VIC Strategy

[anon]

The Manhattan prep guide suggests plugging in numbers to solve VICs (variable expressions in the answer choices). Is this a hard and fast rule?

I found that sometimes it was faster to solve using a theoretical approach - writing out/simplifying an equation. This avoids a lot of time consuming arithmetic. Is there a way to know which direction to take? Maybe solve equation based VICs with numbers and word problems with equations?

[JonathanSchneider]

There is no magic formula to know when to use VICs versus when to use algebra. However, I would recommend using algebra when the answers reflect something with which you are familiar. For example, when the question asks you something about profit, consider using algebra, as you can determine that Profit = Revenue - Cost. When, however, the answer choices reflect something that seems totally unfamiliar, you may want to use the VIC approach. In general, you'll want to know both approaches, but you'll need to practice deciding when to use one over the other.