I have a question that I need to ask you. Lets say on the test, I had a question that the test makers expect the test taker to complete in 2 mins. If I answered that question correctly in 4 mins rather than in 2 mins, could that still cost me points? like lets say that particular question is worth 5 points, could I end up with probably 3 points rather than the full points simply because I spent more time than I should? I heard this from different people and would like to know whether you might be aware of that.
Thanks!
GMAT Forum
2 postsPage 1 of 1
- StaceyKoprince
- ManhattanGMAT Staff
- Posts: 9361
- Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:05 am
- Location: Montreal
You will not lose points on that particular question, no - the test does not factor in how long it took you to answer that question - not directly, anyway.
Something else bad will happen on a later question, though, b/c that time you used has to come from another question. Going two minutes over on one questions pretty much guarantees you a wrong answer elsewhere - and usually, it's more harmful than that.
If you allow yourself to go to 4 minutes once, you're going to do it more than once. Do it two or three times, and now you're 4-6 minutes behind. That's likely to cost you even more than the 2-3 questions you'd expect to do in 4-6 minutes b/c you won't just keep working on a 2-min-per-problem base right up until you run out of time. You'll notice with 10 or 15 minutes to go that you're behind, and you'll start to speed up. And then you'll start to make mistakes left and right b/c you're working more quickly than you're comfortable with on many problems.
A lot of people think: oh, I'll make it up by answering some questions in 1 minute instead of 2. No, you really won't. You won't have enough 1-min questions to make up for it b/c the test is targeting your levels precisely enough that you aren't going to get a ton of very easy questions.
In fact, the scenario I described above (spending more time earlier on and then running out of time towards the end) is the single most common way in which people seriously underperform on the test - and their score just nosedives. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you will somehow beat the odds / beat the test. This is the way it works - so work with it. Don't spend 4 minutes on a problem. :)
(Besides, statistically speaking, the longer you spend on a problem, the more likely you are to get it wrong. So if you need 4 minutes to do a 2-min problem, what that indicates is that you really don't know how to do that problem properly. As a result, it's far more likely that you won't get it right. Doesn't mean you absolutely won't get it right - but your odds go way down if you have to spend 4+ minutes.)
Something else bad will happen on a later question, though, b/c that time you used has to come from another question. Going two minutes over on one questions pretty much guarantees you a wrong answer elsewhere - and usually, it's more harmful than that.
If you allow yourself to go to 4 minutes once, you're going to do it more than once. Do it two or three times, and now you're 4-6 minutes behind. That's likely to cost you even more than the 2-3 questions you'd expect to do in 4-6 minutes b/c you won't just keep working on a 2-min-per-problem base right up until you run out of time. You'll notice with 10 or 15 minutes to go that you're behind, and you'll start to speed up. And then you'll start to make mistakes left and right b/c you're working more quickly than you're comfortable with on many problems.
A lot of people think: oh, I'll make it up by answering some questions in 1 minute instead of 2. No, you really won't. You won't have enough 1-min questions to make up for it b/c the test is targeting your levels precisely enough that you aren't going to get a ton of very easy questions.
In fact, the scenario I described above (spending more time earlier on and then running out of time towards the end) is the single most common way in which people seriously underperform on the test - and their score just nosedives. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you will somehow beat the odds / beat the test. This is the way it works - so work with it. Don't spend 4 minutes on a problem. :)
(Besides, statistically speaking, the longer you spend on a problem, the more likely you are to get it wrong. So if you need 4 minutes to do a 2-min problem, what that indicates is that you really don't know how to do that problem properly. As a result, it's far more likely that you won't get it right. Doesn't mean you absolutely won't get it right - but your odds go way down if you have to spend 4+ minutes.)
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
2 posts Page 1 of 1