The Importance of Timing on the GMAT

Timing is one of the biggest issues that GMAT test-takers encounter. It’s very common for students to reach question 33 on the Quantitative section with only 4 minutes remaining. If this happens, I recommend educated guessing for those last few problems, because it’s critical to finish to every question. However, it’s best to avoid this situation entirely. If you’re rushing through the last 5 problems, it means you didn’t budget your time properly throughout the whole section.

The first thing you must realize is that you’re not supposed to answer every question correctly on the GMAT. I just took a practice exam using GMATprep (the most accurate test prep simulator) and scored a 760 (Q48, V45, 99^th percentile). Yet, despite my Quant score of 48, I still missed 10 questions out of 37. So, it’s possible to score very high on Quant while still missing a few questions.

The reason for this is the adaptive nature of the exam. It’s designed to keep challenging you until you start missing questions. Naturally, students want to meet this challenge and spend time solving every question correctly. However, this will not lead you to achieving your highest possible score, and may actually hurt you if you run out of time!

The situation you absolutely want to avoid is encountering questions at the end of the section that you know how to solve, but don’t have enough time. You’ll have to guess on problems that you could easily solve if you had another 30 seconds or 1 minute.

This leads to a couple of key strategy tips for the exam:

1) As you get closer to your test day, do your practice problems at a measured pace of approximately two minutes per question. Work with a timer and make sure you get into this rhythm as you’re doing your test prep. Try to simulate exam conditions as much as possible.

2) On the actual exam, do not spend more than 3 minutes on any problem. Only exceed this amount if you’re absolutely certain you know how to solve the problem, or are very close to the answer.

3) If you are completely clueless on a question (i.e. have no idea how to approach it), simply make an educated guess and move on! At the one minute mark on a question, you should have a clear idea how to solve it, and should have your algebraic equations set up if necessary. If you’re still reading the question, forget it! You’re wasting valuable time. Even students who score 700+ wind up using this strategy. As I pointed out above, it’s possible to miss 10 questions on Quant and still score a 48. So, any single question is not that important.

Remember, the GMAT not only tests your ability to answer questions correctly, but also your ability to complete each section in 75 minutes. In order to achieve your best possible score, recognize that you may have to essentially “skip” some very difficult questions by guessing and moving on.

I'm a GMAT Tutor based in Los Angeles, CA and the author of the DVD Advanced Tips for Data Sufficiency Success. Contact me for in-person GMAT tutoring in Los Angeles or online GMAT tutoring worldwide. I can be reached through www.thegmattutor.com.