Pacing and the first 10 questions

Hey - I know our tests will let you set it to 2 min per question but I really don't recommend doing that unless you can find no other way to force yourself to stay to that general timeframe.

Here's the problem: at about the 1.5 minute mark, you know your time's almost up, and you start thinking about that instead. You won't be able to think as well and do what you need to do to continue with the question. Then, the test will cut you off. On the real test, you have to be the one to cut yourself off - the real test will happily let you keep sitting on that same question. So this is not the most effective way to train yourself to let go!

Plus, you don't literally need to hold to exactly 2 min or less per question. You'll have times that you do one question in 1.5 and another in 2.5. You need to learn that balance.

If you do really need to use the test tool to force yourself to let go, set it to 2.5 min per question instead of 2, but remember that you can't let them ALL go to 2.5. You need to balance your time such that some take more time and some take less, so that you're averaging 2.

Finally, just want to reiterate what Prasanna said - all questions are worth the same and it's a myth that the earlier questions are worth more than the later questions. If you can do very well on earlier questions without taking extra time, then great... but nobody needs to be told that! If it costs you extra time at the beginning, you will hit penalties at the end and, depending upon how much extra time we're talking about, the penalties can be severe enough to make your score lower (sometimes by a LOT) than it otherwise would've been if you'd held a steady pace through and gotten more of those earlier questions wrong.

Short answer: there's really no way to game the test. Do your best - within the time constraints - on every problem.

Strictly speaking, it isn't actually true that 'all questions are worth the same'- obviously the diagnostic questions aren't worth anything, and it also won't matter if you answer questions incorrectly that are far above your ability level. Still, I think what Stacey and Prasanna mean is that you should approach the test as though every question is worth the same. I agree with that advice completely, although I'd add that earlier questions are worth just slightly more than later ones- if you need to guess at the last question on your test, that will make next to no difference to your score, and less of a difference than guessing in the middle of the test. If you need to guess at several questions at the end, however, your score will definitely drop drastically- it is a very bad idea to spend three minutes per question at the beginning, as I've seen recommended in some places. Try to get every question right, and maintain a good pacing strategy throughout the test- one that will let you get to the end of the test without needing to guess randomly.