IMO, the first few atleast 7 questions are important. First question in GMAT is a Moderate question in difficulty, If you answer that correctly you will get a tougher question and your score range goes up a bit same is the case with all the subsequent questions. So if you get a lot of the initial questions wrong you could loose the chance to go higher up in the ladder. I'm not sure if you can catch up by score a correct answer in the mid 15 questions. May be possible but why no do it in the beginning itself, start moving up the ladder from the beginning.
But i serious dont think that you must spend too much time on the initial question. Some people tell me that you should take 30 mins to solve the first 10 and then take 1.5 mins to solve the rest. but then if you have the initial questions right then you are presented with tougher questions that you will need to solve in much less time almost half.. And here you will end up panicking and this could lead you to mistakes or may even lead you in short of time..
So here is my recommendation. Dont go over board with the initial quests but definitely give your self may be 30- 40 secs more on the initial 10. Another positive aspect would be that you might be very nervous when you start so giving you more time to think would be a good idea..
Are the first questions more important?
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Wall.Street.Sweeper
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I would say yes, at least slightly more important. you want to start off well. I usually spend a little more time in the beginning.
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cramya
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Totally agree with all of Stacey's post(it makes good sense) in the link Mals24 included.
You definitely want to start off well as it gives a sense of good feeling for the rest of the exam to follow (from a psychological standpoint). I have also read that the last few questions are as important as any before since the CAT tries to narrow down your exact score in the last phase.
Again approaching every question with a free uncluttered mind without thinking on how it influences the outcome is the best way IMO to deal with GMAT. Just my 2 cents in the mix...
Regards,
CR
You definitely want to start off well as it gives a sense of good feeling for the rest of the exam to follow (from a psychological standpoint). I have also read that the last few questions are as important as any before since the CAT tries to narrow down your exact score in the last phase.
Again approaching every question with a free uncluttered mind without thinking on how it influences the outcome is the best way IMO to deal with GMAT. Just my 2 cents in the mix...
Regards,
CR
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VP_Jim
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I'll agree with everyone above. Yes, the earlier questions are slightly more important, at the very least because you want to "get the ball rolling" and feel like you're off to a good start. Confidence is a big thing on the GMAT.
At the same time, you certainly don't want to spend over about 3 minutes on any question, even the first few. After about 2 minutes, either you know it or you don't. In other words, at that point you're probably just guessing.
The way I tend to approach earlier questions is that I won't sit there for 3 minutes trying to figure it out; if I don't know it after a couple minutes, I'll guess and move on. However, if I *do* feel like I knew the question, I might take an extra 20-30 seconds to check my work just to be sure I didn't make a silly mistake.
All that said, I like the advice given above: you only have one question at a time on your screen. Worry about that question. Don't try to game the system or overthink the test.
At the same time, you certainly don't want to spend over about 3 minutes on any question, even the first few. After about 2 minutes, either you know it or you don't. In other words, at that point you're probably just guessing.
The way I tend to approach earlier questions is that I won't sit there for 3 minutes trying to figure it out; if I don't know it after a couple minutes, I'll guess and move on. However, if I *do* feel like I knew the question, I might take an extra 20-30 seconds to check my work just to be sure I didn't make a silly mistake.
All that said, I like the advice given above: you only have one question at a time on your screen. Worry about that question. Don't try to game the system or overthink the test.
Jim S. | GMAT Instructor | Veritas Prep
