Live GMAT classes with Target Test Prep start Nov 21 and Nov 22. First class free.
See classes
On the GMAT you choose the order of the three sections: Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning and Data Insights. In each section you can also bookmark questions and change up to three answers at the end, but only if you finish every question with time still on the clock. Used well, these two features can save you points. Used badly, they cost you time.
This guide explains exactly how both features work, using GMAC’s own rules from mba.com, and then gives our advice on how to use them. GMAC is the Graduate Management Admission Council, the group that makes the GMAT.
The GMAT is 2 hours and 15 minutes long, plus one optional 10-minute break. It has 64 questions in three sections, and each section gets 45 minutes.
| Section | Questions | Time | Average time per question | Calculator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Reasoning | 21 Problem Solving | 45 minutes | about 2 minutes 8 seconds | No |
| Verbal Reasoning | 23 Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning | 45 minutes | about 1 minute 57 seconds | No |
| Data Insights | 20 (Data Sufficiency, Multi-Source Reasoning, Table Analysis, Graphics Interpretation, Two-Part Analysis) | 45 minutes | 2 minutes 15 seconds | Yes, on screen |
The average times are simple division: 45 minutes over the number of questions. They are not GMAC numbers.
GMAC says you can answer the three sections in any order. Three sections can be arranged six ways:
The order does not change what is on the test or how it is scored. Your Total Score comes from all three section scores, and GMAC weights each section equally.
You get one optional 10-minute break. You can take it after the first section or after the second section, not both. If you take it after the first, you get no break after the second.
A few rules from mba.com matter here:
GMAC calls this feature Question Review & Edit. Here is how it works, step by step:
The catch: if no time is left when you answer the last question, you skip the review screen completely. You go straight to your break or to the next section. So the review only exists if you finish early.
The three changes are per section. Across the whole exam that is up to nine changes, three in each section, and they do not carry over from one section to another.
GMAC’s scores page lists several myths. Two of them matter here:
What does hurt: unanswered questions. GMAC says there is a penalty for each question you do not answer in time. Its scores page also calls it a myth that leaving a question blank beats guessing when time runs short. So never leave a question blank to save time for the review screen.
This part is BTG advice, not a GMAC rule. There is no single best order. Pick the one that fits you, and test it before exam day.
Whatever you choose, use the same order on your last two or three full practice tests, so exam day feels normal.
Three changes is not many. Spend them where they are most likely to turn a wrong answer into a right one.
Say you are taking the Quant section, with 21 questions in 45 minutes. This example is made up.
If you had spent those 5 extra minutes on question 14 the first time, you might have missed the review screen, and the misread on question 6 would have stayed wrong.
All facts checked November 3, 2026.
MBA Admissions
Most top MBA programs close Round 2 between January 4 and January 7, 2027. Michigan Ross is first, on January 4. Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, Tuck, Duke Fuqua and Cornell all [...]
Executive Assessment
Take the GMAT Focus if you are sure about business school. Take the GRE if you are also weighing other graduate programs. Take the Executive Assessment only if you are [...]
GMAT Test Prep
Plan on at least six weeks and about 60 hours to study for the GMAT Focus. That is GMAC’s own guidance: study for at least six weeks at a steady [...]