After making sure you know all you need about the GMAT structure, reviewing all the GMAT subjects and practicing hundreds of questions, it is time to practice your test taking strategy.
The GMAT score is determined by a complicated adaptive algorithm that follows your answers closely and decides accordingly what the next question should be and what your current score is. How this is done exactly is unknown and should not matter to you. However, a few simple rules that need to be well practiced and followed during the test, could make a huge score difference.
The rules:
1. Give the first 15 questions more time, don’t rush!
The first 15 questions on each chapter are the most important questions on the GMAT. These questions have the greatest influence on your final score. Be as certain as possible that they are correct before you move on. Take some more time if necessary. Check yourself thoroughly. You can give this part up to 3 minutes per question on average. If you get stuck on one or two questions in this part, give them up to 7 minutes before guessing. Finish this part in 40 -45 minutes.
2. Solve questions 16-25 (16-27 on the verbal section) faster.
By now, you should still have about 30 minutes remaining in the exam. Give about 20 of them to this part. This should give you around 2 minutes per question on average. This should be enough time to solve carefully and rapidly check your answer. Do not give more than 3 minutes for any question in this part. If necessary, make an educated guess and move on. Here too, the first questions in the batch are the more important ones.
3. Solve questions 26 (28 on the verbal section) and on as fast as you can.
When you reach this part, you still have around 10 minutes. Give 1 minute per question on average. Here, your goal is to make educated guesses and get as many correct answers as possible within a tight time limit. Make sure you constantly watch the time and keep moving on.
4. Never leave a question unanswered.
Make sure you answer all the questions. Leave around 10 seconds for each question you need to guess. The GMAT exam calculates your score relative to what you answered. So, if you miss answering a question your score automatically decreases.
5. Cancel your score if you aim high.
The GMAT allows you to cancel your score before you get it. When applying to Ivy League universities, they receive all your scores from the past 5 years. The last thing you need is for them to see your 580 and then 730.
There are a few signs that you can use to determine whether to cancel your score. The first sign is that you are sure you made more than one mistake in the first 5 questions. The second sign is that after questions 7-8 on either chapter, you feel a sharp and lasting (more than 1-2 easy questions) drop in the difficulty level. The third sign is when you left more than 3 questions on either chapter unanswered (you ran out of time before you could guess). Any two of these signs, combined, are enough for canceling your score. Remember that the university can see that you cancelled a score but do not know why.
6. Pay no attention to the level of difficulty.
Except using it as a sign for score canceling, do not pay any special attention to the difficulty of the questions you are given. First, difficulty is subjective. What you consider a difficult question can actually be easy for most test takers and vice versa. Second, it is normal to feel that the level is slowly dropping since you are tenser as you begin the test and relax after a few questions; this makes the questions seem easier as you advance. Third, there is nothing you can do to change the level, so there is no point in wasting your time monitoring it. Focus on what you can change, and that is the number of correct answers you give.
When taking a simulation test, try to practice these rules. They have helped hundreds of students score much higher. Remember, these rules cannot replace your ability to correctly answer the questions but are a necessary complement to it.
