Fixing your GMAT Quant Timing Problem (Part 3: Test Day)
Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.
You’ve been trying to improve your timing on the Quant section of the GMAT. You’ve already gotten into a timing-oriented mindset, and you’ve adopted the recommended study habits for better Quant timing. But what should you do when you’re actually taking the test? Follow these guidelines to maximize your Quant timing on test day.
- You’re going to miss questions. A lot of questions! That’s just how adaptive testing works. On test day, you’ll get something like 15 to 20 GMAT Quant questions wrong, same as the person next to you. The only thing that sets you apart is the difficulty of the questions you can consistently get right.
Getting a single 800-level question right won’t do anything for your GMAT Quant score. Because the test is adaptive, your score will eventually drift back to what it should be. So, unless you’re aiming for an 800 on the GMAT (and you shouldn’t be!), 800-level questions are totally irrelevant to you. They might change your score for a minute or two, but that doesn’t matter in the long run. Getting an 800-level question right is much more likely to hurt your score overall, if it takes you more than two minutes to solve it. That’s extra time you could spend on other questions that are only slightly above your ability level. Those are the questions that can actually gain you some points on test day.
If a question seems unreasonably tough, there’s no reason to do it. Ignore these questions entirely, and spend the time you save on the moderately-tough questions.
- But how do you know whether a question is unreasonably tough? First, spend more time reading, and less time writing. If you dive into a question immediately, without taking a breather and thinking through it, you’ll never know whether it’s hard or easy. Also, if you read too quickly on test day, you’ll miss opportunities for time- and energy-saving strategies such as Choosing Smart Numbers and Backsolving. Get in the habit of putting your pen completely down when you begin each problem. Don’t pick it up until you’ve decided whether to skip the problem or commit to it, and what your strategy will be. By the way, you probably only have enough time to try one strategy on each Quant problem. If you always immediately start with algebra, you’ll never get to backsolve or choose smart numbers!
- Write down what you’re solving for first. Once you pick up your pen, the very first thing you write down should be what you’re solving for. This forces you to analyze how well you understand the problem. If you aren’t really sure what you’re solving for, move on to the next problem! It’ll also save you time when you don’t have to reread the problem later, and will help prevent careless errors.
- Try asking yourself this one simple question: do I have a plan? If you don’t have a clear plan to solve a Quant question by the 1-minute mark, you aren’t going to come up with something under pressure. Think back to all of the practice tests you’ve taken: have you ever been unsure how to solve a problem after 1 minute, but come up with and implemented a good solution within 2 minutes? That happens rarely, if ever, and it’s even less likely when you’re dealing with the stress of test day.
- Stick to your timing plan. Don’t have a timing plan? Try this one out on your next practice test. If it helps you, the most important thing is to actually use it on test day. I’ve spoken with a handful of students who got great scores on GMAT practice tests, then blew it when it came time to take the real thing. The majority of those students tried to change something at the last minute. Either they switched to a different timing plan, or they threw the plan out the window entirely when faced with the pressure of test day. Don’t let that happen to you! Test day is the time to double down on the strategies that have already been proven to work. And if your test day is approaching and you still don’t have a timing plan you’re happy with, consider postponing your test until you’ve done a few successful practice tests. You’ll feel better on test day if you’ve had a couple of “dress rehearsals” beforehand.
Don’t sweat it! If you’ve been studying in the way described in the previous article, and if you’ve been taking practice tests with good timing, then you already know what to do. It might feel like you’re skipping too many questions, or making too many fast guesses, but you probably aren’t. Instead, you’re demonstrating exactly the skills the GMAT is designed to test: executive reasoning and making tough decisions. Just carry that mindset into the testing center with you, and watch your GMAT Quant score skyrocket. ?
Want full access to Chelsey’s sage GMAT wisdom? Try the first class of one of her upcoming GMAT courses absolutely free, no strings attached.
Chelsey Cooley
is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Seattle, Washington. Chelsey always followed her heart when it came to her education. Luckily, her heart led her straight to the perfect background for GMAT and GRE teaching: she has undergraduate degrees in mathematics and history, a master’s degree in linguistics, a 790 on the GMAT, and a perfect 170/170 on the GRE. Check out Chelsey’s upcoming GMAT prep offerings here.