G-Research — the London-based quantitative research fund — runs one of the most talked-about early screens in quant hiring: a timed mathematics quiz that candidates describe as short, sharp, and unforgiving. (As with all firm pages: this reflects consistent candidate reports, not official firm material, and formats evolve — treat it as orientation, not gospel.)
The reported format
- Timed multiple-choice mathematics — commonly reported as on the order of 10–15 questions in 20–30 minutes, so roughly two minutes a question with no slack.
- Content mix: probability and expectation at the core, with combinatorics, sequences/series, quick calculus, and occasional logic. Difficulty ramps — early questions are warm-ups, late ones are genuinely hard under the clock.
- No calculator-friendly numbers. Answers tend to be exact forms; arithmetic fluency matters.
- Used early and decisively — it is a filter before serious interviewer time, which is why the pass bar is reputed to be high.
What it is filtering for
Speed-accuracy under time pressure on olympiad-flavored (not olympiad-hard) material. The quiz punishes two habits: slow-but-careful solvers who cannot triage, and fast pattern-matchers who misread twists. The winning mode is triage — bank the fast questions, commit remaining time to the hard ones, and guess strategically if unanswered questions cost nothing.
A practice plan that maps to it
- Timed probability sets. Drill the probability bank in test mode with a hard per-question clock — the material overlap is direct.
- Expectation fluency. The expectation bank (75 free) covers the quiz's center of mass.
- OA-style pacing. The timed OA simulations train the triage skill itself — knowing when to abandon a question is half the score.
- Mental math maintenance. A daily 80-in-8 or Zetamac session keeps the arithmetic layer frictionless.
Past the quiz, candidates report technical interviews on probability, statistics/ML, and coding — the firm funnels cover comparable research-fund loops stage by stage.
More firm guides
Frequently asked questions
What is the G-Research quiz?
A timed multiple-choice mathematics screen used early in G-Research's process — candidates consistently report roughly 10–15 questions in 20–30 minutes, centered on probability and expectation with combinatorics, series, and quick calculus mixed in.
How hard is the G-Research quiz?
The material is accessible to a strong STEM graduate; the clock is what fails people. About two minutes per question with a ramping difficulty curve means triage and speed-accuracy matter as much as knowledge.
How should I prepare for it?
Timed drilling on probability and expectation problem sets, per-question clock discipline, strategic triage practice on OA-style simulations, and daily mental-math maintenance.
Is the quiz the whole G-Research process?
No — it is the early filter. Candidates report subsequent technical interviews covering probability, statistics/ML, and coding, in the standard research-fund pattern.
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