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by umaa » Sun Feb 01, 2009 9:28 pm
Graduate schools have begun to check whether applicants for admission are in default on government-guaranteed student loans. Any application submitted by an applicant who fails this test is not processed. Though all applications are tested, it is thought that the 3 percent of the applications that fail represent only three-quarters of the incoming applications from individuals in default. Consequently, approximately 1 percent of the applications that are processed are those of applicants in default who remain undetected.

Which of the following is an assumption in the argument above?





Before being processed, the applications from individuals in default on their government-guaranteed student loans are not rejected for other reasons.



Applicants in default on their government-guaranteed student loans will not make any loan payments in the future.



In all likelihood, more than 3 percent of the applications actually fail the default test.



Only a small fraction of the individuals in default on their government-guaranteed student loans apply to graduate school.



Individuals in default on their government-guaranteed student loans apply to graduate school in the same numbers in which they do not apply to graduate school.
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Source: — Critical Reasoning |

by bec.amit » Sun Feb 01, 2009 10:20 pm
IMO :D
as 3/4 of the applications from defaulters are detected.
say even if the remaining 1/4 of the defaulters go through, this only represents only 1% of the total applicants.
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by bec.amit » Sun Feb 01, 2009 10:24 pm
IMO-->D
Sorry Guys. A colon with a D created an unwanted smiley.
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by Bidisha800 » Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:14 pm
(D)

very small portion of defaulters actually apply otherwise 3% of the rejection can not represent 3/4th of the application.
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by sjd00d » Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:25 pm
Hmm...I guess i am not getting why it'd be D and for some reason i can't find the correct option as well.


here's why..

problem states that, hypothetically, out of 120 students, 3%=36 fail to make it, we are also told that 36 represents 3/4th of total number of defaulted applicants (48 in all and we do know that these many defaulted applicants applied). It is concluded therefore that the remaining 12 (1% of 120) got in without being detected.

I am not sure why D's assumption is relevant in this conclusion. It doesn't matter if a high or low % of the total defaulter population apply or not, fact is given those 12 that got in, what would you have to assume. I'd like to say nothing.
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by Ian Stewart » Tue Feb 03, 2009 7:50 am
The answer here should be A. The conclusion discusses only those applications which are processed. Some applications will not be processed because they fail the default test. If these are the only applications which are not processed, the conclusion would be valid. But what if there are other reasons that an application is not processed? What if they only process applications from people with high GMAT scores, say, and what if people with low GMAT scores tend to be the same people who default on their loans? Perhaps all the defaulters are rejected, not because they fail the default test, but because the population of defaulters shares a certain characteristic that makes them likely to be rejected for other reasons. A makes clear that the conclusion assumes that defaulters are as likely as non-defaulters to have their applications processed.
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by umaa » Tue Feb 03, 2009 8:08 am
OA is A. Thanks a lot Ian.
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by sjd00d » Tue Feb 03, 2009 9:25 am
Thx Ian, i was going for A originally but then got distracted by D. A is a good fit.
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by Brad.C » Fri May 13, 2016 2:17 pm
I would go with option D
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