AJ2009 wrote:I took my GMAT today, got 660 (83%), quite disapointed with this score, I was aiming for at least 700, in my prep tests I scored 720 and 690.
I am thinking about taking the test again.
I ran out of time on the last Quant question. I know that the penalty for not finishing is sever, I was wondering if anyone knew what the penalty is in terms of points? All else being equal, is any way of gauging what score I might have scored had I answered (right or wrong) the last question.

thanks

Hi AJ...

In my understanding, the "penalty" for unanswered questions is simply that you got the question incorrect.

If you randomly guessed on the last question, you would have had a 20% chance of getting it correct.

Accordingly, if you were able to narrow down the answers of the last question to two possible answers (eliminated the 3 other options), you would have had a 50% chance of getting the question correct.

Consequently, if you leave it blank, you have a 0% chance of getting it correct.

Therefore, the GMAT committee describes this as a "severe" penalty. It is better to selectively eliminate options and guess than it is to leave it blank.

I hope this makes sense to you. Due to the stress of the actual test, you may have not read through the questions the same way you did for the prep tests. That would explain the 30-40 point differential.

A 660 (83%) is still a very competitive score.

How long did you prep for / what resources did you use, etc...

-Jonathan

A good rule of thumb is to always select an answer as soon as you come to the last question in a section. Don't confirm the answer, just select it. That way if the time runs out, your selection will be counted and the question will not be considered "unanswered".

I know a gentleman in New York who met one of GMAC's test designers. My acquaintance claims (I don't know whether it's true) that the GMAC guy told him "On the GMAT, getting a question wrong is like shooting yourself on the foot. Leaving a question unanswered is like shooting yourself on both feet"

Whether it's true or not, the OG 11 states that your score is determined by

*The number of questions you answer
*Whether you answer them correctly or incorrectly
*The difficulty level and other characteristics of the questions

From that, it's clear to me that leaving a question unanswered is not the same as getting it wrong. Each of the possibilities affects your score in its own way. I love the advice given earlier to select an answer as soon as you get to the last question, then work the question out and pick what you think is right. This way if time runs out you will not have left that question unanswered.