, and nearly all of them are relevant for the EA (just skip the geometry stuff). As an added bonus, I've recorded detailed video solutions for every question in that guide and include them with our Complete Executive Assessment Course.

[@rabbiyatrahmanlihan9594]

very nice video

[@DominateTestPrep]

Thank you!

[@telrads5287]

Hi. I'm sorry, I can't follow the data sufficiency.. you write a + 80 + b = 200 ... but 200 is pies and 80 is customers. shouldn't it be a + 160 + b = 200? and then customers who bought only chocolateys 0 and chocolate pies is 80. right?

[@DominateTestPrep]

Yes, that's correct. That's the observation that Alvaro Sanz made in his comment below. But as he also noted, it doesn't change the sufficiency determination -- that's the beauty of Data Sufficiency in that you don't actually have to solve it!

[@shawnteldaniels1047]

Hi Brett. I am n=most worried that I will do well on certain questions which makes it harder, and I won't be able to answer them. Does that make sense? The better I do, the harder it gets and then I fail the exam.

[@DominateTestPrep]

Your concern makes sense, but doesn't accurately reflect the EA scoring algorithm. Yes, if you do well on the first sub-section you'll get a harder second sub-section. But it won't be so hard that you get them all wrong. And as long as you get some of the harder questions correct, they'll carry more weight than if you get more of the easy questions right. Ultimately the exam should adapt to your abilities, whether you get off to a good start or a bad start, and yield a final score that reflects your preparedness. So just do as well as you can on every question you're confronted with and let the algorithm do its job. You won't fail just because you get a lot of questions right early on. Go get it!

[@shawnteldaniels1047]

@@DominateTestPrep thank you so much. I think I keep trying to talk my self out of taking the exam. I appreciate the reply!

[@DominateTestPrep]

@@shawnteldaniels1047 My pleasure. BTW, it sounds like you'll benefit from my Tip #1 in this podcast episode: podcast.dominatetestprep.com/548431/1628479-1-top-3-prep-tips-for-any-standardized-test

[@SarahFoster-z4n]

Do you prepare people for LDW?

[@DominateTestPrep]

I'm just now seeing this here, but I'm glad we were able to connect via e-mail. I hope you ended up doing well on the LDW and that you get the promotion at work!

[@hervy4901]

Integrated Reasoning most challenging

[@DominateTestPrep]

It can be for sure, especially the time management aspect of it. As I tell my students, a lot of what you're studying for Quant and Verbal comes into play on IR as well. So from that standpoint it's nice. But yeah, it definitely takes some practice!

[@daniC9H13NO3]

The most concerning thing about the test is not having enough time.

[@DominateTestPrep]

That's understandable. On the one hand, one of the good things about the EA is that it's relatively short. On the other hand, the condensed time domain sometimes stresses students out! That said, you still have approximately two minutes per question, plenty of time to answer them all provided you've learned the underlying content and know how to apply the relevant strategy. I talk more about time management in Part 3, so definitely watch that video here on this channel. And then of course I go into even more depth in our Complete EA Course (www.dominatetestprep.com/executive-assessment) in terms of time management while helping you get proficient (read: fast) with answering the different question types.

[@williamalston8116]

Quantitative Reasoning

[@DominateTestPrep]

Thanks for sharing. What have you been doing so far to prepare for that section of the exam?

[@crystalzhang4806]

Time is too tight in between each other hard to switch brain

[@DominateTestPrep]

One way to work on that is to make sure you're switching from verbal to quant within your study sessions. Often students will spend one day studying quant, and then the next day verbal, then back to quant, and so on. It's okay to work in silos like that occasionally (e.g. on days when time is tight), but since you have to quickly make the switch within the same exam on test day, it's important to do it in your practice as well. Likewise within a section, don't just do Problem Solving one day and Data Sufficiency the next, for example. Do a few problem solving questions, then D.S., then back to P.S., etc. Your brain will learn to adapt through practice and repetition.

[@linjiang6573]

when u saw 1690, you immediately know the answer is 4

[@DominateTestPrep]

Thanks for sharing and all the best to you!