Steps
You should review the outline of topics covered in the Quantitative Skills Workshop. Next, take the Self-Assessment Test. It should take you approximately 60 to 90 minutes to complete. The answers are provided for you to check your solutions.
The decision
Look at the results of the test in combination with your previous quantitative background, and decide whether or not QSW is right for you. History suggests that those with quantitative GMAT scores below 44 or encountering difficulty on 4 or more of the topic areas on the Self-Assessment Test are strongly encouraged to enroll in QSW. Similarly, those with quantitative GMAT scores above 47 and encountering difficulties on only one or fewer self-assessment problems would probably not benefit from the quantitative refresher provided by QSW. Those with quantitative GMAT scores in the intermediate range of 44-47 or those experiencing difficulties on two or three self-assessment problems would probably benefit from some portions of QSW, but may also find it sufficient to review selected topics on their own, prior to starting the Fall A Core Courses.
Additional preparation
Additionally, after taking the self-assessment, if you feel you need additional preparation that two days in QSW will not be able to provide, then you should look to one of the workbooks/ study guides that you can buy at any UM textbook store or Borders or Barnes & Noble. One we are very familiar with is Schaum’s Outline Series, but there are a whole array of these types of workbooks by other publishers. You should look for basic algebra and/or basic calculus workbooks, depending on what you need practice on.
These workbooks provide brief explanations of each concept and then loads of problems. You won’t need to work through all the problems, but even if you just did a handful more on each concept, you would be in better shape. You only need to look for topics that match what you do in QSW. The reason we don’t use a textbook or one of these workbooks for QSW is that these books cover lots of material that will not be used in the core.
