Answering 'X' questions incorrectly - does it matter which? - The Beat The GMAT Forum

Answering 'X' questions incorrectly - does it matter which?

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tomada: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 406; Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 11:36 amFollowed by: 4 members; Location: Syracuse, NY; Thanked: 23 times; GMAT Score:740

by tomada » Sat Mar 08, 2014 12:39 pm

This has probably been asked, but I can't find it in the archives, so please bear with me if the answer is out there.
Suppose that answer 6 questions incorrectly in the Quant section (I chose '6' arbitrarily), and that each of the 6 questions is considered to be in the 700-800 range.
In terms of converted Quant score, does it matter which six '700 - 800' questions are answered incorrectly?

I'm really old, but I'll never be too old to become more educated.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Sat Mar 08, 2014 12:39 pm

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[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Sat Mar 08, 2014 7:27 pm

Hi tomada,

While it might be tempting to try to boil down the GMAT to "how many" questions do you need to earn a particular score, the GMAT doesn't really work that way. Questions vary in relative value (some don't even count) and even the penalty can vary (an unanswered question at the end of the section is marked as incorrect AND is penalized).

For your own self-analysis, the better question to ask is "how many questions did I get wrong because of a silly mistake?"

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Contact Rich at [email protected]

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Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Mar 09, 2014 7:56 am

Hi tomada,

It's not uncommon for students to try to figure out the GMAT scoring algorithm. In fact, some students spend WAY to much time doing this (when they should be preparing). My question to you is: what do you intend to do with this particular information? Will it change the way in which you tackle the test?

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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tomada: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 406; Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 11:36 amFollowed by: 4 members; Location: Syracuse, NY; Thanked: 23 times; GMAT Score:740

by tomada » Sun Mar 09, 2014 9:27 am

Gentlemen, thank you for your replies. Knowing the algorithm wouldn't affect how I prepare: I'm still going to try to correctly answer every question. I was more curious than anything else.

I'm really old, but I'll never be too old to become more educated.

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